Benchmarking Ghanaian cities: A report on urban transportation and accessibility
Nearly 60% of Ghana's population lives in urban areas, making it increasingly important to ensure cities provide efficient access to jobs, schools, shops, and other destinations. This study finds that Ghanaian cities generally have lower accessibility than the African average, largely because of congestion, larger urban size, higher density, and fewer major roads, highlighting the need to reduce traffic delays and improve access to underserved destinations.
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Duranton-Storeygard-Couture-Akbar-Riberio-Policy-Brief-May-2026.pdf
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- Nearly 60% of Ghana's population already lives in urban areas, and urbanisation is expected to continue rising.
- The policy challenge is clear: how to make growing cities accessible to jobs, schools, shops, and other destinations.
- This study compares accessibility, measured as the time needed to reach destinations, in Ghanaian cities and other cities in Africa.
- Using Google data on simulated trips and venue locations, we find that accessibility in Ghanaian cities is generally lower than the African average in simple rankings.
- This gap is explained by Ghanaian cities being larger and denser on average, with fewer major roads. While venues are often nearby in Ghanaian cities, travel speeds are relatively low, largely due to relatively high congestion.
- Policy should focus on reducing traffic delays while planning for urban growth, looking beyond congestion relief in Kumasi, and targeting the destinations where access remains weakest.