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: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Côte d'Ivoire and Togo

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

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

Land boundaries: Total 2,093 km, Burkina Faso 548 km, Côte 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
Extremes highest point: Mount Afadjato 880 m

Natural resources:

Land use
Arable land: 5%
Permanent crops: 7%
Permanent pastures: 15%
Forests and woodland: 37%
Other: 36%

Irrigated land: 80 km² (1989)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography


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Population:
Growth rate:

Nationality
Noun: Ghanaian(s)
Adjective: Ghanaian

Ethnic groups:

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

Religions:

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years:
15-64 years:
65 years and over:

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate:

Birth rate:

Death rate:

Net migration rate:

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

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
Current issues Natural hazards: dry, dusty, harmattan winds occur from January to March; droughts
International agreements: party to_Biodiversity,Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified_Desertification, Marine Life Conservation
International agreements note: Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake; northeasterly harmattan wind (January to March)

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female
All ages:

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 56.17 years (1996 est.); 55.85 years (1995 est.)
Male: 54.18 years (1996 est.); 53.88 years (1995 est.)
Female: 58.22 years (1996 est.); 57.88 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate:

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
Definition: age 15 and over that can read and write (1995 est.)
Total population: 64.5%
Male: 75.9%
Female: 53.5%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Ghana
Conventional short form: Ghana
Former: Gold Coast

Government type: Constitutional democracy

Capital: Accra

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

Dependent areas

Independence: 6 March 1957 (from U.K.)

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

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state and head of government: President Jerry John RAWLINGS (since 3 November 1992); elected for a four-year term by direct universal suffrage; the president can appoint a vice president; election last held 3 November 1992 (next to be held NA December 1996)
Cabinet: Cabinet; president nominates members subject to approval by the Parliament

Legislative branch: Unicameral Parliament:Elections last held 29 December 1992 (next to be held NA December 1996; results_opposition boycotted the election, the National Democratic Congress won 198 of the total 200 seats and 2 seats were won by independents; because of interim bye-elections, the National Democratic Congress and its remaining coalition partner, Every Ghanian Living Everywhere (EGLE), now control 189 seats; former coalition partner, NCP, has 8 seats; independents hold 3

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders

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, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, MINURSO, NAM, OAU, UN, UNAMIR, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

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: Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has twice the per capita output of the poorer countries in West Africa. Heavily reliant on international assistance, Ghana has made steady progress in liberalizing its economy since 1983. Overall growth continued at a rate of approximately 5% in 1995, due largely to increased gold, timber, and cocoa production_major sources of foreign exchange. The economy, however, continues to revolve around subsistence agriculture, which accounts for almost half of GDP and employs 55% of the work force, mainly small landholders. Public sector wage increases, regional peacekeeping commitments, and the containment of internal unrest in the underdeveloped north have placed substantial demands on the government's budget and have led to inflationary deficit financing, depreciation of the cedi, and rising public discontent with Ghana's austerity program.

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 47% 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:

Industrial production growth rate: Growth rate 2.8% (1994 est.), 3.4% in manufacturing (1993; accounts for 16% of GDP

Labor force: 3.7 million
By occupation agriculture and fishing: 54.7%
By occupation industry: 18.7%
By occupation sales and clerical: 15.2%
By occupation transportation and communications: 7.7%
By occupation professional: 3.7%

Unemployment rate:

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $1.05 billion
Expenditures: $1.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $178 million (1993)

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: total value. $1 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
Commodities:
Partners:

Imports: total value:$1.7 billion (c.i.f., 1993 est.)
Commodities:
Partners:

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $4.6 billion (December 1993 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: New cedis per US$1_1,246.11 (September 1995), 956.71 (1994), 649.06 (1993), 437.09 (1992), 367.83 (1991), 326.33 (1990)


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Electricity
Capacity: 1,180,000 kW
Production: 6.1 billion kWh
Consumption per capita: 323 kWh (1993)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones

Telephone system: 70,000 telephones (1988 est.); poor to fair system
Local: NA
Intercity: primarily microwave radio relay
International: 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $30 million, 0.8% of GDP (1994; $108 million, 1.5% of GDP (1993)

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: 12
2438 to 3047 m: 3
15-24 to 2437 m: 2
914 to 1523 m: 2
Under 914 m: 2

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
Total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 27,427 GRT/35,894 DWT
Ships by type: cargo 2, refrigerated cargo 1

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; transit hub for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin destined for Europe and the U.S.