Share of population living in urban and rural areas in Ghana
Ghana: Share of population living in urban and rural areas was 76.8% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of population living in urban and rural areas in Ghana, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of population living in urban and rural areas in Ghana is 76.8%, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in urban and rural areas in Ghana peaked at 76.8% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 44.9%, in 1950.
That places Ghana 96th out of 236 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Share of population living in urban and rural areas in Ghana, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 44.9% | — |
| 1955 | 47.6% | +5.9% |
| 1960 | 50.6% | +6.3% |
| 1965 | 52.9% | +4.5% |
| 1970 | 55.1% | +4.1% |
| 1975 | 57.8% | +4.9% |
| 1980 | 59.4% | +2.7% |
| 1985 | 61.2% | +3.1% |
| 1990 | 63.2% | +3.2% |
| 1995 | 66.9% | +5.8% |
| 2000 | 69.7% | +4.2% |
| 2005 | 72.3% | +3.8% |
| 2010 | 74.5% | +3.0% |
| 2015 | 75.8% | +1.8% |
| 2020 | 76.8% | +1.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 46.2% | 44.9% | 47.6% | 2 |
| 1960s | 51.7% | 50.6% | 52.9% | 2 |
| 1970s | 56.4% | 55.1% | 57.8% | 2 |
| 1980s | 60.3% | 59.4% | 61.2% | 2 |
| 1990s | 65.0% | 63.2% | 66.9% | 2 |
| 2000s | 71.0% | 69.7% | 72.3% | 2 |
| 2010s | 75.2% | 74.5% | 75.8% | 2 |
| 2020s | 76.8% | 76.8% | 76.8% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Ghana
More reference data data for Ghana
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.2805 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.89 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.69 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1989 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 2.69 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.9405 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.9478 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 8.22 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 12.64 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.08 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in urban and rural areas in Ghana?
- Share of population living in urban and rural areas in Ghana was 76.8% in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population living in urban and rural areas recorded in Ghana?
- The highest recorded value was 76.8% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of population living in urban and rural areas recorded in Ghana?
- The lowest recorded value was 44.9% in 1950.
- How does Ghana rank for share of population living in urban and rural areas?
- Ghana ranks 96th out of 236 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population living in urban and rural areas rising or falling in Ghana?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ghana data come from?
- The figures come from European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living in urban and rural areas. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Estimated share of the population living in urban areas (the sum of cities and towns and suburbs). Urban areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.