ATI

COUNTRY PROFILE

Ghana

Ghana is a lower-middle-income country in West Africa. Between 2000 and 2020, the country experienced rapid GDP growth, reaching an all-time high of 14.1 percent in 2011. However, Ghana remains a low economic transformer with an overall ATI score of 19.1. Its DEPTH progress has been weak and unstable since peaking with an overall ATI score at 20.6 in 2014.
CAPITAL CITY

Accra

POPULATION (2022)

33.5 million

POPULATION GROWTH (2022)

1.9 %

GDP GROWTH (2022)

3.2 %

GDP PER CAPITA (2022)

US $2,176

Ghana’s Performance on the African Transformation Index

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The overall African Transformation Index score measures the five dimensions of DEPTH.

Overall score

19.1 /100

Score change
-0.7

since 2000

At a glance
  • Ghana is a low economic transformer with an overall ATI score of 19.1.
  • DEPTH progress has been weak and unstable since peaking in 2014 with an overall ATI score of 20.6.
  • Ghana scores below the African average in every DEPTH dimension, with particularly poor scores in Productivity increases and Export competitiveness and a rapid decline in Diversification.
Score
/100
Change since 2000
Diversification
26.8
-17.0
Export competitiveness
3.8
-8.4
Productivity increases
14.4
0.1
Technology upgrading
18.6
+13.1
Human well-being
32
+8.8

Diversification of production and exports measures countries’ capability to produce and export a widening array of goods and services.

Score

26.8 /100

Score change
-17.0

since 2000

At a glance
  • Ghana has become significantly less diversified since 2000, even as the economy shifted from farming to services.
  • Ghana has leapfrogged industrial development with the share of manufacturing declining by more than half between 2000 and 2020.
  • Exports have become increasingly concentrated, with the share of the top five products (crude oil, cocoa, gold, wood products, and fruit and nuts) rising from 70 percent in 2000 to 89 percent in 2020.

Export competitiveness is measured as the ratio of a country’s share in the world’s exports of non-extractive goods and services to its share in world non-extractive GDP.

Score

3.8 /100

Score change
-8.4

since 2000

At a glance
  • Ghana scores very low on Export competitiveness, a reflection of its limited integration into global and regional value chains.
  • Ghana is constrained by low product diversification and a lack of export sophistication. Almost all of Ghana’s current export basket—94 percent—has low technology content, which has not changed significantly over the last 30 years.

Productivity increases measure the value added per unit of labor in agriculture, manufacturing, and services.

Score

14.4 /100

Score change
0.1

since 2000

At a glance
  • Ghana’s productivity is significantly below the African average.
  • Labor productivity has remained flat since 2000. Manufacturing labor productivity dropped by almost 50 percent between 2012 and 2020, and services productivity has remained relatively flat.
  • Agricultural productivity started increasing steadily after 2010.

Technology upgrading measures the medium-and high-technology content in total production activities and total commodity exports.

Score

18.6 /100

Score change
+13.1

since 2000

At a glance
  • Ghana scores significantly below the African average on Technology upgrading, but it has begun to catch up to its peers.
  • The generally poor technology content of production and mechanized exports partly reflects the inability of the small manufacturing sector to access highly skilled workers capable of applying more complex production technologies.
  • Progress has also been limited by energy supply challenges and a lack of investment in research and development.

Human well-being measures economic and social outcomes and enablers in terms of incomes, income inequality, formal employment, and female participation in formal labor markets.

Score

32 /100

Score change
+8.8

since 2000

At a glance
  • Ghana performs best on Human well-being but remains below the African average.
  • Robust growth and significant improvement in per capita incomes—from $935 in 2000 to $1815 in 2020—contributed to a substantial reduction in poverty, but income inequality remains relatively high.
  • While there has been progress in formal sector employment, the vast majority of workers, especially female workers, remain in the informal sector.

Discover more from the ATI

ATI Scorecard

Explore the data behind the economic transformation progress of 30 African countries between 2000-2020.

Growth with DEPTH

Explore the ATI in DEPTH and see how African countries performed on each dimension between 2000-2020.

Methodology

Learn more about our methodology, sources, and how we calculate the index.

Country Profiles

To explore the results of the index in greater detail and provide context and analysis, the ATI report includes 11 case studies.

Downloads

Our Research & Analysis on Ghana
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