Ghana vs Laos
Ghana and Laos are almost exactly the same size.
GhanaLaosGhana moved onto Laos · Equal-area projection
1.01×
Ghana is 1.01× the area of Laos.
 Ghana |  Laos | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaAbout the same area | 238,535 km²#80 of 194 | 236,800 km²#82 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Landlocked |
| Land neighbours | 3 | 5 |
| People | ||
| PopulationGhana: 4.45× the population | 35,064,272#47 of 194 · 2025 | 7,873,046#103 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityGhana: 4.42× the density | 147 / km²#61 of 194 | 33 / km²#146 of 194 |
| Urban populationGhana: 1.46× the urban share | 59%#112 of 192 · 2025 | 40%#149 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateGhana: 1.39× the births per woman | 3.34 per woman#46 of 192 · 2024 | 2.40 per woman#77 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthGhana: 0.51 points higher | +1.83%#55 of 192 · 2025 | +1.32%#74 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateGhana: 1.24× the birth rate | 25.9 per 1,000#45 of 192 · 2024 | 20.9 per 1,000#64 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateGhana: 1.13× the death rate | 7.0 per 1,000#102 of 192 · 2024 | 6.2 per 1,000#129 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Ghana: 5.6 points higher | 35.4%#50 of 192 · 2025 | 29.8%#70 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Laos: 1.0 points higher | 3.8%#146 of 192 · 2025 | 4.8%#127 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationGhana: 0.9 per 1,000 higher | −0.5 per 1,000#100 of 192 · 2025 | −1.4 per 1,000#126 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadLaos: 1.78× the refugees for its size | 0.46 per 1,000#75 of 190 · 2025 | 0.82 per 1,000#64 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyLaos: 3.5 years longer | 65.7 years#164 of 192 · 2024 | 69.2 years#136 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityAbout the same infant mortality | 27.5 per 1,000 births#52 of 191 · 2024 | 27.2 per 1,000 births#53 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsLaos: 1.22× the doctors per person | 0.27 per 1,000#140 of 178 · 2023 | 0.33 per 1,000#135 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolmentGhana: 1.43× the university enrolment | 21.3%#114 of 145 · 2024 | 14.9%#122 of 145 · 2023 |
| Human Development IndexGhana: 0.011 higher | 0.628#140 of 190 · 2023 | 0.617#144 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaGhana: 1.22× the income per person | $2,630#143 of 185 · 2025 | $2,150#147 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPGhana: 6.24× the economy | $114.21B2025 | $18.3B2025 |
| Income group | Lower-middle income | Lower-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Laos: 1.21× the output per person | $8,610#134 of 184 · 2025 | $10,383#125 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthGhana: 1.5 points higher | +6.0%#32 of 187 · 2025 | +4.5%#55 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationGhana: 6.5 points higher | +14.2%#14 of 176 · 2025 | +7.7%#31 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentGhana: 2.5× the unemployment | 3.0%#138 of 178 · 2025 | 1.2%#171 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyGhana: 5.49× the share in extreme poverty | 39.0%#22 of 149 · 2016 | 7.1%#49 of 149 · 2024 |
| Income inequality (Gini)Ghana: 8.8 higher | 43.5#23 of 149 · 2016 | 34.7#73 of 149 · 2024 |
| Jobs in agricultureLaos: 34.0 points higher | 34.6% of jobs#48 of 178 · 2025 | 68.6% of jobs#6 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryGhana: 10.9 points higher | 18.3% of jobs#100 of 178 · 2025 | 7.4% of jobs#169 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesGhana: 23.2 points higher | 47.2% of jobs#130 of 178 · 2025 | 24.0% of jobs#171 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentLaos: 6.0 points higher | 1.7% of GDP#105 of 184 · 2025 | 7.7% of GDP#23 of 184 · 2025 |
| Exports | 35.1% of GDP#84 of 168 · 2024 | — |
| Military spending | 0.5% of GDP#145 of 155 · 2025 | — |
| Internet usersGhana: 1.1× the share online | 72%#116 of 184 · 2024 | 66%#128 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsGhana: 1.75× the mobile subscriptions | 114 per 100#99 of 191 · 2024 | 65 per 100#167 of 191 · 2023 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaLaos: 1.83× the forest share | 31% of land#101 of 192 · 2024 | 57% of land#36 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personLaos: 4.79× the CO₂ per person | 0.70 t a year#141 of 185 · 2024 | 3.35 t a year#79 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyLaos: 10.2 points higher | 39.0%#63 of 190 · 2021 | 49.2%#50 of 190 · 2022 |
| Access to electricityLaos: 4.6 points higher | 91.9%#135 of 192 · 2024 | 96.5%#124 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Ghana: 1.08× the air pollution | 28.1 µg/m³#53 of 191 · 2023 | 26.0 µg/m³#61 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landLaos: 3.5 points higher | 15.3% of land#115 of 191 · 2025 | 18.8% of land#88 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landGhana: 15.4 points higher | 20.7% of land#53 of 190 · 2024 | 5.3% of land#127 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressGhana: 1.31× the water stress | 6.3%#109 of 176 · 2022 | 4.8%#120 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationLaos: 1.55× the rain and snow | 1,187 mm#75 of 180 · 2022 | 1,834 mm#38 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityLaos: 0.46 higher | +0.09#98 of 193 · 2025 | +0.55#65 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionGhana: 0.88 higher | −0.11#85 of 193 · 2025 | −0.99#155 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | 1.8 per 100,000#82 of 146 · 2022 | — |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Presidential republic | One-party statecommunist party-led state |
| Member of | — | ASEAN |
| Capital | Accra | Vientiane |
| Currency | Ghana cedi (GHS) | Lao kip (LAK) |
| Official languages | English | Lao |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC | UTC+7 |
| Calling code | +233 | +856 |
| Region | Western Africa, Africa | South-Eastern Asia, Asia |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Ghana sits at about 8° N and is stretched to 1.02× its true area; Laos at 18° N is stretched to 1.11×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Ghana bigger than Laos?
- Yes. Ghana and Laos are almost exactly the same size. Ghana covers 238,535 km² and Laos covers 236,800 km².
- How many times does Laos fit into Ghana?
- About 1.0 times: Ghana has 1.01× the area of Laos.
- Why do Ghana and Laos look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Ghana is drawn about 1.02× its true area there and Laos about 1.11×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Ghana or Laos?
- Ghana: 35,064,272 people against 7,873,046. Density: Ghana 147 per km², Laos 33 per km².
- Which is richer, Ghana or Laos?
- By gross national income per person, Ghana: $2,630 against $2,150 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 1.22× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Ghana or Laos?
- In Laos: life expectancy at birth is 69.2 years, against 65.7 — 3.5 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Ghana and Laos have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Ghana: presidential republic; Laos: one-party state.