The Gambia, with a population of 203,850 spends the most per person – calculated at US$1,867 per person in 2016. In 2016, it had an estimated budget of US$380 million, just 128 million more than Guinea Bissau, which has the least budget of US$ 252 million.
Guinea Bissau with US$1359 per person and Cape Verde with US$797 per person have the second and third position of country government spending the most on her citizens respectively. Does this mean when you have a country with fewer people, your expenditure per person will be high? Yes!
Let’s compare Ghana and Nigeria. Ghana is the second most populated country in West Africa with 28 million people, while Nigeria is the most populated with 185 million people. Nigeria’s budget (US$23 billion) is a double of what Ghana budgets (US$ 11 billion) for its people. Notwithstanding, Ghana with US$ 425 is the fourth country that her government spends, the most, on her citizen, while Nigeria hangs at the bottom, fourth from the last spending US$125 per person.
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