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Claim: A Facebook post claims that Ghana dropped from 4th to 10th among the most peaceful countries in Africa and from 55th to 76th globally in the 2026 Global Peace Index (GPI), attributing the decline to President John Mahama’s leadership. It further suggests Ghana was more peaceful under former President Nana Akufo-Addo.
Verdict: Misleading! Checks by DUBAWA showed Ghana’s decline in the index did not occur abruptly under Mahama.
Full Text
A viral Facebook post (archived here) claims that Ghana’s position on the Global Peace Index (GPI) significantly declined in 2026 under President John Dramani Mahama, suggesting a direct link between the drop and his leadership.
The post uses the 2026 ranking to validate a political argument about the administrations of former President Nana Akufo-Addo and incumbent President John Mahama.
Attributing a specific year’s international index ranking solely to the “effectiveness” of a current or former president oversimplifies complex global socio-economic indices.
DUBAWA examined the data and context behind these claims.
Verification
Official data from the Institute for Economics and Peace confirms that Ghana is ranked 76th globally in 2026, down from 55th in 2024, and has also slipped to 10th in Africa.
However, the claim omits critical context. Ghana’s decline in the index did not occur abruptly under Mahama. The downward trend began earlier, with rankings falling from 38th in 2021 to 51st in 2023 and 55th in 2024, all during the final years of the Akufo-Addo administration.
The 2026 ranking reflects conditions in 2025, the first full year of Mahama’s return to office, but it builds on a trajectory already in motion.
| Year | Global Rank | African Rank | Administration |
| 2021 | 38 | 2nd | Akufo-Addo |
| 2022 | 40 | 2nd | Akufo-Addo |
| 2023 | 51 | 4th | Akufo-Addo |
| 2024 | 55 | 4th | Akufo-Addo |
| 2025 | 61 | ~7th | Transition year |
| 2026 | 76 | ~10th | Mahama |
The decline started around 2022 to 2023, well before the change in government. Framing the drop as occurring under Mahama alone ignores the gradual deterioration already underway.
Does the GPI attribute the decline to “attacks on free speech”?
No. The Global Peace Index:
- Does not assign blame to specific leaders
- Does not isolate “free speech crackdowns” as a standalone cause
- Uses 23 indicators, including:
- societal safety and security
- conflict levels
- militarisation
While issues such as civil liberties influence broader indicators, the report does not make the political claim the post presents. Attributing the drop specifically to “attacks on free speech under Mahama” is interpretative, not evidence-based.
Was Ghana more peaceful under Akufo-Addo?
Data shows that Ghana achieved its best rankings between 2017 and 2021, during Akufo-Addo’s presidency, including:
- Peak global rank: 38th (2021)
- Peak regional rank: 2nd in Sub-Saharan Africa
However, peace levels declined toward the end of his tenure. The downturn continued into 2025–2026. While Ghana performed better on average during Akufo-Addo’s tenure, the claim ignores the continuity of trends across administrations.
Ghana remains widely recognised as one of the most stable democracies in West Africa. Rankings like the GPI or the Ibrahim Index of African Governance involve dozens of weighted metrics. A drop in rank, or a shift in position relative to other African nations, is often driven by regional instability in the Sahel, economic challenges, or shifting trends in other African countries that may be improving their own metrics, rather than a singular policy change in Ghana.
Context
The GPI is a lagging composite index published annually (usually in June). Based on data from the previous year, this means the 2026 ranking reflects 2025 conditions, and the 2025 ranking reflects 2024 (the final Akufo-Addo year).
Conclusion
The Facebook post relies on accurate figures but presents them in a politically selective and misleading way. The rankings (76th globally, ~10th in Africa) are correct. The claim that the drop occurred solely under Mahama is misleading. The assertion that the decline is directly linked to free speech crackdowns is unsupported by the GPI methodology.
