Background
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[ Geography ] [ People ] [ Government ] [ Economy ] [ Communications ] [ Transportation ] [ Military ]

Geography

Background: Formed from the merger of the British colony of the Gold Coast and the Togoland trust territory, Ghana in 1957 became the first country in colonial Africa to gain its independence. A long series of coups resulted in the suspension of the constitution in 1981 and the banning of political parties. A new constitution, restoring multiparty politics, was approved in 1992.

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

Geographic coordinates: 8 00 N, 2 00 W

Area:
total: 238,540 sq km
land : 230,020 sq km
water: 8,520 sq km

Land boundaries:
total: 2,093 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 548 km, Cote d'Ivoire 668 km, Togo 877 km

Coastline: 539 km

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

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

Irrigated land: 60 sq km (1993 est.); 110 sq km (1998 est.); 310 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards: dry, dusty, harmattan winds occur from January to March; droughts

Environment - current issues: recent drought in north severely affecting 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, 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; northeasterly harmattan wind (January to March)

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People

Population: 19,533,560 (2000); 20,244,154 (2002 est.); 23,382,848 (July 2008 est.)
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, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected

Age structure:
0-14 years: 37.8% (male 4,470,382/female 4,360,359)
15-64 years: 58.7% (male 6,852,363/female 6,866,470)
65 years and over: 3.6% (male 386,150/female 447,124) (2008 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.87% (2000 est.); 1.7% (2002 est.); 1.928% (2008 est.)

Birth rate: 29.81 births/1,000 population (2000 est.); 28.08 births/1,000 population (2002 est.); 29.22 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 10.22 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.); 10.31 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.); 9.39 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.); -0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.); -0.55 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 57.43 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.) , 55.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 57.42 years (2000 est.), 57.06 years 2002 est.)
male : 56.07 years(2000 est.) , 55.66 years 2002 est.)
female: 58.82 years (2000 est.) , 58.51 years (2002 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.95 children born/woman (2000 est.) , 3.69 children born/woman (2002 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Ghanaian(s)
adjective: Ghanaian

Ethnic groups: black African 99.8% (major tribes - Akan 44%, Moshi-Dagomba 16%, Ewe 13%, Ga 8%), European and other 0.2%

Religions: indigenous beliefs 38%, Muslim 30%, Christian 24%, other 8%

Languages: English (official), African languages (including Akan, Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga)

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

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Government

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

Government type: constitutional democracy

National capital: Accra

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: new 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 Jerry John RAWLINGS (since 7 January 1993); Vice President John Evans Atta MILLS (since 7 January 1993); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Jerry John RAWLINGS (since 7 January 1993); Vice President John Evans Atta MILLS (since 7 January 1993); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
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; election last held 7 December 1996 (next to be held NA December 2000)
election results: Jerry John RAWLINGS reelected president; percent of vote - RAWLINGS 57.2%, John KUFUOR 39.8%

Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (200 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections : last held 7 December 1996 (next to be held NA December 2000)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NDC 133, NPP 61, PCP 5, PNC 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: Convention People's Party or CPP [Nii Noi DOWUONA, general secretary]; Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere or EGLE [Owuraku AMOFA, chairman]; Great Consolidated Popular Party or GCPP [Dan LARTY]; National Convention Party or NCP [Sarpong KUMA-KUMA]; National Democratic Congress or NDC [Dr. Huudu YAHAYA, general secretary]; New Patriotic Party or NPP [Samuel Arthur ODOI-SYKES]; People's Convention Party or PCP [P. K. DONKOH-AYIFI, acting chairman]; People's Heritage Party or PHP [Emmanuel Alexander ERSKINE]; People's National Convention or PNC [Edward MAHAMA]; Reform Party [Kyeretwie OPUKU, general secretary]

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM, OAS (observer), OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

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

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Economy

Standard Bank Market Watch Report - Click Here to view.

Economy - 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 and cocoa production, and individual remittances, are major sources of foreign exchange. The domestic economy continues to revolve around agriculture, which accounts for about 35% of GDP and employs about 55% of the work force, mainly small landholders. Ghana opted for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) program in 2002, and is also benefiting from the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative that took effect in 2006. Thematic priorities under its current Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy, which also provides the framework for development partner assistance, are: macroeconomic stability; private sector competitiveness; human resource development; and good governance and civic responsibility. Sound macro-economic management along with high prices for gold and cocoa helped sustain GDP growth in 2007. Ghana signed a Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact in 2006, which aims to assist in transforming Ghana's agricultural sector.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $35.5 billion (1999 est.); $39.4 billion (2001 est.); $31.23 billion (2007 est.)

GDP - 4.3% (1999 est.); 3% (2001 est.); 6.2% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,900 (1999 est.); $1,980 (2001 est.); $1,400 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 37.3%
industry: 25.3%
services: 37.5% (2006 est.)

Population below poverty line: 31.4% (1992 est.); 28.5% (2007 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.2%
highest 10%: 30.1% (1999)

Inflation rate - consumer prices: 12.8% (1999 est.); 25% (2001 est.); 11% (2007 est.)

Labor force:
11.29 million (2007 est.)

Unemployment rate: 20% (1997 est.); 11% (2000 est.)

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

Industries: mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food processing

Industrial production growth rate: 4.2% (1996 est.); 3.8% (2000 est.); 7.4% (2007 est.)

Electricity - production: 6.206 billion kWh (1998); 5.92 billion kWh (2000); 7.042 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - consumption: 5.437 billion kWh (1998); 5.484 billion kWh (2000); 6.906 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - exports: 400 million kWh (1998); 422 million kWh (2000); 256 million kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - imports: 65 million kWh (1998); 400 million kWh (2000); 461 million kWh (2007 est.)

Agriculture - products: cocoa, rice, coffee, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, corn, shea nuts, bananas; timber

Exports:
total value: $1.7 billion (f.o.b., 1999); $1.94 billion (f.o.b., 2000); $4.194 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
commodities: gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore, diamonds
partners: Netherlands 11.3%, UK 8.7%, US 6.7%, Spain 5.7%, Belgium 5.2%, France 4.4% (2006)

Imports:
total value: $2.5 billion (f.o.b., 1999); $2.83 billion (f.o.b., 2000); $8.073 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
commodities: capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs
partners: Nigeria 16.7%, China 13%, UK 5.7%, Belgium 4.7%, US 4.7%, South Africa 4.1%, France 4.1% (2006)

Debt - external: $6 billion (1998 est.); $5.96 billion (2001 est.); $3.387 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Economic aid -recipient: $477.3 million (1995) , $6.9 billion (1999); $1.316 billion in loans and grants (2007)

Currency: 1 new cedi (C) = 100 pesewas

Exchange rates: cedis per US dollar - 0.95 (2007), 9,174.8 (2006), 9,072.5 (2005), 9,004.6 (2004), 8,677.4 (2003)
note: in 2007 Ghana revalued its currency with 10,000 old cedis equal to 1 new cedis

Fiscal year: calendar year

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Communications

Telephones: 200,000 (1998 est.); 240,000 (2001); 356,400 (2006)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 30,000 (yearend 1998); 150,000 (2001); 5.207 million (2006)

Telephone system: fixed-line infrastructure outdated and unreliable; competition among multiple mobile-cellular providers has spurred growth with subscribership about 25 per 100 persons and rising
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 18, shortwave 3 (1999); AM 0, FM 49, shortwave 3 (2001); AM 0, FM 86, shortwave 3 (2007)

Radios: 4.4 million (1997) , 12.5 million (2001)

Television broadcast stations: 11 (1999); 10 (2001); 7 (2007)

Televisions: 250,000 (1993 est.), 1.73 million (1997) , 1.9 million (2001)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 2 (1999) , 12 (2000)

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Transportation

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

Highways:
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)

Ports and harbors: Takoradi, Tema

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)

Airports: 12 (1999 est.); 12 (2001); 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)

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Military

Military branches: Ghanaian Army, Ghanaian Navy, Ghanaian Air Force (2007)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 16-49: 5,802,096
females age 16-49: 5,729,939 (2008 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 3,737,481
females age 16-49: 3,729,699 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 0.7% (FY99); 0.7% (FY01); 0.8% (2006 est.)

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