Benin vs Ghana
Benin vs Ghana: Government debt
Government debt in 2025: 59.3% of GDP in Benin and 48.8% of GDP in Ghana, by IMF estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in Benin, by 10.5 percentage points, or 1.21 times that in Ghana.
% of GDP · IMF
What the numbers say
- Benin has been higher since 2025, when it overtook Ghana.
- In 2025, Benin ranked 58 and Ghana ranked 84 of 149 countries, counting from the highest.
- The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts Benin at 50.3% of GDP and Ghana at 47.3% of GDP in 2031.
Every year
% of GDP · IMF
| Year | Benin | Ghana |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 59.3 | 48.8 |
| 2024 | 60.5 | 70.1 |
| 2023 | 61.3 | 79.1 |
| 2022 | 59.7 | 92.7 |
| 2021 | 55.6 | 86.9 |
| 2020 | 46.1 | 79.1 |
| 2019 | 40.4 | 62.9 |
| 2018 | 40.8 | 62 |
| 2017 | 39.4 | 57 |
| 2016 | 35.9 | 55.9 |
| 2015 | 30.9 | 53.9 |
| 2014 | 22.3 | 50.1 |
| 2013 | 18.5 | 42.9 |
| 2012 | 19.5 | 35.5 |
| 2011 | 21.9 | 31.2 |
| 2010 | 21 | 32.9 |
| 2009 | 18.8 | 25.4 |
| 2008 | 18.3 | 23.2 |
| 2007 | 14.3 | 21.1 |
| 2006 | 8.4 | 17.3 |
| 2005 | 27 | 31.7 |
| 2004 | 21.5 | 38.4 |
| 2003 | 23.4 | 49.3 |
| 2002 | 30.8 | 54.1 |
| 2001 | 38 | 57.8 |
| 2000 | 39.6 | 74.5 |
| 1999 | 39.4 | 51.7 |
| 1998 | 53.6 | 37.6 |
| 1997 | – | 45.2 |
| 1996 | – | 42.9 |
| 1995 | – | 47.6 |
| 1994 | – | 50.6 |
| 1993 | – | 34.1 |
| 1992 | – | 21.3 |
| 1991 | – | 17.3 |
| 1990 | – | 17.8 |
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031
| Year | Benin | Ghana |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 58.1 | 51.7 |
| 2027 | 56.5 | 50.8 |
| 2028 | 54.7 | 49.7 |
| 2029 | 53.1 | 49 |
| 2030 | 51.7 | 48.2 |
| 2031 | 50.3 | 47.3 |
Each country on its own
Good to know
- What the government owes, as a share of the economy’s yearly output.
- Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook, October 2026.
- The dashed line is the IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026), a scenario rather than a forecast.
- Ranks count the 149 countries with a value in 2025, highest first.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time
Benin vs Ghana
Health
- Life expectancyBenin: 60.8 years in 2023Ghana: 65.5 years in 2023
- Child mortalityBenin: 7.5 per 100 live births in 2024Ghana: 3.6 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityBenin: 52.3 per 1,000 live births in 2023Ghana: 30.7 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionBenin: 3.63% in 2017Ghana: 3.4% in 2017
- Suicide rateBenin: 11.1 per 100,000 people in 2017Ghana: 9.7 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationBenin: 14.1 million people in 2023Ghana: 33.8 million people in 2023
- Population growthBenin: 2.51% a year in 2023Ghana: 1.9% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateBenin: 4.56 births per woman in 2023Ghana: 3.4 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationBenin: 53.4% in 2025Ghana: 58.9% in 2025
- Median ageBenin: 17.8 years in 2023Ghana: 20.9 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overBenin: 3.1% in 2023Ghana: 3.6% in 2023
- Net migration rateBenin: -0 per 1,000 people in 2023Ghana: -0.3 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingBenin: 0.89% of GDP in 2025Ghana: 0.48% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsBenin: $204M in 2025Ghana: $385M in 2025
- Military spending per personBenin: $15 in 2025Ghana: $15 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingBenin: 4.8% of government spending in 2025Ghana: 2.4% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelBenin: 12,000 people in 2020Ghana: 16,000 people in 2020
- National powerBenin: 0.07% of world capability in 2022Ghana: 0.17% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersBenin: 0.21% of the labour force in 2020Ghana: 0.13% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsBenin: 4 million TIV in 2025Ghana: 5 million TIV in 2025