State Capacity Index in Ghana

Ghana: State Capacity Index was 0.255 in 2015. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2015)
0.255
Change on year
up 109.2%
World rank
103rd
of 166 countries
All-time high
0.255
in 2015
All-time low
-0.9239
in 1979
Years of data
56
1960–2015

State Capacity Index in Ghana, 1960–2015

-1-0.75-0.5-0.2500.25196019872015

Source: Jonathan Hanson and Rachel Sigman (2021); Population based on various sources (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.

Analysis

In 2015, state capacity index in Ghana stood at 0.255. That is the highest value across all 56 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 109.2% on the previous year and up 386.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, state capacity index in Ghana peaked at 0.255 in 2015 and was at its lowest, -0.9239, in 1979.

Ghana ranks 103rd of 166 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

State Capacity Index in Ghana, year by year

Annual values for State Capacity Index in Ghana, 1960 to 2015.
Year Value Change
1960 -0.2524
1961 -0.2057 -18.5%
1962 -0.203 -1.3%
1963 -0.2919 +43.8%
1964 -0.2834 -2.9%
1965 -0.2683 -5.3%
1966 -0.275 +2.5%
1967 -0.3947 +43.5%
1968 -0.4304 +9.0%
1969 -0.3131 -27.3%
1970 -0.3693 +17.9%
1971 -0.3905 +5.7%
1972 -0.6943 +77.8%
1973 -0.6764 -2.6%
1974 -0.7005 +3.6%
1975 -0.7832 +11.8%
1976 -0.6158 -21.4%
1977 -0.6895 +12.0%
1978 -0.7466 +8.3%
1979 -0.9239 +23.7%
1980 -0.6835 -26.0%
1981 -0.6453 -5.6%
1982 -0.4535 -29.7%
1983 -0.9061 +99.8%
1984 -0.9184 +1.4%
1985 -0.8462 -7.9%
1986 -0.8004 -5.4%
1987 -0.806 +0.7%
1988 -0.7071 -12.3%
1989 -0.5361 -24.2%
1990 -0.4736 -11.7%
1991 -0.4068 -14.1%
1992 -0.4496 +10.5%
1993 -0.3064 -31.9%
1994 -0.2593 -15.4%
1995 -0.23 -11.3%
1996 -0.2116 -8.0%
1997 -0.2199 +3.9%
1998 -0.2319 +5.5%
1999 -0.2154 -7.1%
2000 -0.3375 +56.7%
2001 -0.4849 +43.7%
2002 -0.4032 -16.8%
2003 -0.2754 -31.7%
2004 -0.3677 +33.5%
2005 -0.0891 -75.8%
2006 0.0508 -157.0%
2007 0.073 +43.7%
2008 0.0897 +22.8%
2009 0.0896 -0.0%
2010 0.1441 +60.8%
2011 0.153 +6.2%
2012 0.2217 +44.9%
2013 0.149 -32.8%
2014 0.1219 -18.2%
2015 0.255 +109.2%

Ghana compared with similar countries

  • Ghana's 0.255 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.0123, 20.8× the median. (43 countries reporting)
  • Ghana's 0.255 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is -0.0931. (46 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where State Capacity Index in Ghana changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
2006 +157.0% -0.0891 0.0508

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s -0.2918 -0.4304 -0.203 10
1970s -0.659 -0.9239 -0.3693 10
1980s -0.7303 -0.9184 -0.4535 10
1990s -0.3004 -0.4736 -0.2116 10
2000s -0.1655 -0.4849 0.0897 10
2010s 0.1741 0.1219 0.255 6

Countries ranked near Ghana

  1. 100 Senegal 0.2706 compare
  2. 101 Laos 0.2661 compare
  3. 102 Egypt 0.2569 compare
  4. 104 Kyrgyzstan 0.2239 compare
  5. 105 Guyana 0.2083 compare
  6. 106 Malawi 0.2015 compare

See the full ranking of 166 places →

More reference data data for Ghana

All data for Ghana →

Frequently asked questions

What is state capacity index in Ghana?
State capacity index in Ghana was 0.255 in 2015, according to Jonathan Hanson and Rachel Sigman (2021); Population based on various sources (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest state capacity index recorded in Ghana?
The highest recorded value was 0.255 in 2015.
What is the lowest state capacity index recorded in Ghana?
The lowest recorded value was -0.9239 in 1979.
How does Ghana rank for state capacity index?
Ghana ranks 103rd out of 166 countries with data for 2015.
Is state capacity index rising or falling in Ghana?
Over the last ten years it is up 386.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Ghana data come from?
The figures come from Jonathan Hanson and Rachel Sigman (2021); Population based on various sources (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of State Capacity Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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State Capacity Index in Ghana. Statizoid, drawing on Jonathan Hanson and Rachel Sigman (2021); Population based on various sources (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/state-capacity-index/ghana/

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About this data

Indicator
State Capacity Index
Source
Jonathan Hanson and Rachel Sigman (2021); Population based on various sources (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
166 places, 8,015 data points, 1960–2015
Last refreshed

Measures state capacity by combining 21 different indicators related to three key dimensions: extractive capacity, coercive capacity, and administrative capacity. Higher values indicate greater state capacity.