Society · Poverty headcount ($3.00 a day) · Ghana
Ghana’s poverty headcount ($3.00 a day) was 39% of population in 2016.
39% of population
2016Derived
Down 2.8 pp from 2012.
Stale — last updated 18 Oct 2026
In plain words
39% of population
What it is. This measure counts the share of people living below a daily poverty line, set at a few dollars a day. Values are adjusted for differences in what money buys across countries, so a dollar covers a comparable basket of goods. The World Bank models it from household surveys and fills the years between surveys by interpolation or extrapolation. It is a headcount, so it records how many people fall under the line and leaves out how far below the line they sit.
Lower is better. A lower share means fewer people are living on very little, so a falling figure is good news. The latest figure is 39% of population, for 2016. That is the lowest since 1987 and matches the low of the window. The high was 80.4% of population in 1991, so the share fell a long way between those two years.
Why it matters. A poverty share of 39% of population means a large part of Ghanaian households have very little room in their budgets for food or health care. A rise in prices or a loss of work can push these households into hardship. For the state, it means a big group who may need support such as cash transfers or subsidised services.
| Period | Poverty headcount ($3.00 a day) · Ghana |
|---|---|
| 1987 | 78.2% of population |
| 1988 | 77.4% of population |
| 1991 | 80.4% of population |
| 1998 | 65.3% of population |
| 2005 | 60.9% of population |
| 2012 | 41.8% of population |
| 2016 | 39% of population |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0) · Licence: CC BY 4.0
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Strata-AF™ Data, Poverty headcount ($3.00 a day), Ghana, 2016; source World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0), retrieved 18 Oct 2026; https://data.strata-af.com/society/poverty-headcount/ghana
Data insights · Worked out from the published figures
What this means
Working this out from the published figures…
Strata AI commentary is coming — reviewed, dated, and generated only from the figures on this page.
Methodology
Share of the population living on less than $3.00 a day (2021 purchasing power parity). A World Bank modelled estimate from household surveys, interpolated or extrapolated between survey years; not an official national release.
Share of the population living on less than $3.00 a day (2021 purchasing power parity). Unit: % of population.
This is a World Bank modelled estimate. It is built from household surveys and interpolated or extrapolated between survey years. It is not an official national release, and every value carries the Derived label.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (series SI.POV.DDAY), retrieved through the World Bank API and published under CC BY 4.0. Updated annually; the World Bank's own source notes apply.