What night-time lights tell us about Ghana
Satellites record the light that settlements emit after dark, every night and for every part of the country. Summarised for Ghana's 261 districts, this light shows where settlements are growing, how closely brightness tracks living standards, and how it moves with national output. This site brings together three Ghana Statistical Service studies built on that evidence, and a new analysis of how many people still live beyond the reach of light.
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Highest 10 districts
Lowest 10 districts
Spatial expansion of settlements
How far has lit, settled land spread across Ghana's districts, and has growth come from new land being lit or from existing settlements growing brighter? Lit area counts every pixel at or above 1.0 nW/cm²/sr.
Night-time lights and socio-economic development
How bright are Ghana's districts, how unequal is that brightness, and how closely does it track wealth, electrification, digital access, education and poverty measured by the 2021 Census and related sources?
Electrification and access
How many people live where no light is detected from space, where is that number falling, and where has new light reached existing villages rather than new settlements? This analysis combines the yearly night-light images with WorldPop population estimates for 2012–2020.
Night-time lights and economic activity
Can satellite indicators track and forecast Ghana's quarterly GDP? This national study combines VIIRS monthly night-time lights with vegetation, agricultural stress, air quality and rainfall indicators, 2014 Q1 to 2025 Q4.