Employee compensation as share of government spending in Ghana
Ghana: Employee compensation as share of government spending was 28.3% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Employee compensation as share of government spending in Ghana, 2001–2022
Source: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of expense.
Analysis
Ghana recorded 28.3% for employee compensation as share of government spending in 2022. That is the lowest value across all 22 years on record.
The figure is down 14.4% on the previous year and down 20.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employee compensation as share of government spending in Ghana peaked at 46.0% in 2002 and was at its lowest, 28.3%, in 2022.
Ghana ranks 66th of 155 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 22 years of available data.
Employee compensation as share of government spending in Ghana, year by year
| Year | % of expense | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 35.8% | — |
| 2002 | 46.0% | +28.4% |
| 2003 | 41.7% | -9.3% |
| 2004 | 39.7% | -4.8% |
| 2005 | 40.1% | +1.1% |
| 2006 | 42.3% | +5.3% |
| 2007 | 37.5% | -11.2% |
| 2008 | 34.6% | -7.7% |
| 2009 | 39.9% | +15.3% |
| 2010 | 35.7% | -10.6% |
| 2011 | 38.4% | +7.5% |
| 2012 | 35.4% | -7.7% |
| 2013 | 39.5% | +11.4% |
| 2014 | 36.2% | -8.3% |
| 2015 | 38.0% | +4.9% |
| 2016 | 35.3% | -7.2% |
| 2017 | 36.8% | +4.3% |
| 2018 | 36.1% | -1.8% |
| 2019 | 35.6% | -1.4% |
| 2020 | 33.0% | -7.4% |
| 2021 | 33.0% | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 28.3% | -14.4% |
Ghana compared with similar countries
- Ghana's 28.3% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 31.8%, 89% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
- Ghana's 28.3% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 36.9%, 77% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 39.7% | 34.6% | 46.0% | 9 |
| 2010s | 36.7% | 35.3% | 39.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 31.4% | 28.3% | 33.0% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Ghana
More work & labour data for Ghana
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual 0.1512 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth 0.1464 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth 0.1562 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -0.2734 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 1.99 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 37,518 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 13,752 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 34,429 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 33,119 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 67,548 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employee compensation as share of government spending in Ghana?
- Employee compensation as share of government spending in Ghana was 28.3% in 2022, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest employee compensation as share of government spending recorded in Ghana?
- The highest recorded value was 46.0% in 2002.
- What is the lowest employee compensation as share of government spending recorded in Ghana?
- The lowest recorded value was 28.3% in 2022.
- How does Ghana rank for employee compensation as share of government spending?
- Ghana ranks 66th out of 155 countries with data for 2022.
- Is employee compensation as share of government spending rising or falling in Ghana?
- Over the last ten years it is down 20.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ghana data come from?
- The figures come from International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Employee compensation as share of government spending. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Employee compensation includes wages, in-kind payments, and government contributions to social insurance schemes such as social security and pensions.