Ghana's suicide mortality rate (per 100,000 population) was 5.32 in 2021, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 0.75% from 5.36 in 2011 (0.07% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 5.32 | 2021 |
| Five years earlier | 5.48 | 2016 |
| Ten years earlier | 5.36 | 2011 |
| Highest | 5.53 | 2017 |
| Lowest | 3.41 | 2000 |
| Average since 2012 | 5.38 | 2012–2021 |
| First recorded | 3.41 | 2000 |
What the numbers say
In 2021, Ghana's suicide mortality rate (per 100,000 population) rose 0.24 on 2020 (from 5.08 to 5.32).
Across the 20 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2020), the average change was +0.08 and a typical year strayed about 0.15 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.35 in 2009 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.21 in 2020. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2012 to 2021 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.02 a year. A straight line explains 33% of the movement over 10 observed years.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2021, Ghana had the 117th highest value of the 185 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Ghana | 5.32 | 2021 |
| World | 9.13 | 2021 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 7.3 | 2021 |
| Lower middle income | 8.83 | 2021 |
Closest to Ghana in the 2021 ranking
What this measures
Suicide mortality rate is the number of suicide deaths in a year per 100,000 population. Crude suicide rate (not age-adjusted).
Limitations: Due to changes in input data and methods, the revisions of the data are not comparable to previously published estimates.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 22 values
| Year | Suicide mortality rate (per 100,000 population) |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 5.32 |
| 2020 | 5.08 |
| 2019 | 5.29 |
| 2018 | 5.34 |
| 2017 | 5.53 |
| 2016 | 5.48 |
| 2015 | 5.48 |
| 2014 | 5.46 |
| 2013 | 5.43 |
| 2012 | 5.37 |
| 2011 |
Suicide mortality rate (per 100,000 population) in nearby economies
- Angola — 8.11 (2021)
- Benin — 7.12 (2021)
- Botswana — 8.35 (2021)
- Burkina Faso — 8.5 (2021)
- Burundi — 7.65 (2021)
- Cabo Verde — 14.9 (2021)
- Cameroon — 8.5 (2021)
- Central African Republic — 9.19 (2021)
- Chad — 5.21 (2021)
- Comoros — 6 (2021)
More health data for Ghana
- Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 11.99% (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 12.39% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female — 6.13 million (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 34.94% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male — 6.29 million (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 35.92% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, total — 12.42 million (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 35.43% (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 11.63% (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, male (% of male population)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Ghana's suicide mortality rate (per 100,000 population)?
- 5.32 in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 2000?
- It is up 56.01% from 3.41 in 2000 (2.14% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 5.53 in 2017 and the lowest 3.41 in 2000.
- How does Ghana rank?
- 117th highest of 185 economies with data for 2021.
- Is the latest change in suicide mortality rate (per 100,000 population) unusual for Ghana?
- In 2021, Ghana's suicide mortality rate (per 100,000 population) rose 0.24 on 2020 (from 5.08 to 5.32). Across the 20 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2020), the average change was +0.08 and a typical year strayed about 0.15 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SH.STA.SUIC.P5, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/)., World Health Organization (WHO), uri: https://www.who.int/data/gho Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.
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