ChrisDad/can_young_ghanains_afford_life

A data-driven affordability model for income, rent, food, transport, utilities, savings, and independence in Ghana. # Can a Young Ghanaian Afford Life? A Ghana-first data science and storytelling project that models the real affordability of young adult life using official economic data, household expenditure sources, local price samples, and survey responses. ## Core question > Can a young Ghanaian worker realistically afford independent life after rent, food, transport, utilities, mobile data, family support, savings, and basic personal needs? ## Why this matters A salary can look decent until real life starts subtracting from it. This project examines the gap between what young people earn and what life actually costs in Ghana. ## Main outputs - Affordability metrics: Survival Gap, Expense Ratio, Rent Burden, Food Burden, Transport Burden, Independence Score. - Young Ghanaian Affordability Line (YGAL): a transparent monthly income threshold for different living scenarios. - Persona analysis: national service worker, junior office worker, junior tech worker, freelancer, young family. - Dashboard: interactive monthly budget simulator. - Optional ML layer: financial stress classifier or survival gap regression. - Final case study: a polished public-facing report. ## Suggested data layers 1. **Official Ghana data**: GSS Microdata, GSS StatsBank, GSS inflation reports, Ghana Open Data, Bank of Ghana. 2. **Local lived-cost data**: rent listings, food basket prices, transport fares, mobile data, utilities, toiletries. 3. **Survey data**: young Ghanaian income, housing, spending, savings, debt, family support, financial stress. ## Repository structure ```text can-young-ghanaian-afford-life/ ├── config/ # Project settings and assumptions ├── data/ # Raw, processed, survey, and template data ├── dashboard/ # Streamlit dashboard ├── docs/ # Charter, methodology, sources, ethics ├── notebooks/ # Step-by-step analysis notebooks ├── reports/ # Case study and executive summary templates ├─ …