Ghana: Taxes on exports (current LCU)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2016, Ghana's taxes on exports (current LCU) fell 27.5% on 2015 (from 370.58 million to 268.53 million).

Across the 17 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2015), the average change was +161.3% and a typical year strayed about 482.7% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 1,963.4% in 2012 and the biggest yearly fall was 94.7% in 2011. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2007 to 2016 the straight-line trend is upward, about 36.68 million a year. A straight line explains 69% 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.

What this measures

Export taxes are taxes on goods or services that become payable to government when the goods leave the economic territory or when the services are delivered to non-residents. This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This series is expressed in local currency units.

Limitations: For most countries central government finance data have been consolidated into one account, but for others only budgetary central government accounts are available. Countries reporting budgetary data are noted in the country metadata. Because budgetary accounts may not include all central government units (such as social security funds), they usually provide an incomplete picture. In federal states the central government accounts provide an incomplete view of total public finance. Data on government revenue and expense are collected by the IMF through questionnaires to member countries and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

All 20 values

Taxes on exports (current LCU) in nearby economies

• Angola — 82.32 billion (2024)
• Botswana — 1.24 million (2023)
• Burundi — 253.74 million (2021)
• Cameroon — 38.51 billion (2021)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 31.66 billion (2022)
• Congo, Rep. — 8.33 billion (2021)
• Côte d'Ivoire — 995.2 billion (2023)
• Equatorial Guinea — 3.16 billion (2022)
• Eswatini — 6,860 (2018)
• Ethiopia — 4.68 million (2024)
• Namibia — 560.05 million (2024)

More public sector data for Ghana

• Military expenditure (current USD) — 506.65 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 6.37 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 0.48% (2025)
• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 5 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) — 2.4% (2025)
• Armed forces personnel, total — 16,000 (2020)
• Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) — 0.13% (2020)
• Grants and other revenue (current LCU) — 25.99 billion (2023)
• Grants and other revenue (% of revenue) — 19.11% (2023)
• Revenue, excluding grants (current LCU)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Ghana's taxes on exports (current LCU)?

268.53 million in 2016, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1990?

It is up 9,778% from 2.72 million in 1990 (19.32% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 370.58 million in 2015 and the lowest 2.04 million in 1992.

Is the latest change in taxes on exports (current LCU) unusual for Ghana?

In 2016, Ghana's taxes on exports (current LCU) fell 27.5% on 2015 (from 370.58 million to 268.53 million). Across the 17 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2015), the average change was +161.3% and a typical year strayed about 482.7% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.TAX.EXPT.CN, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF) 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.

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