Demand
Who is here, and how many
The sixteen regions, ranked
Population (2021 census). UNFPA / Ghana Statistical Service (COD-PS, 2021 Population and Housing Census), 2021. Click a region to open it, or rank every district on this.
Who is here
| Indicator | Value | Sub-Saharan Africa | World | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (World Bank estimate)iWorld Bank estimate on the UN World Population Prospects basis; the headline above. | 35,064,272 | 1,321,654,217 | 8,215,424,893 | |
| Population (2021 census)iThe count of record; the denominator for every region and district figure. | 30,832,019 | – | – | |
| Population (2020 estimate)modellediModelled surface; sums higher than the census, use for distribution. | 33,014,526 | – | – | |
| People per km² (2021 census) | 128 | – | – | |
| Population growth 2010–2021regionaliBetween the 2010 and 2021 censuses. | 2.0% a year | – | – | |
| Population growth (national) | 1.8% a year | 2.4% a year | 0.9% a year | |
| Urban population (national) | 59% | 45% | 58% | |
| Dependency ratio (dependants per 100 aged 15-64) | 66 | – | – | |
| Sex ratio (males per 100 females) | 97 | – | – | |
| Named localitiesproxyiGazetteer coverage, not a settlement count. | 15,915 | – | – |
Three population figures, and why they differ
The World Bank's estimate is the headline and the most current. The 2021 census count (30.8m) is the number of record and the denominator for every region and district on this site. WorldPop 2020 is a modelled surface that sums to 33.0m; it is shown for how people are spread, never as a count. Age shares are summed from the modelled five-year bands of the census. The comparator columns are the World Bank's Sub-Saharan Africa and World aggregates, where the indicator has them.
Population since independence
Total population by year, 1960–2025. World Bank WDI (CC BY 4.0).
Urbanisation since independence
- Ghana 59%
- Sub-Saharan Africa 45%
- World 58%
Urban population, % of total, 1960–2025, Ghana against Sub-Saharan Africa and the World. World Bank WDI (CC BY 4.0).
The ten most populous districts
2021 census counts, on the published district boundaries. Kumasi and Accra are split into several metropolitan and municipal assemblies, so Accra's population is spread across several rows; Kumasi Metropolitan still has the most people of any assembly.
The economy that pays the rent
What the place trades on
GDP per capita (national)
$3,257
Sub-Saharan Africa $1,673World $14,406
Remittances received
$2.4bn
current US dollars, 2025
GDP per capita
- Ghana $3,257
- Sub-Saharan Africa $1,673
- World $14k
Current US dollars, 1990–2025, Ghana against Sub-Saharan Africa and the World. World Bank WDI (CC BY 4.0). A national envelope: never a local income measure.
What the districts say they trade on
Districts naming each sector as a leading sector in their own medium-term development plan, of 172 plans that name any. Plan-stated, not measured.
What is not measured here
Establishment counts, anchor employers and poverty incidence are not published for any district. See “What we do not know yet” below.
Cost to build, cost to occupy
What building and housing cost
Construction PPI (national)
226
2020 = 100, Apr 2026
Construction PPI, year on year
0.9%
Housing CPI (national)
329
2021 = 100, Jan 2026
Housing CPI, year on year
9.3%
Cost to build
Producer price index, construction industry, base 2020 = 100, monthly from March 2020, when the series begins, to Apr 2026. Ghana Statistical Service, StatsBank. National.
Cost to occupy
Consumer price index, housing and utilities basket, 2021 = 100, monthly 2015–Jan 2026. Ghana Statistical Service, StatsBank. National.
Consumer price inflation, Ghana against Sub-Saharan Africa and the World
| Indicator | Value | Sub-Saharan Africa | World | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer price inflation (national, annual) | 14% | 3.4% | 3% |
- Ghana 14%
- Sub-Saharan Africa 3.4%
- World 3%
Annual consumer-price inflation, all items, 2000–2025. World Bank WDI (CC BY 4.0), from national statistics offices. The housing-basket rate above is the GSS's own, one basket, latest month on the same month a year earlier.
Housing inflation by region
Housing and utilities CPI, year on year, Jan 2026, by region. Regional figures; a district inside a region carries its region's rate. Ghana Statistical Service.
No rent, land price or build-cost series exists below the national level. It is listed under “What we do not know yet” below, and it is what CAD collects on site.
Getting there, getting served
Transport, power, water and connectivity
Access to electricity
92%
Sub-Saharan Africa 55%World 92%
Internet users
72%
Sub-Saharan Africa 34%World 71%
Basic drinking water
90%
Sub-Saharan Africa 68%World 92%
Logistics Performance Index
2.5
Sub-Saharan Africa 2.5World 3
Power, water, connectivity and transport
| Indicator | Value | Sub-Saharan Africa | World | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Access to electricity | 92% | 55% | 92% | |
| Access to electricity, rural | 83% | 36% | 85% | |
| Basic drinking water | 90% | 68% | 92% | |
| Basic sanitation | 32% | 37% | 82% | |
| Internet users | 72% | 34% | 71% | |
| Mobile subscriptions (per 100 people) | 114 | 89 | 110 | |
| Fixed broadband (per 100 people) | 0.7 | 0.8 | 19 | |
| Air passengers carried | 440,680 | 56,956,843 | 4,268,984,474 | |
| Logistics Performance Index (score, 1 to 5) | 2.5 | 2.5 | 3 |
World Bank WDI, latest year available per indicator (2022, 2023, 2024). "Africa" is the World Bank's Sub-Saharan Africa aggregate; WDI publishes no all-Africa figure. Every row is national.
Access to electricity since 2000
- Ghana 92%
- Sub-Saharan Africa 55%
- World 92%
Share of population with access to electricity, 2000–2024. World Bank WDI (CC BY 4.0).
Internet users since 2000
- Ghana 72%
- Sub-Saharan Africa 34%
- World 71%
Individuals using the internet, share of population, 2000–2024. ITU via World Bank WDI.
Mobile subscriptions since 2000
- Ghana 114
- Sub-Saharan Africa 89
- World 110
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 people, 2000–2024. ITU via World Bank WDI.
Basic drinking water since 2000
- Ghana 90%
- Sub-Saharan Africa 68%
- World 92%
Population using at least a basic drinking-water service, 2000–2024. WHO/UNICEF JMP via World Bank WDI.
Land, planning and what is permitted
What the statutory plan says
Coverage of the statutory plans
| Indicator | Value | Sub-Saharan Africa | World | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plans catalogued | 764 | – | – | |
| Districts with a plan heldregional | 182 of 261 | – | – | |
| Districts with a current planregional | 108 of 261 | – | – | |
| Districts with extracted plan contentregional | 168 of 261 | – | – | |
| Districts with a descriptionregional | 181 of 261 | – | – |
About the plans
Every assembly must adopt a medium-term development plan under Act 936; the 2026–2029 cycle is current. CAD reads them for the vision, the priorities, the committed projects and the economic base, page by page. Nobody else has assembled this.
Spatial plans in force
- Petroleum Hub structure and local planlocal · Western · 2021 · local plan; structure plan; study
- Northern Savannah Ecological Zone SDFmulti-region · Northern; North East; Savannah; Upper East; Upper West; part of Bono East and Oti · unconfirmed · spatial development framework; SDF (executive summary)
- Ghana National Spatial Development Framework (NSDF)national · all 16 · 2015-2035 · spatial development framework; SDF (executive summary)
- Ashanti Regional Spatial Development Framework (ARSDF)region · Ashanti · unconfirmed · spatial development framework
- Greater Accra Regional Spatial Development Framework (GARSDF)region · Greater Accra · unconfirmed · spatial development framework
- Western Regional Spatial Development Framework (WRSDF)region · Western · unconfirmed · spatial development framework
- Greater Kumasi Sub-Region SDF and Conurbation Structure Plansub-region · Ashanti · 2013 (JICA study) · spatial development framework; structure plan; study
Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority, catalogued by CAD. Metadata only.
What a market study includes
Scope
- Demand: who is in the catchment, from the 2021 census down to the localities around the site, with household formation for residential and the retail catchment for commercial.
- The economy that pays the rent: the sectors, the establishments and the anchor employers around the site, from field survey and the assembly’s own records.
- Cost to build and to occupy: dated, graded asking rents and land prices for the corridor, reconciled with the prime-market reports; build-cost benchmarks.
- Land, planning and what is permitted: the statutory plan and the spatial framework read for the parcel, the stool or skin that holds the land, and the permit route through the assembly.
- An underwritten view: absorption, rent and yield assumptions carried into a cash-flow model, with every input sourced and tiered.
Deliverables
- A written site analysis with every figure sourced, dated and tiered, the same standard as this site.
- The catchment map and the plan overlay as files you can reuse.
- The underwriting model, with the assumptions sheet.
- One working session to walk through the findings.
Who you have to deal with
The assembly, the region, the stool
How local government is built
| Indicator | Value | Sub-Saharan Africa | World | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assemblies by typeregional | 6 metropolitan · 107 municipal · 148 district | – | – |
Sixteen Regional Coordinating Councils sit above 261 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (260 with a published boundary). The assembly grants the building permit, adopts the plan and sets the fees; the region coordinates and escalates; Parliament legislates. Land runs on a second hierarchy: the paramount stools and skins and their traditional councils, which hold the large majority of Ghana's land.
- Metropolitan/Municipal/District Chief Executive appointedLocal Governance Act 2016 (Act 936)
- Coordinating Director appointedLocal Governance Act 2016 (Act 936)
- Presiding Member electedLocal Governance Act 2016 (Act 936)
- Regional Minister appointedConstitution 1992 art. 256; Local Governance Act 2016 (Act 936)
Titles only. Who holds each office is not published on this site.
Parliamentary constituencies are not shown. The Electoral Commission's register carries no reuse licence, so CAD does not reproduce it. The assembly and the traditional council are shown because their sources allow it.
What we do not know yet
And what we can measure for you
What the district pages do not yet show, and why. Some of it the Ghana Statistical Service publishes and this site has not yet taken in; some of it CAD derives; some of it nobody in Ghana publishes at all.
Not yet on this site
Published by the Ghana Statistical Service for every district (the 2021 census tables, the business establishment survey, the poverty map) and not yet on this site.
Labour and employment 3 indicators
informal employment · labour-force participation · unemployment rate
Poverty and business counts 3 indicators
business establishments by sector · business establishments · poverty incidence
Housing stock and tenure 1 indicators
housing stock
Derived by CAD for a catchment
Derived by CAD from open geodata for a catchment; no agency publishes it per district.
Infrastructure and activity proxies
night-time lights (activity proxy) · points of interest per km² (activity proxy)
Housing stock and tenure
building footprints
Not published anywhere, measured by CAD on site
Not published anywhere in Ghana. CAD measures it on site.
Poverty and business counts
anchor employers · largest companies
How we close it. We map the establishments and anchor employers around a site from field survey and the assembly's own records, and read poverty from the census small-area estimates.
Land and rent evidence
land prices · prime office rents · residential asking rents
How we close it. We collect asking rents and land prices for the corridor, dated and graded, and reconcile them with the prime-market reports. No transaction register exists in Ghana; every figure says what it is.
The public data on this page is free; detailed industry scores come with CAD Complete. The analysis is the service: a demand study, a catchment, rent and land evidence collected for your site, the plan and the stool read for what they permit, and an underwritten view of whether it works.
Commission a market study