🇬🇭 Ghana (Africa)

Visiting: RecommendedLGBT+ visiting: Not Recommended

Ghana might be West Africa's friendliest introduction. The slave castles at Cape Coast will stay with you forever, Accra's music and food scenes are having a moment, and in Mole you can walk, on foot with a ranger, right up to elephants. It's stable, welcoming and safer than plenty of Europe. The one hard caveat: homosexuality is illegal, and that rules it out for LGBT+ travellers.

Homicide

Intentional homicides per 100,000 people — lower is better.

64.3(worst)
0.0(best)

Ghana: 1.8

Ranked 57th in the world for the lowest homicide rate.

1.83 homicides per 100,000 people in 2022 — a low rate by world standards.

Lower than 67% of the 230 countries and territories measured.

Source: UNODC intentional homicide statistics (UN SDG database, indicator 16.1.1) · published 2026

Peace

How peaceful the country is — lower is better.

3.4(worst)
1.0(best)

Ghana: 1.9

Ranked 78th most peaceful country in the world.

More peaceful than 63% of the 163 countries ranked, scoring 1.898.

Down 3 places since 2024.

Source: Global Peace Index 2025, Institute for Economics & Peace · published June 2025

Freedom

Personal and economic freedom — higher is better.

2.5(worst)
9.3(best)

Ghana: 7.0

Ranked 76th freest country in the world.

Freer than 54% of the 165 countries measured — 7.05 out of 10.

Day-to-day life (speech, movement, religion) scores 7.93; doing business and owning property, 5.81.

Source: Human Freedom Index 2025, Cato Institute / Fraser Institute · published December 2025

LGBT

LGBT+ equality in law and daily life — higher is better.

0.0(worst)
9.3(best)

Ghana: Illegal

Ranked 55th least equal in the world for LGBT+ people.

Homosexuality is criminalised here, with a maximum penalty of three years imprisonment.

Public attitudes score 18 out of 100 — the law and public opinion are not the same thing.

Source: Human Dignity Trust, Map of Criminalisation · published 2026 (live map)