About

Overview In 2022, Ghana was the number 77 economy in the world in terms of GDP (current US$), the number 79 in total exports, the number 87 in total imports, the number 147 economy in terms of GDP per capita (current US$) and the number 115 most complex economy according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI) .

Exports The top exports of Ghana are Gold ($9.53B), Crude Petroleum ($5.21B), Cocoa Beans ($1.08B), Coconuts, Brazil Nuts, and Cashews ($501M), and Cocoa Paste ($450M), exporting mostly to United Arab Emirates ($4.72B), Switzerland ($3.37B), United States ($2.83B), India ($2.04B), and China ($2.01B).

Imports The top imports of Ghana are Refined Petroleum ($1.79B), Coated Flat-Rolled Iron ($410M), Cars ($358M), Rice ($318M), and Special Purpose Ships ($314M), importing mostly from China ($7.91B), Netherlands ($1.26B), India ($1.01B), United States ($938M), and Cote d'Ivoire ($685M).

Location Ghana borders Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, and Togo by land and Benin and Nigeria by sea.

Latest Trends

Latest Trade

Flow
View
Y-AXIS SCALE

The following section uses the most recent trade data from partners of Ghana.

Disclaimer: data is presented based on availability and only countries that use the harmonized system are being shown.

* Trade values are converted to USD using each month's exchange rate. For December 2023 data, the exchange rate from December 30, 2023 is used.

Subscribe today to OEC pro and access the latest data

Sign Up

Latest Data

Flow
Color
Depth

The data obtained is mirror data. The trade of countries that do not report current data can be reconstructed based on data reported by partner countries with current data available.

*All data is converted to USD using January 2020 exchange rates when data is reported in local currency.

Subscribe today to OEC pro and access the latest data

Sign Up

Subscribe today to OEC pro and access the latest data

Sign Up

Historical Data

Yearly Trade

Flow
Color
Depth
Top Export (2022)Gold$9.53B
Top Destination (2022)United Arab Emirates$4.72B

In 2022, Ghana exported a total of $20B, making it the number 79 exporter in the world. During the last five reported years the exports of Ghana have changed by $2.72B from $17.3B in 2017 to $20B in 2022.

The most recent exports are led by Gold ($9.53B), Crude Petroleum ($5.21B), Cocoa Beans ($1.08B), Coconuts, Brazil Nuts, and Cashews ($501M), and Cocoa Paste ($450M). The most common destination for the exports of Ghana are United Arab Emirates ($4.72B), Switzerland ($3.37B), United States ($2.83B), India ($2.04B), and China ($2.01B).

Explore Visualizations

Exports (2022)
[Click to Select a Product]

Destinations (2022)
[Click to Select a Country]

Market Growth

Flow
View
Fastest Growing Export Markets (2021 - 2022)
United Arab Emirates$2.99B (+ 172%)
United States$1.06B (+ 60%)
Switzerland$918M (+ 37.5%)
Fastest Growing Import Markets (2021 - 2022)
Cote d'Ivoire$367M (+ 116%)
Belgium$299M (+ 78.8%)
Netherlands$227M (+ 21.9%)

Total Export Growth by Market (2021 - 2022)

Service Trade

Service Trade

Ghana Exports Services (2019)$9.38B
Ghana Imports Services (2019)$13.2B

In 2019, Ghana exported $9.38B worth of services. The top services exported by Ghana in 2019 were Other business services ($6.45B), Business travel ($998M), Transportation ($501M), Personal travel ($428M), and Construction services ($426M).

The top services imported by Ghana in 2019 were Other business services ($7.09B), Government services, n.i.e. ($2.55B), Transportation ($2.35B), Construction services ($310M), and Business travel ($229M).

Service Exports (2019)

Service Imports (2019)

Economic Complexity

Overview

Economic Complexity (Trade)-1.35Rank 115 of 124
Economic Complexity (Research)0.31Rank 43 of 135

Most Specialized Products by RCA Index

Ghana has a high level of specialization in Cocoa Beans (155), Cocoa Paste (134), Manganese Ore (69.4), Cocoa Butter (59), and Coconuts, Brazil Nuts, and Cashews (57). Specialization is measured using RCA, an index that takes the ratio between Ghana observed and expected exports in each product.

Most Complex Products by PCI

The highest complexity exports of Ghana according to the product complexity index (PCI) are Chemical preparations for photographic uses (other than varnishes, glues, adhesives and similar... (1.83), Paintings, drawings, pastels, executed entirely by hand; not drawings of heading no.... (0.86), Hydrogen peroxide; whether or not solidified with urea (0.49), Sculptures and statuary; original, in any material (-0.13), and Ice cream and other edible ice; whether or not containing cocoa (-0.17). PCI measures the knowledge intensity of a product by considering the knowledge intensity of its exporters.

Export Opportunities by Relatedness

The top export opportunities for Ghana according to the relatedness index, were Coffee (0.095), Crustaceans (0.094), Raw Cotton (0.091), Cassava (0.088), and Cement (0.088). Relatedness measures the distance between a country's current exports and each product. The barchart show only products that Ghana is not specialized in.

Product Space

The product space is a network connecting products that are likely to be co-exported. The product space can be used to predict future exports, since countries are more likely to start exporting products that are related to current exports. Relatedness measures the distance between a product, and all of the products a country currently specializes in.

Relatedness Space

This network shows the products most related to the production structure of Ghana. These are products that tend to be co-exported with the products that Ghana exports. Higher relatedness values ​​indicate greater knowledge, which predicts a greater probability of exporting that product in the future.

Diversification Frontier

Filter
Depth

The Complexity-Relatedness diagram compares the risk vs strategic value of a country's potential export oppotunities. Relatedness is predictive of the probability that a country increases its exports in a product. Complexity, is associated with higher levels of income, economic growth, less income inequality, and lower greenhouse emissions.

Economic Complexity Ranking

Methodology
Scale

During the last 20 years Ghana's⁩ ⁨economy has become relatively less complex, moving from the ⁩⁨94th to the 115th⁩ position in the ECI rank.

These economic complexity rankings use 6 digit exports classified according to the HS96 classification. We consider only countries with population of at least 1 million and exports of at least $1 billion, and products with world trade over $500 million. To explore different rankings and vary these parameters visit the custom rankings section.

Explore Rankings

ECI (Trade) Ranking by Country

Have questions, comments, or concerns?
Send us an e-mail: [email protected]
Follow @OECtoday on
Created, Designed, and Developed by:
In collaboration with