Map of Ghana | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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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.


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Location

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area
Total: 238,540 km²
Land: 230,020 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Oregon

Land boundaries: 2,093 km; Burkina 548 km, Ivory Coast 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
Disputes: none

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

Natural resources: gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish, rubber

Land use: arable land: 5%; permanent crops: 7%; meadows and pastures 15%; forest and woodland 37%; other 36%; includes irrigated NEGL%

Irrigated land

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography


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Population: 16,185,351 (July 1992), growth rate 3.1% (1992)

Nationality: noun - Ghanaian(s; adjective - Ghanaian

Ethnic groups:

Languages:

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

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate

Birth rate: 45 births/1000 population (1992)

Death rate: 13 deaths/1000 population (1992)

Net migration rate: - 1 migrant/1000 population (1992)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: recent drought in north severely affecting marginal agricultural activities; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; dry, northeasterly harmattan wind (January to March)
Current issues note: Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 86 deaths/1000 live births (1992)

Life expectancy at birth: 53 years male, 57 years female (1992)

Total fertility rate: 6.3 children born/woman (1992)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy: 60% (male 70%, female 51%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Ghana

Government type: military

Capital: Accra

Administrative divisions:

Dependent areas

Independence: 6 March 1957 (from UK, formerly Gold Coast)

National holiday: Independence Day, 6 March (1957)

Constitution: 24 September 1979; suspended 31 December 1981

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

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: none

Executive branch: chairman of the Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC), PNDC, Cabinet

Legislative branch:

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation:
Diplomatic representation:
US:

Diplomatic representation

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with a large black five-pointed star centered in the gold 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

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Supported by substantial international assistance, Ghana has been implementing a steady economic rebuilding program since 1983, including moves toward privatization and relaxation of government controls. Heavily dependent on cocoa, gold, and timber exports, economic growth so far has not spread substantially to other areas of the economy. The costs of sending peacekeeping forces to Liberia and preparing for the transition to a democratic government have been boosting government expenditures and undercutting structural adjustment reforms. Ghana opened a stock exchange in 1990. Much of the economic improvement in 1991 was caused by favorable weather (following a severe drought the previous year) that led to plentiful harvests in Ghana's agriculturally based economy.
GDP: $6.2 billion; per capita $400; real growth rate 5% (1991 est.)

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate

Real gdp per capita

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: accounts for more than 50% of GDP (including fishing and forestry; the major cash crop is cocoa; other principal crops - rice, coffee, cassava, peanuts, corn, shea nuts, timber; normally self-sufficient in food

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

Industrial production growth rate: growth rate 7.4% in manufacturing (1989; accounts for almost 1.5% of GDP

Labor force: 3,700,000; agriculture and fishing 54.7%, industry 18.7%, sales and clerical 15.2%, services, transportation, and communications 7.7%, professional 3.7%; 48% of population of working age (1983)
Organized labor: 467,000 (about 13% of labor force)

Unemployment rate: 10% (1991)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues $821 million; expenditures $782 million, including capital expenditures of $151 million (1990 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $843 million (f.o.b., 1991 est.)
Commodoties: cocoa 45%, gold, timber, tuna, bauxite, and aluminum
Partners: US 23%, UK, other EC

Imports: $1.2 billion (c.i.f., 1991 est.)
Commodoties: petroleum 16%, consumer goods, foods, intermediate goods, capital equipment
Partners: US 10%, UK, FRG, France, Japan, South Korea, GDR

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates


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Electricity
Production: 1,180,000 kW capacity; 4,140 million kWh produced, 265 kWh per capita (1991)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: exchange rate conversion - $30 million, less than 1% of GNP (1989 est.)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports:

Heliports

Pipelines: none

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: Volta, Ankobra, and Tano Rivers provide 168 km of perennial navigation for launches and lighters; Lake Volta provides 1,125 km of arterial and feeder waterways

Merchant marine: 5 cargo and 1 refrigerated cargo (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 53,435 GRT/69,167 DWT
Civil air: 8 major transport aircraft

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the international drug trade