Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Portugal fits inside Ghana 2.6 times
Ghana: 238,539 km² (2024) · Portugal: 92,230 km² (2024)
How much coast is there?
Portugal’s coastline is 3.3 times as long as Ghana’s
Ghana: 539 km (2026 edition) · Portugal: 1,793 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Portugal’s highest peak towers 1,466 m above Ghana’s
Ghana: 885 m (2026 edition) · Portugal: 2,351 m (2026 edition)
How much of the land is farmed?
Farmland covers 55% of Ghana, versus 41% of Portugal
Ghana: 55.4% (2024) · Portugal: 41.3% (2024)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Ghana has 3.2 times as many people as Portugal
Ghana: 35.1 million (2025) · Portugal: 10.8 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Ghana is 31% more densely populated than Portugal
Ghana: 154 per km² (2025) · Portugal: 118 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in Portugal are 4.1 cm taller than in Ghana
Ghana: 170.3 cm (2019) · Portugal: 174.4 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in Portugal are 2.4 cm taller than in Ghana
Ghana: 158.9 cm (2019) · Portugal: 161.2 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Portugal is 25 years older than in Ghana
Ghana: 20.9 years (2023) · Portugal: 46.2 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Ghana have 1.9 more children on average than in Portugal
Ghana: 3.34 children per woman (2024) · Portugal: 1.41 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
25% of people in Portugal are 65 or older, versus 3.8% in Ghana
Ghana: 3.8% (2025) · Portugal: 24.9% (2025)
How many refugees does it host?
Portugal hosts 11 times as many refugees per resident as Ghana
Ghana: 0.6 per 1,000 (2025) · Portugal: 6.5 per 1,000 (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Portugal has produced 1.9 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Ghana 0.3
Ghana: 0.3 (2026) · Portugal: 1.9 (2026)
How many official languages?
Ghana and Portugal are practically level
Ghana: 1 (2026) · Portugal: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Portugal’s economy is 3 times the size of Ghana’s
Ghana: $114 billion (2025) · Portugal: $347 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
Portugal produces 6.2 times as much per person as Ghana
Ghana: Int$8,610 (2025) · Portugal: Int$53,146 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Ghana than in Portugal (Gini 9.6 points higher)
Ghana: 43.5 (2016) · Portugal: 33.9 (2023)
How many live on less than $3 a day?
Ghana: no data · Portugal: 0.4% (2023)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 6.2% in Portugal, versus 3.0% in Ghana
Ghana: 3% (2025) · Portugal: 6.2% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Portugal spends 1.7% of its GDP on the military, Ghana 0.5%
Ghana: 0.5% (2025) · Portugal: 1.7% (2025)
How much does the central government collect in tax?
Portugal’s central government collects 22% of GDP in tax, Ghana’s 12%
Ghana: 12.4% (2023) · Portugal: 22.3% (2024)
How expensive is it?
Portugal’s price level (US = 100) is 1.6× Ghana’s
Ghana: 38% (2025) · Portugal: 60% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Portugal spends 42 times as much on health per person as Ghana
Ghana: $70 (2023) · Portugal: $2,971 (2024)
How long do people live?
People in Portugal live 17 years longer than in Ghana
Ghana: 65.7 years (2024) · Portugal: 82.4 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Ghana is 10 times as likely to die before turning one as in Portugal
Ghana: 27.5 per 1,000 (2024) · Portugal: 2.7 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
Portugal has 22 times as many doctors per person as Ghana
Ghana: 0.3 per 1,000 (2023) · Portugal: 5.9 per 1,000 (2022)
How many hospital beds are there?
Portugal has 5 times as many hospital beds per person as Ghana
Ghana: 0.7 per 1,000 (2015) · Portugal: 3.5 per 1,000 (2022)
How common is suicide?
The suicide rate in Ghana is 2 times that in Portugal
Ghana: 17.2 per 100k (2023) · Portugal: 8.6 per 100k (2023)
How common is obesity?
23% of adults in Portugal are obese, versus 14% in Ghana
Ghana: 13.8% (2024) · Portugal: 23% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
29% of adults in Portugal smoke, versus 3.3% in Ghana
Ghana: 3.3% (2024) · Portugal: 28.6% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in Portugal rate their lives 1.47 points higher than in Ghana
Ghana: 4.55 (2025) · Portugal: 6.03 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Portugal drink 5.3 times as much alcohol as in Ghana
Ghana: 2.6 litres (2023) · Portugal: 13.7 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Portugal has 5.7 times as much meat per person as Ghana
Ghana: 17.4 kg (2023) · Portugal: 99.3 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Portugal has 428 kcal more food per person per day than Ghana
Ghana: 3,125 kcal (2023) · Portugal: 3,553 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in Portugal put in 79 more hours a year than in Ghana
Ghana: 1,656 hours (2023) · Portugal: 1,735 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in Portugal went to school 2.6 years longer than in Ghana
Ghana: 7.1 years (2023) · Portugal: 9.7 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
Portugal welcomed 98 times as many tourists per resident as Ghana (2019)
Ghana: 0.03 (2022) · Portugal: 2.71 (2024)
How many World Heritage sites?
Portugal has 15 more World Heritage sites than Ghana (17 against 2)
Ghana: 2 (2026) · Portugal: 17 (2026)
How many Olympic medals has it won?
Portugal has won 32 Olympic medals, Ghana 5
Ghana: 5 (2026 edition) · Portugal: 32 (2026 edition)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
88% of people in Portugal are online, versus 72% in Ghana
Ghana: 72% (2024) · Portugal: 88% (2024)
How fast is home internet?
Home internet in Portugal is 3.6 times as fast as in Ghana
Ghana: 92 Mbps (2026) · Portugal: 330 Mbps (2026)
Who has electricity at home?
100% of people in Portugal have electricity, versus 92% in Ghana
Ghana: 91.9% (2024) · Portugal: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
61% of people in Portugal live in cities, versus 59% in Ghana
Ghana: 59% (2025) · Portugal: 61% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Portugal has 124 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Ghana 114
Ghana: 114 (2024) · Portugal: 124 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Portugal’s railway network is 2.7 times as long as Ghana’s
Ghana: 947 km (2022) · Portugal: 2,527 km (2021)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from Portugal fly 135 times as many passengers per resident as those from Ghana
Ghana: 0.01 (2023) · Portugal: 1.69 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 37% of Portugal, but only 31% of Ghana
Ghana: 30.9% (2024) · Portugal: 36.6% (2024)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Portugal emits 5.6 times as much CO₂ as someone in Ghana
Ghana: 0.6 t (2024) · Portugal: 3.4 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
81% of Portugal’s electricity is renewable, versus 36% in Ghana
Ghana: 36.2% (2024) · Portugal: 81% (2025)
How clean is the air?
The air in Ghana carries 2.7 times as much fine dust as in Portugal
Ghana: 28.2 µg/m³ (2024) · Portugal: 10.5 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 2.5 times as likely to be murdered in Ghana as in Portugal
Ghana: 1.8 per 100k (2022) · Portugal: 0.7 per 100k (2022)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Ghana are 5 times as deadly as in Portugal
Ghana: 54.9 per 100k (2023) · Portugal: 11 per 100k (2023)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Ghana is on average 12.1 °C warmer than Portugal
Ghana: 27.9°C (2016–2025 avg) · Portugal: 15.9°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Ghana gets 44% more rain than Portugal
Ghana: 1,118 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Portugal: 777 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Between them
People, goods and passports that cross from one to the other
Quick answers
Is Ghana bigger than Portugal?
Ghana is larger. Portugal fits inside Ghana 2.6 times.
Which has more people, Ghana or Portugal?
Ghana has 3.2 times as many people as Portugal (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Ghana or Portugal?
People in Portugal live 17 years longer than in Ghana. Life expectancy at birth is 65.7 years in Ghana and 82.4 in Portugal.
Are people taller in Ghana or Portugal?
Men in Portugal are 4.1 cm taller than in Ghana (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
