Ghana vs South Africa Demographics: Median age, Gender, Race, Religion

Median age history and projection chart in
Ghana vs South Africa

Table

Year	Median age
	Ghana	South Africa
1960	17.7	19
1961	17.4	19
1962	17.2	18.9
1963	16.9	18.9
1964	16.7	18.9
1965	16.5	18.8
1966	16.4	18.8
1967	16.2	18.8
1968	16.1	18.8
1969	16	18.8
1970	15.9	18.8
1971	15.9	18.8
1972	15.8	18.8
1973	15.8	18.8
1974	15.8	18.9
1975	15.9	18.9
1976	16	19
1977	16.2	19.1
1978	16.4	19.2
1979	16.5	19.3
1980	16.7	19.4
1981	16.7	19.6
1982	16.9	19.8
1983	17	20
1984	17.1	20.2
1985	17.1	20.4
1986	17.1	20.5
1987	17.1	20.7
1988	17.1	20.9
1989	17.1	21.1
1990	17.2	21.3
1991	17.2	21.5
1992	17.3	21.5
1993	17.4	21.9
1994	17.5	22
1995	17.6	21.5
1996	17.7	21.2
1997	17.9	21.2
1998	18.1	21.4
1999	18.3	21.6
2000	18.4	21.9
2001	18.6	22.2
2002	18.8	22.4
2003	19	22.8
2004	19.1	23.1
2005	19.3	23.3
2006	19.5	23.5
2007	19.7	23.8
2008	19.9	24
2009	20	24.3
2010	20.2	24.6
2011	20.3	25
2012	20.5	25.3
2013	20.6	25.7
2014	20.7	26
2015	20.8	26.4
2016	20.9	26.7
2017	21	27
2018	21.2	27.5
2019	21.3	27.9
2020	21.5	28.3
2021	21.7	28.6
2022	21.8	28.9
2023	22	29.2
2024	22.2	29.5
2025	22.3	29.7
2026	22.6	29.9
2027	22.8	30.1
2028	23	30.3
2029	23.2	30.4
2030	23.4	30.6
2031	23.7	30.7
2032	23.9	30.9
2033	24.1	31
2034	24.3	31
2035	24.6	31.2
2036	24.8	31.3
2037	25	31.5
2038	25.3	31.6
2039	25.6	31.8
2040	25.8	32
2041	26.1	32.2
2042	26.3	32.3
2043	26.5	32.5
2044	26.7	32.6
2045	27	32.8
2046	27.2	32.9
2047	27.4	33
2048	27.6	33.1
2049	27.8	33.2
2050	28	33.3

In 1960, the median age in Ghana was 17.7 years compared to 19 years in South Africa. As of 2024, the median age had increased to 22.2 years in Ghana and to 29.5 years in South Africa.

According to United Nations projections, the median age in Ghana is expected to increased to around 28 years by 2050 compared to 33.3 years in South Africa. The aging demographics forecast is based on previous years' birth rates and increasing life expectancy.

Demographic pyramid: age and gender distribution

Table

Age range	Share of population
	Ghana		South Africa
	Male	Female	Male	Female
0-4	6.26%	6.08%	4.65%	4.58%
5-9	6.09%	5.94%	4.19%	4.17%
10-14	5.78%	5.67%	4.16%	4.14%
15-19	5.13%	5.05%	4.21%	4.16%
20-24	4.56%	4.5%	4.04%	3.93%
25-29	3.91%	3.88%	4.34%	4.37%
30-34	3.63%	3.62%	4.42%	4.52%
35-39	3.29%	3.29%	4.2%	4.25%
40-44	2.83%	2.86%	3.64%	3.66%
45-49	2.33%	2.38%	2.77%	2.86%
50-54	1.84%	1.92%	2.18%	2.44%
55-59	1.49%	1.59%	1.76%	2.17%
60-64	1.14%	1.24%	1.51%	1.96%
65-69	0.74%	0.82%	1.14%	1.55%
70-74	0.46%	0.56%	0.74%	1.11%
75-79	0.27%	0.35%	0.36%	0.63%
80+	0.2%	0.32%	0.34%	0.81%

The chart above is a variation of a population pyramid and represents a comparison of age and gender structure. Ghana has average demographic potential with 70.1% of people in the 0-34 age group compared to 59.9% and similar potential in South Africa.

Age dependency chart

Table

Year	Age dependency ratio
	Ghana			South Africa
	Total	Young	Old	Total	Young	Old
1960	93.5%	87.9%	5.67%	83.4%	77.2%	6.22%
1961	95.7%	89.9%	5.81%	83.4%	77.2%	6.2%
1962	98.1%	91.9%	6.2%	83.4%	77.2%	6.18%
1963	100.2%	93.7%	6.52%	83.3%	77.1%	6.19%
1964	101.9%	95.1%	6.77%	83.3%	77.1%	6.22%
1965	103.2%	96.2%	6.94%	83.5%	77.2%	6.26%
1966	104.2%	97.2%	7.05%	83.8%	77.5%	6.32%
1967	105.1%	98%	7.1%	84%	77.7%	6.39%
1968	105.8%	98.6%	7.13%	84.3%	77.8%	6.46%
1969	106.3%	99.2%	7.1%	84.5%	77.9%	6.54%
1970	106.6%	99.6%	6.94%	84.6%	78%	6.61%
1971	106.4%	99.8%	6.55%	84.7%	78%	6.67%
1972	105.8%	99.7%	6.12%	84.6%	77.9%	6.72%
1973	105.1%	99.3%	5.82%	84.5%	77.7%	6.76%
1974	104.3%	98.7%	5.59%	84.3%	77.5%	6.79%
1975	103.5%	98.1%	5.4%	84%	77.2%	6.83%
1976	102%	96.8%	5.21%	83.7%	76.9%	6.85%
1977	100.1%	95%	5.14%	83.3%	76.4%	6.87%
1978	98.4%	93.1%	5.23%	82.6%	75.7%	6.88%
1979	96.9%	91.5%	5.34%	82%	75.1%	6.89%
1980	95.5%	90.2%	5.24%	80.9%	74%	6.88%
1981	94.1%	89.2%	4.96%	79.6%	72.7%	6.87%
1982	93%	88.2%	4.86%	78.4%	71.5%	6.88%
1983	92.1%	87.1%	4.93%	77.5%	70.6%	6.91%
1984	91.6%	86.6%	4.97%	76.7%	69.8%	6.95%
1985	91.7%	86.8%	4.95%	76%	69%	6.98%
1986	92.1%	87.1%	4.96%	75.2%	68.2%	6.98%
1987	92.4%	87.5%	4.97%	74.4%	67.4%	6.96%
1988	92.4%	87.5%	4.97%	73.5%	66.6%	6.93%
1989	92.2%	87.2%	4.98%	72.6%	65.7%	6.86%
1990	91.9%	86.8%	5.01%	71.5%	64.7%	6.78%
1991	91.6%	86.6%	5.05%	70.9%	64.1%	6.74%
1992	91.3%	86.2%	5.11%	71.1%	64.3%	6.82%
1993	90.5%	85.4%	5.18%	70.2%	63.4%	6.79%
1994	89.5%	84.3%	5.24%	70.2%	63.3%	6.89%
1995	88.6%	83.3%	5.31%	71.5%	64.3%	7.18%
1996	87.9%	82.5%	5.41%	72%	64.6%	7.46%
1997	86.8%	81.3%	5.5%	71.6%	63.9%	7.69%
1998	85.5%	79.9%	5.59%	69.8%	62%	7.79%
1999	84.3%	78.6%	5.68%	67.8%	60%	7.84%
2000	83.2%	77.4%	5.75%	65.7%	57.8%	7.87%
2001	82%	76.2%	5.81%	63.5%	55.7%	7.88%
2002	80.8%	75%	5.85%	61.4%	53.5%	7.88%
2003	79.7%	73.8%	5.89%	59.5%	51.6%	7.9%
2004	78.7%	72.8%	5.92%	57.9%	49.9%	7.93%
2005	77.7%	71.8%	5.93%	56.7%	48.7%	7.98%
2006	76.8%	70.9%	5.94%	55.7%	47.7%	8.03%
2007	76%	70%	5.95%	54.8%	46.8%	8.05%
2008	75.1%	69.2%	5.93%	54.2%	46.1%	8.07%
2009	74.4%	68.5%	5.91%	53.7%	45.6%	8.07%
2010	73.9%	68%	5.88%	53%	45%	8.03%
2011	73.5%	67.7%	5.85%	52.4%	44.4%	7.99%
2012	73.3%	67.5%	5.82%	51.9%	43.9%	7.97%
2013	73%	67.2%	5.79%	51.5%	43.5%	8.01%
2014	72.7%	66.9%	5.79%	51.1%	43.1%	8.06%
2015	72.3%	66.5%	5.79%	50.8%	42.7%	8.1%
2016	71.7%	65.9%	5.79%	51.1%	42.8%	8.27%
2017	71%	65.2%	5.79%	51.3%	42.8%	8.51%
2018	70.2%	64.4%	5.8%	50.7%	42%	8.7%
2019	69.5%	63.6%	5.82%	50.1%	41.2%	8.92%
2020	68.6%	62.8%	5.85%	49.5%	40.4%	9.13%
2021	67.7%	61.9%	5.88%	48.9%	39.6%	9.28%
2022	66.9%	61%	5.94%	48.6%	39.1%	9.45%
2023	66.1%	60.1%	6.03%	48.4%	38.7%	9.67%
2024	65.4%	59.2%	6.13%	48.3%	38.4%	9.92%

Age dependency is the ratio of people not in the labor force (children under 15 and adults 64+) to people aged 15 to 64.

Age dependency in Ghana decreased from 78.7% to 65.4% between 2004 and 2024.

In South Africa, the ratio of dependent people decreased from 57.9% to 48.3% between 2004 and 2024 with a decreased share of young people and an increased proportion of people aged 65+.

Working age demographic

Table

Year	Working age population share
	Ghana	South Africa
1960	51.7%	54.5%
1961	51.1%	54.5%
1962	50.5%	54.5%
1963	49.9%	54.6%
1964	49.5%	54.6%
1965	49.2%	54.5%
1966	49%	54.4%
1967	48.8%	54.3%
1968	48.6%	54.3%
1969	48.5%	54.2%
1970	48.4%	54.2%
1971	48.5%	54.2%
1972	48.6%	54.2%
1973	48.7%	54.2%
1974	48.9%	54.3%
1975	49.1%	54.3%
1976	49.5%	54.4%
1977	50%	54.6%
1978	50.4%	54.8%
1979	50.8%	55%
1980	51.2%	55.3%
1981	51.5%	55.7%
1982	51.8%	56.1%
1983	52.1%	56.3%
1984	52.2%	56.6%
1985	52.2%	56.8%
1986	52.1%	57.1%
1987	52%	57.3%
1988	52%	57.6%
1989	52%	57.9%
1990	52.1%	58.3%
1991	52.2%	58.5%
1992	52.3%	58.4%
1993	52.5%	58.8%
1994	52.8%	58.8%
1995	53%	58.3%
1996	53.2%	58.1%
1997	53.5%	58.3%
1998	53.9%	58.9%
1999	54.3%	59.6%
2000	54.6%	60.3%
2001	54.9%	61.1%
2002	55.3%	62%
2003	55.6%	62.7%
2004	56%	63.3%
2005	56.3%	63.8%
2006	56.5%	64.2%
2007	56.8%	64.6%
2008	57.1%	64.9%
2009	57.3%	65.1%
2010	57.5%	65.3%
2011	57.6%	65.6%
2012	57.7%	65.8%
2013	57.8%	66%
2014	57.9%	66.2%
2015	58%	66.3%
2016	58.2%	66.2%
2017	58.5%	66.1%
2018	58.7%	66.4%
2019	59%	66.6%
2020	59.3%	66.9%
2021	59.6%	67.2%
2022	59.9%	67.3%
2023	60.2%	67.4%
2024	60.5%	67.4%
2025	60.8%	67.4%
2026	61.1%	67.3%
2027	61.4%	67.3%
2028	61.7%	67.2%
2029	62%	67.2%
2030	62.3%	67.1%
2031	62.6%	67%
2032	62.8%	67%
2033	63%	67.1%
2034	63.1%	67.2%
2035	63.2%	67.4%
2036	63.4%	67.6%
2037	63.5%	67.7%
2038	63.6%	67.9%
2039	63.7%	68%
2040	63.8%	68.1%
2041	63.8%	68.1%
2042	63.9%	68.2%
2043	64%	68.2%
2044	64%	68.1%
2045	64%	68%
2046	64.1%	67.9%
2047	64.2%	67.8%
2048	64.2%	67.6%
2049	64.3%	67.4%
2050	64.3%	67.2%

Between 2004 and 2024, the share of working-age demographics aged 15-64 changed from 56% to 60.5% in Ghana and from 63.3% to 67.4% in South Africa.

Share of young demographic (0-14 years old)

Table

Year	Share of people 0-14 years old
	Ghana	South Africa
1960	45.4%	42.1%
1961	45.9%	42.1%
1962	46.4%	42.1%
1963	46.8%	42.1%
1964	47.1%	42.1%
1965	47.4%	42.1%
1966	47.6%	42.1%
1967	47.8%	42.2%
1968	47.9%	42.2%
1969	48.1%	42.2%
1970	48.2%	42.3%
1971	48.4%	42.2%
1972	48.4%	42.2%
1973	48.4%	42.1%
1974	48.3%	42%
1975	48.2%	41.9%
1976	47.9%	41.8%
1977	47.5%	41.7%
1978	47%	41.5%
1979	46.5%	41.3%
1980	46.2%	40.9%
1981	45.9%	40.5%
1982	45.7%	40.1%
1983	45.4%	39.8%
1984	45.2%	39.5%
1985	45.3%	39.2%
1986	45.4%	38.9%
1987	45.5%	38.7%
1988	45.4%	38.4%
1989	45.4%	38.1%
1990	45.3%	37.7%
1991	45.2%	37.5%
1992	45%	37.6%
1993	44.8%	37.3%
1994	44.5%	37.2%
1995	44.2%	37.5%
1996	43.9%	37.5%
1997	43.5%	37.2%
1998	43.1%	36.5%
1999	42.7%	35.7%
2000	42.3%	34.9%
2001	41.9%	34%
2002	41.5%	33.2%
2003	41.1%	32.3%
2004	40.7%	31.6%
2005	40.4%	31.1%
2006	40.1%	30.6%
2007	39.8%	30.2%
2008	39.5%	29.9%
2009	39.3%	29.7%
2010	39.1%	29.4%
2011	39%	29.1%
2012	38.9%	28.9%
2013	38.9%	28.7%
2014	38.8%	28.5%
2015	38.6%	28.3%
2016	38.4%	28.3%
2017	38.1%	28.3%
2018	37.8%	27.9%
2019	37.6%	27.4%
2020	37.2%	27%
2021	36.9%	26.6%
2022	36.5%	26.3%
2023	36.2%	26.1%
2024	35.8%	25.9%
2025	35.4%	25.7%
2026	35%	25.6%
2027	34.6%	25.4%
2028	34.1%	25.3%
2029	33.7%	25.2%
2030	33.3%	25.2%
2031	32.8%	25.1%
2032	32.5%	25%
2033	32.2%	24.8%
2034	31.9%	24.5%
2035	31.6%	24.3%
2036	31.4%	23.9%
2037	31.2%	23.6%
2038	30.9%	23.4%
2039	30.7%	23.1%
2040	30.5%	22.9%
2041	30.3%	22.7%
2042	30.1%	22.5%
2043	29.8%	22.4%
2044	29.6%	22.2%
2045	29.4%	22.1%
2046	29.2%	21.9%
2047	29%	21.8%
2048	28.8%	21.7%
2049	28.5%	21.6%
2050	28.3%	21.5%

The share of young people aged below 15 is 35.8% in Ghana and 25.9% in South Africa. Birth rates in Ghana compared to South Africa .

Share of old population (65+)

Table

Year	Share of population 65+ years old
	Ghana	South Africa
1960	2.93%	3.39%
1961	2.97%	3.38%
1962	3.13%	3.37%
1963	3.26%	3.38%
1964	3.36%	3.39%
1965	3.42%	3.41%
1966	3.45%	3.44%
1967	3.46%	3.47%
1968	3.46%	3.51%
1969	3.44%	3.54%
1970	3.36%	3.58%
1971	3.17%	3.61%
1972	2.97%	3.64%
1973	2.84%	3.66%
1974	2.73%	3.69%
1975	2.65%	3.71%
1976	2.58%	3.73%
1977	2.57%	3.75%
1978	2.63%	3.77%
1979	2.71%	3.79%
1980	2.68%	3.8%
1981	2.56%	3.83%
1982	2.52%	3.86%
1983	2.57%	3.89%
1984	2.59%	3.93%
1985	2.58%	3.97%
1986	2.58%	3.98%
1987	2.58%	3.99%
1988	2.58%	3.99%
1989	2.59%	3.98%
1990	2.61%	3.95%
1991	2.64%	3.95%
1992	2.67%	3.99%
1993	2.72%	3.99%
1994	2.76%	4.05%
1995	2.82%	4.19%
1996	2.88%	4.34%
1997	2.94%	4.48%
1998	3.01%	4.59%
1999	3.08%	4.67%
2000	3.14%	4.75%
2001	3.19%	4.82%
2002	3.24%	4.88%
2003	3.28%	4.95%
2004	3.31%	5.02%
2005	3.34%	5.1%
2006	3.36%	5.15%
2007	3.38%	5.2%
2008	3.39%	5.24%
2009	3.39%	5.25%
2010	3.38%	5.25%
2011	3.37%	5.24%
2012	3.36%	5.25%
2013	3.35%	5.29%
2014	3.35%	5.33%
2015	3.36%	5.37%
2016	3.37%	5.47%
2017	3.39%	5.63%
2018	3.41%	5.78%
2019	3.44%	5.95%
2020	3.47%	6.11%
2021	3.51%	6.23%
2022	3.56%	6.36%
2023	3.63%	6.52%
2024	3.71%	6.69%
2025	3.79%	6.89%
2026	3.9%	7.08%
2027	4.03%	7.26%
2028	4.17%	7.44%
2029	4.31%	7.61%
2030	4.44%	7.76%
2031	4.57%	7.89%
2032	4.7%	8.01%
2033	4.83%	8.14%
2034	4.98%	8.26%
2035	5.12%	8.39%
2036	5.24%	8.52%
2037	5.36%	8.64%
2038	5.49%	8.76%
2039	5.62%	8.88%
2040	5.76%	9.01%
2041	5.89%	9.15%
2042	6.04%	9.3%
2043	6.2%	9.48%
2044	6.38%	9.68%
2045	6.55%	9.9%
2046	6.7%	10.1%
2047	6.86%	10.4%
2048	7.04%	10.7%
2049	7.22%	11%
2050	7.4%	11.3%

The share of older people aged 65 and over is 3.71% in Ghana and 6.69% in South Africa. Life expectancy in Ghana compared to South Africa .