In this article, we would try to answer the question of who is richer of the two countries, Ghana and Nigeria. Both countries are in the west of Africa, and they like to compete quite a lot particularly in the area of which country cooks the best jollof rice.
In the article, we are going to measure both countries using three indices. The first one is the population and its projection, and then we are going to look at which country has the better economic outputs in terms of GDP. Lastly, we are going to consider which country has more resources and reserves of such resources.
Population
The population of Ghana as at 2020 stands as 31 million people. And this country as you will see is quite small in size comparison to Nigeria. However, the population of Ghana is expected to double to around 56 million people by the year 2050. So, Ghana is a rapidly growing country and this growth will continue in that trajectory in the coming decades.
Nigeria, on the other hand, has about 200 million people. By 2050, the population of Nigeria is also expected to double to 400 million people. This means that the population of Ghana and that of Nigeria are expected to grow at a similar rate.
However, since we are not talking about 30 years from now, we can say that in terms of population and purchasing power Nigeria, clearly has the upper hand in that regard. Also, in terms of human resources available, Nigeria also retains the upper hand.
GDP
The Gross Domestic Product of Ghana as of today stands at 72 billion dollars and with its 31 million population, the GDP per capita stands at 2,322 US dollars.
Nigeria on the other hand is the biggest economy in Africa, with a GDP of 432 billion. Dividing that amount by 200 million people, Nigeria’s GDP per capita of 2097 US dollars.
With this metric, we can see that Ghana has the higher per capita GDP than Nigeria.
And in this regard, we can say that the population of Ghana is a little bit more productive than that of Nigeria. However, looking at 30 years from now, give or take the GDP of Nigeria, is projected to hit 6.4 trillion dollars thereby bringing Nigeria among to the 17th country in the world in terms of GDP.
Ghana also will continue to grow and in around eight years from now, Ghana’s GDP is expected to hit 101B US dollars, thereby making Ghana the 10th largest economy in Africa.
Natural resources
Nigeria and Ghana have a lot of natural resources. However, putting in a pound-for-pound fight, Nigeria clearly has more resources. But we can also compare a particular natural resources that both countries have in common which is gold. The Nigerian gold reserve as a today stands at 21 tons Nigeria.
Nigeria’s only large-scale operational gold mine is in Osun, thanks to Thor Explorations, a Canadian-listed gold developer, and its local affiliate, Segilola Resources Operating Limited. The Segilola Gold Mine is located in Odo-Ijesha and Iperindo, and is scheduled to start producing gold soon.
Ghana on the other hand has a good result for 8.7 tons. This means that Nigeria’s gold reserve is almost three times that of Ghana.
However, Ghana’s gold mining aan extraction industry is a lot more developed than that’s of Nigeria. And in fact, Ghana’s mining industry accounts for 5% of the countries GDP while gold is in itself accounts for over 90% of the total mineral export of Ghana. Going by this argument, it can be seen that Nigeria.
Clearly, Nigeria has a higher reserve than Ghana and we are only considering one item which is gold. If we had to look at other mineral deposits like oil, then the golf between Nigeria and Ghana is only going to expand.
In conclusion
We can see that both countries are doing well relative to their population.
Indeed, if we look at the per capita productivity, GDP and mineral deposits, they are very similar countries. But the argument is for which country is richer NOW. Clearly, Nigeria is a much richer country than Ghana, but Ghana is not doing badly itself.
Also check if Nigeria is richer than America.
Author
Abbey Johnson has a Masters degree as an engineer and has over 3 years of teaching and research experience. He is happiest when on a bike and is also interested in electric energy and computer Science.