World Facts

conventional long form: Republic of Ghana
Capital: Accra
Type of Government: constitutional democracy-
Administrative Divisions: 10 regions; Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, Western
Age Structure: 0-14 years: 37.1% (male 3,946,326/female 3,862,390)
Agriculture: cocoa, rice, coffee, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, corn, shea nuts, bananas; timber
Airports: 12 (2004 est.)
With Paved Runways: total: 7
With Unpaved Runways:
Area: total: 239,460 sq km. slightly smaller than Oregon
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. A long series of coups resulted in the suspension of the constitution in 1981 and a ban on political parties. A new constitution, restoring multiparty politics, was approved in 1992. Lt. Jerry RAWLINGS, head of state since 1981, 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 Atta MILLS in a free and fair election, succeeded him.
Birth rate: 23.97 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget: revenues: $3.216 billion
Coastline: 539 km-
Climate: tropical; warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast; hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north
Communications:
Constitution: approved 28 April 1992
Currency: cedi (GHC)
Current account balance: $57 million (2005 est.)
Death rate: 10.84 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external: $7.084 billion (2005 est.)-
Dependency status: -
Dependent areas:
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Mary Carlin YATES
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Fritz Kwabena POKU
Disputes - international: Ghana struggles to accommodate returning nationals who worked in the cocoa plantations and escaped rebel fighting in Cote d'Ivoire
Distribution of family income: 30 (1999)-
Economic aid - donor: -
Economic aid - recipient:
Economy - overview: Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has roughly twice the per capita output of the poorer 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 34% 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 G8 debt relief program decided upon at the Gleneagles Summit in July 2005. Priorities under its current $38 million PRGF include tighter monetary and fiscal policies, accelerated privatization, and improvement of social services. Receipts from the gold sector helped sustain GDP growth in 2005 along with record high prices for Ghana's largest cocoa crop to date. Inflation should ease, but remain a major internal problem. Ghana also remains a candidate country to benefit from Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) funding that could assist in transforming Ghana's agricultural export sector. A final decision on its MCC bid is expected for spring 2006.
Electricity - consumption:
Electricity - exports:
Electricity - imports:
Electricity - production:
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
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
Ethnic groups: black African 98.5% (major tribes - Akan 44%, Moshi-Dagomba 16%, Ewe 13%, Ga 8%, Gurma 3%, Yoruba 1%), European and other 1.5% (1998)
Exchange rates: cedis per US dollar - 9,127.42 (2005), 9,004.6 (2004), 8,677.4 (2003), 7,932.7 (2002), 7,170.8 (2001)
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
Exports: $2.911 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Exports - partners: Netherlands 12.3%, UK 10%, France 6.9%, US 6.4%, Belgium 4.7%, Germany 4.6%, Japan 4.2% (2004)
Fiscal year: calendar year
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
GDP (official exchange rate): $9.464 billion (2005 est.)
GDP (purchasing power parity): $51.8 billion (2005 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 35.5%
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,500 (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 4.3% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates: 8 00 N, 2 00 W
Geography - note: Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake-
Government - note:
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 3.1% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 30,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 350,000 (2003 est.)-
Heliports:
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.2%
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
Imports: $4.273 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Imports - partners: Nigeria 12.6%, China 11.4%, UK 6.6%, US 6.4%, France 4.9%, Netherlands 4.2% (2004)
Independence: 6 March 1957 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate: 3.8% (2000 est.)
Industries: mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food processing, cement, small commercial ship building
Infant mortality rate: total: 51.43 deaths/1,000 live births
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 15% (2005 est.)
International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Internet country code: .gh
Internet hosts: 407 (2004)
Internet users: 170,000 (2002)
Investment (gross fixed): 24.6% of GDP (2005 est.)
Irrigated land: 110 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Labor force: 10.62 million (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
Land boundaries: total: 2,094 km
Land use: arable land: 16.26%
Languages: English (official), African languages (including Akan, Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga)
Legal system: based on English common law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch:
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 58.47 years
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Location: Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Cote d'Ivoire and Togo
Major infectious diseases: degree of risk: very high
Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49: 4,761,226 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 2,721,239 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually: males: 250,782 (2005 est.)
Map references: Africa
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm
Median age: total: 20.45 years
Merchant marine: total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 19,086 GRT/26,185 DWT-
Military - note:
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $49.2 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 0.6% (2004)
Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for compulsory and volunteer military service (2001)
National holiday: Independence Day, 6 March (1957)
Nationality: noun: Ghanaian(s)-
Natural gas - consumption: -
Natural gas - exports: -
Natural gas - imports:
Natural gas - production: -
Natural gas - proved reserves:
Natural hazards: dry, dusty, northeastern harmattan winds occur from January to March; droughts
Natural resources: gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish, rubber, hydropower, petroleum, silver, salt, limestone
Net migration rate: -0.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption: 39,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Oil - exports: NA (2001)
Oil - imports: NA (2001)
Oil - production: 7,433 bbl/day (2003 est.)-
Oil - proved reserves: -
People - note:
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]
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
Population: 21,029,853
Population below poverty line: 31.4% (1992 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.25% (2005 est.)
Ports and terminals: Takoradi, Tema-
Public debt:
Radio broadcast stations: AM 0, FM 49, shortwave 3 (2001)
Railways: total: 953 km-
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
Religions: Christian 63%, Muslim 16%, indigenous beliefs 21%
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $1.732 billion (2005 est.)
Roadways: total: 47,787 km
Sex ratio:
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system: general assessment: poor to fair system; Internet accessible; many rural communities not yet connected; expansion of services is underway
Telephones - main lines in use: 302,300 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 799,900 (2003)
Television broadcast stations: 10 (2001)
Terrain: mostly low plains with dissected plateau in south-central area
Total fertility rate: 3.02 children born/woman (2005 est.)-
Transportation - note:
Unemployment rate: 20% (1997 est.)-
Waterways: