Road Crashes Cost Ghana $4.55 Billion Every Year – World Bank

Road traffic crashes are costing Ghana an estimated US$4.55 billion each year, equivalent to approximately 2.1% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the World Bank has revealed.

The finding is contained in the World Bank’s 10th Ghana Economic Update, “Reset for Growth – Sustaining Macroeconomic Recovery and Unlocking Transport for Transformation.”

The Bank says the enormous economic burden associated with road deaths and serious injuries means road safety should be treated as an economic and fiscal policy priority, rather than being viewed solely as a public health issue.

Economic Cost of Road Crashes

The estimated annual cost covers a wide range of losses arising from road accidents.

These include reduced economic productivity resulting from deaths and permanent disabilities, medical and rehabilitation expenses, damage to vehicles and other property, administrative costs, as well as the less easily measured social effects of pain, grief and suffering.

The World Bank noted that the financial burden of road crashes is particularly significant when compared with government spending on major social sectors.

It estimated that the annual economic losses equivalent to 2.1% of GDP were roughly twice the government’s actual expenditure on health and amounted to more than two-thirds of actual education expenditure in the comparison presented in the report.

Ghana Records High Road Fatalities

The scale of the economic impact is linked to the high number of people losing their lives or suffering serious injuries on Ghanaian roads.

In 2021, the country recorded 8,494 road traffic deaths, translating into a fatality rate of 25.9 deaths per 100,000 people.

The World Bank described the rate as one of the highest recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa.

There has since been some improvement, with fatalities and serious injuries declining by 13.7% between 2021 and 2024.

However, the Bank cautioned that the reduction should be viewed against the country’s already severe road safety situation and does not mean the underlying problem has been resolved.

Motorcycle and Tricycle Deaths Rising

The report also draws attention to a major shift in the profile of road crash victims.

The proportion of road fatalities involving motorcycle and tricycle users increased dramatically, rising from just 2.7% in 2001 to 34% in 2021.

According to the World Bank, many of those affected work within the informal logistics and transport economy.

The growing number of deaths among these road users therefore presents an increasingly important challenge for Ghana’s road safety authorities.

Focus on Crash Hotspots

The World Bank believes Ghana can achieve better results by concentrating resources on locations where crashes occur most frequently.

Its analysis identified crash hotspots covering approximately 2.65% of urban roads and 4.37% of rural roads.

The report particularly highlights persistent and worsening risks along major rural roads.

Rather than relying exclusively on broad nationwide interventions, the Bank recommends targeted measures on high-risk corridors.

These could include better road markings, redesigned intersections, dedicated pedestrian crossings and improved street lighting.

It also advocates stronger safety requirements for commercial vehicle fleets and a more robust mandate for the National Road Safety Authority.

Transport Problems Carry Wider Economic Costs

The World Bank’s concerns extend beyond road crashes.

It links Ghana’s wider transport difficulties to weaknesses in infrastructure maintenance, institutional coordination and long-term planning.

The report identifies unsafe roads, severe congestion in urban areas, weak rail infrastructure and limited access to roads that remain usable throughout the year as major constraints on economic development.

Urban traffic congestion alone is estimated to cost the Ghanaian economy around GH¢4.5 billion annually, equivalent to approximately 1% of 2021 GDP.

Road Safety Should Be a Fiscal Priority

The World Bank is therefore calling for road safety to be incorporated into Ghana’s broader transport-sector reform strategy.

It recommends that the government treat road safety as a macro-fiscal priority, supported by focused investment in crash-prone areas and stronger enforcement of safety regulations.

The Bank also believes transport reforms should address maintenance, governance and the integration of different modes of transport rather than concentrating solely on the construction of new roads.

Big Push Presents Opportunity

The findings come as Ghana prepares to significantly expand infrastructure investment through the government’s Big Push Infrastructure Programme.

Under the 2026 budget, the programme has been allocated approximately US$2.2 billion for infrastructure development.

The World Bank says the investment programme presents an opportunity to address some of Ghana’s longstanding transport challenges.

However, it cautions that building new infrastructure alone will not be sufficient.

According to the Bank, Ghana must simultaneously strengthen road maintenance, institutional governance, enforcement of safety standards and multimodal transport planning if it is to reduce the economic costs associated with unsafe and inefficient transportation.