Ghana

Past

Ghana

Background:

Formed from the merger of the British colony of the Gold Coast and the Togoland trust territory, Ghana in 1957 became the first sub-Saharan country in colonial Africa to gain its independence. Ghana endured a long series of coups before Lt. Jerry RAWLINGS took power in 1981 and banned political parties. After approving a new constitution and restoring multiparty politics in 1992, RAWLINGS won presidential elections in 1992 and 1996, but was constitutionally prevented from running for a third term in 2000. John KUFUOR, who defeated former Vice President John ATTA-MILLS in a free and fair election, succeeded him.

Environment

Ghana

Location:

Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Cote d'Ivoire and Togo

Geographic coordinates:

8 00 N, 2 00 W

Map references:

Africa

Area:

total: 239,460 sq km
land: 230,940 sq km
water: 8,520 sq km

Area - comparative:

slightly smaller than Oregon

Land boundaries:

total: 2,094 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 549 km, Cote d'Ivoire 668 km, Togo 877 km

Coastline:

539 km

Maritime claims:

territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm

Climate:

tropical; warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast; hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north

Terrain:

mostly low plains with dissected plateau in south-central area

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Afadjato 880 m

Natural resources:

gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish, rubber, hydropower, petroleum, silver, salt, limestone

Land use:

arable land: 17.54%
permanent crops: 9.22%
other: 73.24% (2005)

Irrigated land:

310 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources:

53.2 cu km (2001)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):

Total: 0.98 cu km/yr (24%/10%/66%)
Per capita: 44 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards:

dry, dusty, northeastern harmattan winds occur from January to March; droughts

Environment - current issues:

recurrent drought in north severely affects agricultural activities; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; poaching and habitat destruction threatens wildlife populations; water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation

Geography - note:

Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake

People

Ghana

Population:

22,931,299
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 38.2% (male 4,438,308/female 4,329,293)
15-64 years: 58.2% (male 6,661,512/female 6,687,738)
65 years and over: 3.6% (male 380,495/female 433,953) (2007 est.)

Median age:

total: 20.2 years
male: 19.9 years
female: 20.4 years (2007 est.)

Population growth rate:

1.972% (2007 est.)

Birth rate:

29.85 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Death rate:

9.55 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Net migration rate:

-0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Gender ratio:

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.025 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.996 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.877 male(s)/female
total population: 1.003 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 53.56 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 58 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 48.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 59.12 years
male: 58.31 years
female: 59.95 years (2007 est.)

Total fertility rate:

3.89 children born/woman (2007 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

3.1% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

350,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

30,000 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases:

degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria and yellow fever are high risks in some locations
water contact disease: schistosomiasis
respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis (2007)

Nationality:

noun: Ghanaian(s)
adjective: Ghanaian

Ethnic groups:

Akan 45.3%, Mole-Dagbon 15.2%, Ewe 11.7%, Ga-Dangme 7.3%, Guan 4%, Gurma 3.6%, Grusi 2.6%, Mande-Busanga 1%, other tribes 1.4%, other 7.8% (2000 census)

Religions:

Christian 68.8% (Pentecostal/Charismatic 24.1%, Protestant 18.6%, Catholic 15.1%, other 11%), Muslim 15.9%, traditional 8.5%, other 0.7%, none 6.1% (2000 census)

Languages:

Asante 14.8%, Ewe 12.7%, Fante 9.9%, Boron (Brong) 4.6%, Dagomba 4.3%, Dangme 4.3%, Dagarte (Dagaba) 3.7%, Akyem 3.4%, Ga 3.4%, Akuapem 2.9%, other 36.1% (includes English (official)) (2000 census)

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 57.9%
male: 66.4%
female: 49.8% (2000 census)

Government

Ghana

Country name:

conventional long form: Republic of Ghana
conventional short form: Ghana
former: Gold Coast

Government type:

constitutional democracy

Capital:

name: Accra
geographic coordinates: 5 33 N, 0 13 W
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:

10 regions; Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, Western

Independence:

6 March 1957 (from UK)

National holiday:

Independence Day, 6 March (1957)

Constitution:

approved 28 April 1992

Legal system:

based on English common law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

chief of state: President John Agyekum KUFUOR (since 7 January 2001); Vice President Alhaji Aliu MAHAMA (since 7 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President John Agyekum KUFUOR (since 7 January 2001); Vice President Alhaji Aliu MAHAMA (since 7 January 2001)
cabinet: Council of Ministers; president nominates members subject to approval by Parliament
elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 7 December 2004 (next to be held in December 2008)
election results: John Agyekum KUFUOR reelected president in election; percent of vote - John KUFUOR 53.4%, John ATTA-MILLS 43.7%

Legislative branch:

unicameral Parliament (230 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 7 December 2004 (next to be held December in 2008)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NPP 128, NDC 94, PNC 4, CPP 3, independent 1

Judicial branch:

Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders:

Convention People's Party or CPP [Dr. Edmund DELLE]; Democratic Freedom Party or DFP [Alhaji Abudu Rahman ISSAKAH]; Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere or EGLE; Great Consolidated Popular Party or GCPP [Dan LARTEY]; National Democratic Congress or NDC [Dr. Kwabena ADJEI]; New Patriotic Party or NPP [Peter MAC-MANU]; People's National Convention or PNC [Alhaji Amed RAMADAN]; Reform Party [Kyeretwie OPUKU]; United Renaissance Party or URP [Charles WAYO]

Political pressure groups and leaders:

NA

International organization participation:

ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OIF, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Kwame BAWUAH-EDUSEI
chancery: 1156 15th St. NW #905, Washington, DC 20005
telephone: [1] (202) 785-1379
FAX: [1] (202) 785-1430
consulate(s) general: New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Pamela E. BRIDGEWATER
embassy: Ring Road East, Osu, Accra
mailing address: P. O. Box 194, Accra
telephone: [233] (21) 775-347, 775-348
FAX: [233] (21) 776-008

Flag description:

three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the flag of Bolivia, which has a coat of arms centered in the yellow band

Business

Ghana

Business - overview:

Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has roughly twice the per capita output of the poorest countries in West Africa. Even so, Ghana remains heavily dependent on international financial and technical assistance. Gold, timber, and cocoa production are major sources of foreign exchange. The domestic economy continues to revolve around subsistence agriculture, which accounts for 37% of GDP and employs 60% of the work force, mainly small landholders. Ghana opted for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) program in 2002, but was included in a G-8 debt relief program decided upon at the Gleneagles Summit in July 2005. Priorities under its current $38 million Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) include tighter monetary and fiscal policies, accelerated privatization, and improvement of social services. Receipts from the gold sector helped sustain GDP growth in 2006 along with record high prices for Ghana's largest cocoa crop to date. Ghana received a Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant in 2006, which aims to assist in transforming Ghana's agricultural export sector.

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$31.23 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):

$11.06 billion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

5.8% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$1,400 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 37.3%
industry: 25.3%
services: 37.5% (2006 est.)

Labor force:

11.29 million (2007 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture: 60%
industry: 15%
services: 25% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate:

20% (1997 est.)

Population below poverty line:

31.4% (1992 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: 2.2%
highest 10%: 30.1% (1999)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:

40.8 (1998)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

10% (2007 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):

31.3% of GDP (2007 est.)

Budget:

revenues: $4.347 billion
expenditures: $5.197 billion (2007 est.)

Public debt:

59.6% of GDP (2007 est.)

Agriculture - products:

cocoa, rice, coffee, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, corn, shea nuts, bananas; timber

Industries:

mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food processing, cement, small commercial ship building

Industrial production growth rate:

5.1% (2007 est.)

Electricity - production:

6.648 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel: 5%
hydro: 95%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:

5.849 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - exports:

639 million kWh (2005)

Electricity - imports:

815 million kWh (2005)

Oil - production:

7,571 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption:

47,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - exports:

8,041 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - imports:

45,010 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - proved reserves:

16.5 million bbl (1 January 2006 est.)

Natural gas - production:

0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:

0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - exports:

0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - imports:

0 cu m (2005)

Natural gas - proved reserves:

22.81 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Current account balance:

-$1.47 billion (2007 est.)

Exports:

$4.179 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities:

gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore, diamonds

Exports - partners:

Netherlands 11.3%, UK 8.7%, US 6.7%, Spain 5.7%, Belgium 5.2%, France 4.4% (2006)

Imports:

$7.539 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Imports - partners:

Nigeria 16.7%, China 13%, UK 5.7%, Belgium 4.7%, US 4.7%, South Africa 4.1%, France 4.1% (2006)

Economic aid - recipient:

$1.12 billion (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

$2.329 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Debt - external:

$4.668 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:

$NA

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:

$NA

Market value of publicly traded shares:

$1.729 billion (2006)

Currency (code):

cedi (GHC)

Currency code:

GHC

Exchange rates:

cedis per US dollar - 0.9 (2007), 9,174.8 (2006), 9,072.5 (2005), 9,004.6 (2004), 8,677.4 (2003)

Fiscal year:

calendar year

Communications

Ghana

Telephones - main lines in use:

356,400 (2006)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

5.207 million (2006)

Telephone system:

general assessment: fixed-line infrastructure outdated and unreliable; competition among multiple mobile-cellular providers has spurred growth with subscribership approaching 25 per 100 persons
domestic: primarily microwave radio relay; wireless local loop has been installed
international: country code - 233; landing point for the SAT-3/WASC fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and Asia; satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); microwave radio relay link to Panaftel system connects Ghana to its neighbors

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 0, FM 49, shortwave 3 (2001)

Radios:

12.5 million (2001)

Television broadcast stations:

10 (2001)

Televisions:

1.9 million (2001)

Internet country code:

.gh

Internet hosts:

2,899 (2007)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

12 (2000)

Internet users:

609,800 (2006)

Transportation

Ghana

Airports:

12 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 7
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 2 (2007)

Pipelines:

oil 13 km; refined products 316 km (2006)

Railways:

total: 953 km
narrow gauge: 953 km 1.067-m gauge (2006)

Roadways:

total: 42,623 km
paved: 3,267 km
unpaved: 39,356 km (2004)

Waterways:

1,293 km
note: 168 km for launches and lighters on Volta, Ankobra, and Tano rivers; 1,125 km of arterial and feeder waterways on Lake Volta (2007)

Merchant marine:

total: 3 ships (1000 GRT or over) 5,032 GRT/7,282 DWT
by type: petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 2
foreign-owned: 1 (Brazil 1) (2007)

Ports and terminals:

Tema

Security

Ghana

Military branches:

Ghanaian Army, Ghanaian Navy, Ghanaian Air Force (2007)

Military service age and obligation:

18 years of age for compulsory and volunteer military service (2001)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 18-49: 4,808,451
females age 18-49: 4,762,459 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 18-49: 3,011,081
females age 18-49: 2,991,551 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:

males age 18-49: 251,056
females age 18-49: 247,777 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:

0.8% (2006 est.)

International

Ghana

Disputes - international:

Ghana struggles to accommodate returning nationals who worked in the cocoa plantations and escaped fighting in Cote d'Ivoire

Refugees and internally displaced persons:

refugees (country of origin): 38,684 (Liberia), 14,136 (Togo) (2006)

Illicit drugs:

illicit producer of cannabis for the international drug trade; major transit hub for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin and, to a lesser extent, South American cocaine destined for Europe and the US; widespread crime and money laundering problem, but the lack of a well developed financial infrastructure limits the country's utility as a money laundering center; significant domestic cocaine and cannabis use

This page was last updated on 17 January, 2008 Source: The World Factbook