# Ivory Coast and Ghana compared

Ivory Coast and Ghana side by side: 43 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 3 events their chronicles record of each other.

Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/civ-vs-gha
Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates)

Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation.

## Formation

- Ivory Coast: 7 August 1960 — Independence of the Republic of the Ivory Coast
- Ghana: 6 March 1957 — The Gold Coast is proclaimed independent as Ghana

## Economy

| Metric | Ivory Coast | Observed | Ghana | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $87 B | 2024 | $82 B | 2024 |
| GDP per capita | $2,728 | 2024 | $2,391 | 2024 |
| GDP growth | 6.0% | 2024 | 5.6% | 2024 |
| Inflation | 3.5% | 2024 | 22.8% | 2024 |
| Trade openness | 51.3% | 2024 | 69.8% | 2024 |

## Society

| Metric | Ivory Coast | Observed | Ghana | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 32 m | 2024 | 34 m | 2024 |
| Life expectancy | 62.1 yrs | 2024 | 65.7 yrs | 2024 |
| Urban population | 54.0% | 2024 | 58.4% | 2024 |
| Fertility rate | 4.2 | 2024 | 3.3 | 2024 |

## Governance

| Metric | Ivory Coast | Observed | Ghana | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voice & accountability | 46.1 | 2024 | 60.4 | 2024 |
| Political stability | 51.5 | 2024 | 66.1 | 2024 |
| Government effectiveness | 45.2 | 2024 | 52.5 | 2024 |
| Regulatory quality | 52.2 | 2024 | 53.4 | 2024 |
| Rule of law | 47.0 | 2024 | 57.9 | 2024 |
| Control of corruption | 42.1 | 2024 | 43.9 | 2024 |

## Health

| Metric | Ivory Coast | Observed | Ghana | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health spending | 3.4% | 2023 | 2.9% | 2023 |
| Physicians | 0.17 | 2023 | 0.27 | 2023 |
| Under-5 mortality | 64.5 | 2024 | 35.9 | 2024 |
| Measles immunisation | 75.0% | 2024 | 90.0% | 2024 |
| Safe drinking water | 36.4% | 2024 | 42.9% | 2024 |

## Education

| Metric | Ivory Coast | Observed | Ghana | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 50.0% | 2021 | 76.5% | 2021 |
| Education spending | 3.6% | 2024 | 2.9% | 2022 |
| Primary enrolment | 93.3% | 2024 | 101.0% | 2024 |
| Secondary enrolment | 65.3% | 2024 | 75.7% | 2024 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 12.3% | 2024 | 21.3% | 2024 |

## Technology

| Metric | Ivory Coast | Observed | Ghana | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R&D spending | 0.1% | 2016 | 0.4% | 2010 |
| Researchers (per million) | 64 | 2005 | 87 | 2015 |
| Internet users | 41.4% | 2024 | 72.2% | 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptions | 184 | 2024 | 114 | 2024 |
| High-tech exports | 5.3% | 2024 | 2.1% | 2023 |

## Geography

| Metric | Ivory Coast | Observed | Ghana | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land area | 318,000 km² | 2023 | 227,533 km² | 2023 |
| Forest area | 7.9% | 2023 | 35.2% | 2023 |
| Agricultural land | 86.5% | 2023 | 55.4% | 2023 |
| CO₂ per capita (t) | 0.6 | 2024 | 0.7 | 2024 |
| Renewable energy | 58.2% | 2021 | 39.0% | 2021 |

## Resources

| Metric | Ivory Coast | Observed | Ghana | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resource rents | 4.7% | 2021 | 13.3% | 2021 |
| Oil rents | 0.7% | 2021 | 4.1% | 2021 |
| Mineral rents | 2.5% | 2021 | 5.2% | 2021 |
| Forest rents | 1.2% | 2021 | 3.8% | 2021 |
| Electricity access | 72.4% | 2023 | 89.5% | 2023 |
| Gold (mined) | — | — | 150 t | 2025 |

## Military

| Metric | Ivory Coast | Observed | Ghana | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military burden | 0.8% | 2024 | 0.4% | 2024 |
| Defense spending | $658 M | 2024 | $269 M | 2024 |
| Armed forces | 27,000 | 2020 | 16,000 | 2020 |

Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/<metric>.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/CIV.md and https://terralore.co/country/GHA.md.

## Entangled histories (3 events)

Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources.

- 11th–14th centuries: **The savannas join the trans-Saharan trade** — As the Ghana and Mali empires expanded southward, the northern peoples of the region — Senufo and Mandé — were drawn into trans-Saharan commerce, exchanging forest kola nuts for salt, cloth, and gold. (from the Ivory Coast chronicle; sources: History of Côte d'Ivoire; History of Ivory Coast; Background Notes: Cote d'Ivoire)
- c. 1690: **Akan states form on the eastern frontier** — As the Asante Empire rose in present-day Ghana, Akan groups such as the Abron founded states near the eastern edge of modern Côte d'Ivoire, beginning a long era of Akan migration into the region. (from the Ivory Coast chronicle; sources: History of Ivory Coast; History of Côte d'Ivoire)
- c. 1710: **Seku Watara founds the Empire of Kong** — Seku Watara united the Dyula of Kong into a state, often called the Wattara Empire, that grew rich controlling the gold and kola trade and reached into present-day Burkina Faso, Mali, and Ghana. (from the Ivory Coast chronicle; sources: Kong Empire; History of Ivory Coast)

## Sources

- World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org
- Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators
- Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho
- Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org
- R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org
- ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics
- Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex
- Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain (U.S. Government work) · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center

Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/CIV/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/GHA/chronicle.md.

Citation template: Terralore, "Ivory Coast and Ghana compared", terralore.co/compare/civ-vs-gha, retrieved <YYYY-MM-DD>.