South Africa’s coastline is 5.2 times as long as Ghana’s

Ghana: 539 km (2026 edition) · South Africa: 2,798 km (2026 edition)

South Africa’s highest peak towers 2,565 m above Ghana’s

Ghana: 885 m (2026 edition) · South Africa: 3,450 m (2026 edition)

Farmland covers 79% of South Africa, versus 55% of Ghana

Ghana: 55.4% (2024) · South Africa: 79.4% (2024)

South Africa has 85% more people than Ghana

Ghana: 35.1 million (2025) · South Africa: 64.7 million (2025)

Ghana is 2.9 times as densely populated as South Africa

Ghana: 154 per km² (2025) · South Africa: 53 per km² (2025)

The typical person in South Africa is 7.3 years older than in Ghana

Ghana: 20.9 years (2023) · South Africa: 28.2 years (2023)

Women in Ghana have 1.1 more children on average than in South Africa

Ghana: 3.34 children per woman (2024) · South Africa: 2.21 children per woman (2024)

6.9% of people in South Africa are 65 or older, versus 3.8% in Ghana

Ghana: 3.8% (2025) · South Africa: 6.9% (2025)

South Africa hosts 42% more refugees per resident than Ghana

Ghana: 0.6 per 1,000 (2025) · South Africa: 0.9 per 1,000 (2025)

South Africa has produced 1.5 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Ghana 0.3

Ghana: 0.3 (2026) · South Africa: 1.5 (2026)

South Africa has 11 official languages, Ghana 1

Ghana: 1 (2026) · South Africa: 11 (2026)

South Africa’s economy is 3.7 times the size of Ghana’s

Ghana: $114 billion (2025) · South Africa: $427 billion (2025)

South Africa produces 85% more per person than Ghana

Ghana: Int$8,610 (2025) · South Africa: Int$15,906 (2025)

Income is more unequally shared in South Africa than in Ghana (Gini 10.6 points higher)

Ghana: 43.5 (2016) · South Africa: 54.1 (2022)

Ghana: no data · South Africa: 17.4% (2022)

Unemployment is 32% in South Africa, versus 3.0% in Ghana

Ghana: 3% (2025) · South Africa: 32.4% (2025)

South Africa and Ghana are practically level

Ghana: 0.5% (2025) · South Africa: 0.7% (2025)

South Africa’s central government collects 26% of GDP in tax, Ghana’s 12%

Ghana: 12.4% (2023) · South Africa: 25.9% (2024)

South Africa’s price level (US = 100) is 1.1× Ghana’s

Ghana: 38% (2025) · South Africa: 41% (2025)

South Africa spends 7.6 times as much on health per person as Ghana

Ghana: $70 (2023) · South Africa: $537 (2023)

A baby in Ghana is 14% more likely to die before turning one than in South Africa

Ghana: 27.5 per 1,000 (2024) · South Africa: 24.2 per 1,000 (2024)

South Africa has 3 times as many doctors per person as Ghana

Ghana: 0.3 per 1,000 (2023) · South Africa: 0.8 per 1,000 (2022)

Ghana: 0.7 per 1,000 (2015) · South Africa: no data

The suicide rate in Ghana is 6% higher than in South Africa

Ghana: 17.2 per 100k (2023) · South Africa: 16.2 per 100k (2023)

31% of adults in South Africa are obese, versus 14% in Ghana

Ghana: 13.8% (2024) · South Africa: 31.3% (2024)

24% of adults in South Africa smoke, versus 3.3% in Ghana

Ghana: 3.3% (2024) · South Africa: 23.7% (2024)

People in South Africa rate their lives 0.46 points higher than in Ghana

Ghana: 4.55 (2025) · South Africa: 5.01 (2025)

Adults in South Africa drink 3.3 times as much alcohol as in Ghana

Ghana: 2.6 litres (2023) · South Africa: 8.6 litres (2023)

South Africa has 3.4 times as much meat per person as Ghana

Ghana: 17.4 kg (2023) · South Africa: 58.3 kg (2023)

Ghana has 431 kcal more food per person per day than South Africa

Ghana: 3,125 kcal (2023) · South Africa: 2,694 kcal (2023)

Workers in South Africa put in 526 more hours a year than in Ghana

Ghana: 1,656 hours (2023) · South Africa: 2,181 hours (2023)

Adults in South Africa went to school 4.5 years longer than in Ghana

Ghana: 7.1 years (2023) · South Africa: 11.6 years (2023)

South Africa welcomed 5 times as many tourists per resident as Ghana (2019)

Ghana: 0.03 (2022) · South Africa: 0.14 (2024)

South Africa has 10 more World Heritage sites than Ghana (12 against 2)

Ghana: 2 (2026) · South Africa: 12 (2026)

South Africa has won 95 Olympic medals, Ghana 5

Ghana: 5 (2026 edition) · South Africa: 95 (2026 edition)

78% of people in South Africa are online, versus 72% in Ghana

Ghana: 72% (2024) · South Africa: 78% (2024)

Home internet in Ghana is 17% faster than in South Africa

Ghana: 92 Mbps (2026) · South Africa: 78 Mbps (2026)

92% of people in Ghana have electricity, versus 90% in South Africa

Ghana: 91.9% (2024) · South Africa: 90.2% (2024)

64% of people in South Africa live in cities, versus 59% in Ghana

Ghana: 59% (2025) · South Africa: 64% (2025)

South Africa has 179 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Ghana 114

Ghana: 114 (2024) · South Africa: 179 (2024)

South Africa’s railway network is 22 times as long as Ghana’s

Ghana: 947 km (2022) · South Africa: 20,953 km (2021)

Airlines from South Africa fly 19 times as many passengers per resident as those from Ghana

Ghana: 0.01 (2023) · South Africa: 0.24 (2023)

Forest covers 31% of Ghana, but only 19% of South Africa

Ghana: 30.9% (2024) · South Africa: 18.8% (2024)

The average person in South Africa emits 11 times as much CO₂ as someone in Ghana

Ghana: 0.6 t (2024) · South Africa: 6.9 t (2024)

36% of Ghana’s electricity is renewable, versus 14% in South Africa

Ghana: 36.2% (2024) · South Africa: 13.6% (2025)

The air in Ghana carries 16% more fine dust than in South Africa

Ghana: 28.2 µg/m³ (2024) · South Africa: 24.4 µg/m³ (2024)

You are 24 times as likely to be murdered in South Africa as in Ghana

Ghana: 1.8 per 100k (2022) · South Africa: 43.7 per 100k (2022)

Roads in Ghana are 66% deadlier than in South Africa

Ghana: 54.9 per 100k (2023) · South Africa: 33.1 per 100k (2023)

Ghana is on average 9.5 °C warmer than South Africa

Ghana: 27.9°C (2016–2025 avg) · South Africa: 18.4°C (2016–2025 avg)

Ghana gets 2.2 times as much rain as South Africa

Ghana: 1,118 mm (2016–2025 avg) · South Africa: 511 mm (2016–2025 avg)