Rural population growth in Ghana
Ghana: Rural population growth was 0.5% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population growth in Ghana, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
In 2025, rural population growth in Ghana stood at 0.5%. That is the lowest value across all 65 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 11.6% on the previous year and down 56.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population growth in Ghana peaked at 2.8% in 1979 and was at its lowest, 0.5%, in 2025.
That places Ghana 84th out of 209 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Rural population growth in Ghana, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 2.0% | — |
| 1962 | 1.5% | -23.5% |
| 1963 | 1.5% | -1.7% |
| 1964 | 1.5% | +0.2% |
| 1965 | 1.5% | +3.0% |
| 1966 | 1.6% | +3.1% |
| 1967 | 1.7% | +4.3% |
| 1968 | 1.8% | +5.6% |
| 1969 | 1.9% | +9.1% |
| 1970 | 2.2% | +14.5% |
| 1971 | 2.4% | +7.6% |
| 1972 | 2.5% | +4.2% |
| 1973 | 2.6% | +4.7% |
| 1974 | 2.6% | +1.9% |
| 1975 | 2.6% | +0.7% |
| 1976 | 2.6% | -0.1% |
| 1977 | 2.7% | +2.8% |
| 1978 | 2.8% | +3.2% |
| 1979 | 2.8% | +0.1% |
| 1980 | 2.6% | -5.5% |
| 1981 | 2.5% | -5.7% |
| 1982 | 2.5% | +2.1% |
| 1983 | 2.6% | +1.8% |
| 1984 | 2.1% | -19.3% |
| 1985 | 1.5% | -26.3% |
| 1986 | 1.4% | -6.0% |
| 1987 | 1.4% | -2.3% |
| 1988 | 1.4% | -0.3% |
| 1989 | 1.4% | -0.4% |
| 1990 | 1.4% | -2.6% |
| 1991 | 1.3% | -7.9% |
| 1992 | 1.2% | -7.8% |
| 1993 | 1.1% | -5.7% |
| 1994 | 1.0% | -9.2% |
| 1995 | 0.9% | -6.5% |
| 1996 | 0.9% | -3.1% |
| 1997 | 1.0% | +6.2% |
| 1998 | 1.0% | +8.8% |
| 1999 | 1.1% | +5.7% |
| 2000 | 1.2% | +12.1% |
| 2001 | 1.4% | +13.2% |
| 2002 | 1.5% | +4.6% |
| 2003 | 1.4% | -4.4% |
| 2004 | 1.3% | -4.4% |
| 2005 | 1.3% | -2.3% |
| 2006 | 1.3% | -1.7% |
| 2007 | 1.3% | -1.2% |
| 2008 | 1.2% | -2.1% |
| 2009 | 1.2% | -1.9% |
| 2010 | 1.2% | -2.8% |
| 2011 | 1.2% | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 1.2% | +2.0% |
| 2013 | 1.2% | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 1.2% | -3.0% |
| 2015 | 1.1% | -4.1% |
| 2016 | 1.1% | -1.7% |
| 2017 | 1.0% | -6.2% |
| 2018 | 0.9% | -10.3% |
| 2019 | 0.9% | -5.5% |
| 2020 | 0.9% | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 0.9% | -1.4% |
| 2022 | 0.6% | -26.9% |
| 2023 | 0.6% | -5.1% |
| 2024 | 0.5% | -9.0% |
| 2025 | 0.5% | -11.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.7% | 1.5% | 2.0% | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.6% | 2.2% | 2.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.0% | 1.4% | 2.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.1% | 0.9% | 1.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.3% | 1.2% | 1.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.1% | 0.9% | 1.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.7% | 0.5% | 0.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ghana
- 81 Antigua and Barbuda 0.5% compare
- 82 Mauritania 0.5% compare
- 83 Honduras 0.5% compare
- 85 Myanmar 0.4% compare
- 86 Micronesia (country) 0.4% compare
- 87 Ecuador 0.4% compare
More agriculture & rural data for Ghana
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 41.79 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.2128 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 692.99 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.4821 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.4108 units per person (2025)
- Agriculture share gdp 21.28 (2025)
- Value added in the agricultural sector as of gdp vs gdp per capita 21.28 (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.1% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.6% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population growth in Ghana?
- Rural population growth in Ghana was 0.5% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population growth recorded in Ghana?
- The highest recorded value was 2.8% in 1979.
- What is the lowest rural population growth recorded in Ghana?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5% in 2025.
- How does Ghana rank for rural population growth?
- Ghana ranks 84th out of 209 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population growth rising or falling in Ghana?
- Over the last ten years it is down 56.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ghana data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Annual rural population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear rural population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population.