Total natural resource rents in Ghana

Ghana: Total natural resource rents was 13.3% in 2021. ▲ Rising

Latest (2021)
13.3%
Change on year
up 57.3%
World rank
39th
of 211 countries
All-time high
16.1%
in 2011
All-time low
2.3%
in 1971
Years of data
52
1970–2021

Total natural resource rents in Ghana, 1970–2021

051015197019952021

Source: The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank staff estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.

Analysis

Ghana recorded 13.3% for total natural resource rents in 2021.

The figure is up 57.3% on the previous year and down 16.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, total natural resource rents in Ghana peaked at 16.1% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 2.3%, in 1971.

That places Ghana 39th out of 211 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 52 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 5.0% 2.3% 7.4% 10
1980s 6.3% 4.3% 8.7% 10
1990s 10.3% 6.4% 13.8% 10
2000s 11.6% 7.6% 15.6% 10
2010s 11.4% 8.6% 16.1% 10
2020s 10.9% 8.5% 13.3% 2

Countries ranked near Ghana

  1. 36 Burundi 14.0% compare
  2. 37 Turkmenistan 13.5% compare
  3. 38 Australia 13.4% compare
  4. 40 South Sudan 13.1% compare
  5. 41 Sudan 12.8% compare
  6. 42 Peru 12.7% compare

See the full ranking of 211 places →

More reference data data for Ghana

All data for Ghana →

Frequently asked questions

What is total natural resource rents in Ghana?
Total natural resource rents in Ghana was 13.3% in 2021, according to The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank staff estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest total natural resource rents recorded in Ghana?
The highest recorded value was 16.1% in 2011.
What is the lowest total natural resource rents recorded in Ghana?
The lowest recorded value was 2.3% in 1971.
How does Ghana rank for total natural resource rents?
Ghana ranks 39th out of 211 countries with data for 2021.
Is total natural resource rents rising or falling in Ghana?
Over the last ten years it is down 16.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Ghana data come from?
The figures come from The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank staff estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Total natural resource rents. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 52 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Total natural resource rents
Unit
% of GDP
Source
The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank staff estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
211 places, 9,209 data points, 1970–2021
Last refreshed

Natural resources rents are estimated as the difference between the price of a commodity and the average cost of producing it. Total natural resources rents are the sum of oil rents, natural gas rents, coal rents, mineral rents, and forest rents.