Life expectancy in Ghana
Ghana: Life expectancy was 65.5 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Life expectancy in Ghana, 1921–2023
Source: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for life expectancy in Ghana is 65.5 years, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 75 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and up 5.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy in Ghana peaked at 65.5 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 28 years, in 1921.
Ghana ranks 207th of 236 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 75 years of available data.
Life expectancy in Ghana, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1921 | 28 years | — |
| 1950 | 43.07 years | +53.8% |
| 1951 | 43.59 years | +1.2% |
| 1952 | 44.04 years | +1.0% |
| 1953 | 44.51 years | +1.1% |
| 1954 | 44.99 years | +1.1% |
| 1955 | 45.37 years | +0.9% |
| 1956 | 45.75 years | +0.8% |
| 1957 | 46.13 years | +0.8% |
| 1958 | 46.4 years | +0.6% |
| 1959 | 46.71 years | +0.7% |
| 1960 | 46.94 years | +0.5% |
| 1961 | 47.13 years | +0.4% |
| 1962 | 47.34 years | +0.4% |
| 1963 | 47.48 years | +0.3% |
| 1964 | 47.64 years | +0.3% |
| 1965 | 47.69 years | +0.1% |
| 1966 | 47.71 years | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 47.73 years | +0.1% |
| 1968 | 47.76 years | +0.1% |
| 1969 | 47.9 years | +0.3% |
| 1970 | 47.89 years | -0.0% |
| 1971 | 47.95 years | +0.1% |
| 1972 | 48.27 years | +0.7% |
| 1973 | 48.58 years | +0.6% |
| 1974 | 48.92 years | +0.7% |
| 1975 | 49.32 years | +0.8% |
| 1976 | 49.73 years | +0.8% |
| 1977 | 50.08 years | +0.7% |
| 1978 | 50.46 years | +0.8% |
| 1979 | 50.79 years | +0.6% |
| 1980 | 51.06 years | +0.5% |
| 1981 | 51.31 years | +0.5% |
| 1982 | 51.42 years | +0.2% |
| 1983 | 51.78 years | +0.7% |
| 1984 | 52.23 years | +0.9% |
| 1985 | 52.73 years | +1.0% |
| 1986 | 53.28 years | +1.0% |
| 1987 | 53.82 years | +1.0% |
| 1988 | 54.4 years | +1.1% |
| 1989 | 54.94 years | +1.0% |
| 1990 | 55.39 years | +0.8% |
| 1991 | 55.72 years | +0.6% |
| 1992 | 56.06 years | +0.6% |
| 1993 | 56.29 years | +0.4% |
| 1994 | 56.23 years | -0.1% |
| 1995 | 56.66 years | +0.8% |
| 1996 | 56.96 years | +0.5% |
| 1997 | 57.24 years | +0.5% |
| 1998 | 57.52 years | +0.5% |
| 1999 | 57.84 years | +0.5% |
| 2000 | 58.14 years | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 58.4 years | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 58.71 years | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 59.01 years | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 59.32 years | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 59.64 years | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 59.98 years | +0.6% |
| 2007 | 60.28 years | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 60.58 years | +0.5% |
| 2009 | 60.93 years | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 61.3 years | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 61.62 years | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 62 years | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 62.4 years | +0.6% |
| 2014 | 62.83 years | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 63.17 years | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 63.52 years | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 63.83 years | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 64.14 years | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 64.46 years | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 64.31 years | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 64.29 years | -0.0% |
| 2022 | 65.25 years | +1.5% |
| 2023 | 65.5 years | +0.4% |
Ghana compared with similar countries
- Ghana's 65.5 years is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 67.65 years, 97% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Ghana's 65.5 years is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 64.1 years, 1.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Life expectancy 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.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | +53.8% | 28 years | 43.07 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 28 years | 28 years | 28 years | 1 |
| 1950s | 45.06 years | 43.07 years | 46.71 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 47.53 years | 46.94 years | 47.9 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 49.2 years | 47.89 years | 50.79 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 52.7 years | 51.06 years | 54.94 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 56.59 years | 55.39 years | 57.84 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 59.5 years | 58.14 years | 60.93 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 62.93 years | 61.3 years | 64.46 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 64.83 years | 64.29 years | 65.5 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Ghana
More health data for Ghana
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.37 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.6224 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 986.1 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 8,361 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 2 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 0.5623 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.06 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.5816 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy in Ghana?
- Life expectancy in Ghana was 65.5 years in 2023, according to Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest life expectancy recorded in Ghana?
- The highest recorded value was 65.5 years in 2023.
- What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Ghana?
- The lowest recorded value was 28 years in 1921.
- How does Ghana rank for life expectancy?
- Ghana ranks 207th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is life expectancy rising or falling in Ghana?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ghana data come from?
- The figures come from Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Period life expectancy is the number of years the average person born in a certain year would live if they experienced the same chances of dying at each age as people did that year.