AGUACYCLE
Sub-Saharan Africa

Ghana

Capital: Accra · Lower middle income · Pop. 34.4 million

42.94%
Safely managed drinking water
18.76%
Safely managed sanitation
914
m³ freshwater / person / yr
5%
Water stress · Low

Source: World Bank Open Data (WHO/UNICEF JMP & FAO AQUASTAT) · drinking water 2024

In Ghana, 42.94% of the population uses safely managed drinking water — an improved source, located on premises, available when needed, and free from contamination (2024 estimate). That leaves roughly 19.6 million people without safely managed drinking water at home.

Sanitation tracks closely: 18.76% use safely managed sanitation services and 31.58% have at least a basic service (2024).

Ghana has about 914 cubic meters of renewable internal freshwater per person each year — below the ~1,000 m³ threshold widely used to define water scarcity. It withdraws the equivalent of 5% of those internal resources annually (low water stress).

Agriculture accounts for about 73% of Ghana's water withdrawals, the rest going to households and industry.

Common questions

How many people in Ghana have safe drinking water?

42.94% of Ghana's population uses safely managed drinking water (2024), per WHO/UNICEF data; about 19.6 million people do not.

Does Ghana have enough freshwater?

Ghana has roughly 914 m³ of renewable internal freshwater per person per year, and uses about 5% of it annually (low stress).

Elsewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa