These outcomes would have surprised many who wrote at the time of independence. In 1960, Ghana had a real GDP per capita of just $594, far behind Côte d’Ivoire’s $1,675; but in 2007 according to the Penn World Table, Ghana had reached
$1,653—a gain of 278% and nearly enough to close its original deficit—while CIV increased to $2,228, a modest gain of just 33% after 47 years. Ghana has reached current parity with CIV on life expectancy; in 1960, life expectancy in CIV was 51 to Ghana’s 46; but in 2007, each had a life expectancy of 57. In 2008, under-5 mortality was 114 in CIV and a still high but significantly lower 76 in Ghana. Aysit Tansel shows that by 1987, Ghana was well ahead of CIV in mean years of schooling by each gender and across age groups.