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

top of page


Background:


top of page


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

Geographic coordinates: 8 00 N, 2 00 W

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 238,533 km²
Land: 227,533 km²
Water: 11,000 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Oregon

Land boundaries
Total: 2,420 km
Border countries: (3) Burkina Faso 602 km; Cote d'Ivoire 720 km; Togo 1098 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
Highest point: Mount Afadjato 885 m
Lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
Mean elevation: 190 m

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

Land use
Agricultural land: 69.1% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land arable land: 20.7% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent crops: 11.9% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent pasture: 36.5% (2018 est.)
Forest: 21.2% (2018 est.)
Other: 9.7% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 360 km² (2013)

Major rivers
By length in km:

Major watersheds area km²: Atlantic Ocean drainage: Volta (410,991 km²)

Total water withdrawal
Municipal: 300 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Industrial: 100 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Agricultural: 1.07 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources: 56.2 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

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

Geography
Note: Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake (manmade reservoir) by surface area (8,482 km²; 3,275 sq mi); the lake was created following the completion of the Akosombo Dam in 1965, which holds back the White Volta and Black Volta Rivers


top of page


Population
Distribution: population is concentrated in the southern half of the country, with the highest concentrations being on or near the Atlantic coast as shown in this [link]: 33,846,114 (2023 est.)
Growth rate: 2.19% (2023 est.)
Below poverty line: 23.4% (2016 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Ghanaian(s)
Adjective: Ghanaian

Ethnic groups: Akan 45.7%, Mole-Dagbani 18.5%, Ewe 12.8%, Ga-Dangme 7.1%, Gurma 6.4%, Guan 3.2%, Grusi 2.7%, Mande 2%, other 1.6% (2021 est.)

Languages: Asante 16%, Ewe 14%, Fante 11.6%, Boron (Brong) 4.9%, Dagomba 4.4%, Dangme 4.2%, Dagarte (Dagaba) 3.9%, Kokomba 3.5%, Akyem 3.2%, Ga 3.1%, other 31.2% (2010 est.)
Note: English is the official language

Religions: Christian 71.3% (Pentecostal/Charismatic 31.6%, Protestant 17.4%, Catholic 10%, other 12.3%), Muslim 19.9%, traditionalist 3.2%, other 4.5%, none 1.1% (2021 est.)

Demographic profile: Ghana has a young age structure, with approximately 56% of the population under the age of 25 as of 2020. Its total fertility rate fell significantly during the 1980s and 1990s but has stalled at around four children per woman for the last few years. Fertility remains higher in the northern region than the Greater Accra region. On average, desired fertility has remained stable for several years; urban dwellers want fewer children than rural residents. Increased life expectancy, due to better health care, nutrition, and hygiene, and reduced fertility have increased Ghana’s share of elderly persons; Ghana’s proportion of persons aged 60+ is among the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Poverty has declined in Ghana, but it remains pervasive in the northern region, which is susceptible to droughts and floods and has less access to transportation infrastructure, markets, fertile farming land, and industrial centers. The northern region also has lower school enrollment, higher illiteracy, and fewer opportunities for women.

Age structure
0-14 years: 37.72% (male 6,445,288/female 6,321,989)
15-64 years: 57.92% (male 9,420,940/female 10,181,376)
65 years and over: 4.36% (2023 est.) (male 660,991/female 815,530)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 68.7
Youth dependency ratio: 62.9
Elderly dependency ratio: 5.9
Potential support ratio: 17 (2021 est.)

Median age
Total: 21.3 years (2023 est.)
Male: 20.4 years
Female: 22.2 years

Population growth rate: 2.19% (2023 est.)

Birth rate: 28 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution: population is concentrated in the southern half of the country, with the highest concentrations being on or near the Atlantic coast as shown in this [link]

Urbanization
Urban population: 59.2% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 3.06% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 3.768 million Kumasi, 2.660 million ACCRA (capital), 1.078 million Sekondi Takoradi (2023)

Environment
Current issues: recurrent drought in north severely affects agricultural activities; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; poaching and habitat destruction threaten wildlife populations; water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling
International agreements signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation

Air pollutants
Particulate matter emissions: 46.04 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 16.67 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 22.75 megatons (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 20.7 years (2014 est.)
Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49

Maternal mortality ratio: 263 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 31.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
Male: 35.3 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 28.4 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 69.7 years (2023 est.)
Male: 68.1 years
Female: 71.4 years

Total fertility rate: 3.61 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 27.2% (2017/18)

Drinking water source
Improved urban: 98.7% of population
Improved rural: 83.8% of population
Improved total: 92.4% of population
Unimproved urban: 1.3% of population
Unimproved rural: 16.2% of population
Unimproved total: 7.6% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure: 4% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density: 0.17 physicians/1,000 population (2020)

Hospital bed density: 0.9 beds/1,000 population (2011)

Sanitation facility access
Improved urban:
Unimproved urban:

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: very high (2023)
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
Vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever
Water contact diseases: schistosomiasis
Animal contact diseases: rabies
Respiratory diseases: meningococcal meningitis
Note: on 31 August 2023, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Travel Alert for polio in Africa; Ghana is currently considered a high risk to travelers for circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV); vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) is a strain of the weakened poliovirus that was initially included in oral polio vaccine (OPV) and that has changed over time and behaves more like the wild or naturally occurring virus; this means it can be spread more easily to people who are unvaccinated against polio and who come in contact with the stool or respiratory secretions, such as from a sneeze, of an “infected” person who received oral polio vaccine; the CDC recommends that before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, the CDC recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 10.9% (2016)

Alcohol consumption
Per capita total: 1.59 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita beer: 0.53 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita wine: 0.05 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita spirits: 0.39 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita other alcohols: 0.61 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use
Total: 3.5% (2020 est.)
Male: 6.6% (2020 est.)
Female: 0.3% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 12.6% (2017/18)

Education expenditures: 3.9% of GDP (2018 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 79%
Male: 83.5%
Female: 74.5% (2018)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 12 years
Male: 12 years
Female: 12 years (2020)

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 9.6% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 9.7%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 9.4%


top of page


Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Ghana
Conventional short form: Ghana
Former: Gold Coast
Etymology: named for the medieval West African kingdom of the same name but whose location was actually further north than the modern country

Government type: presidential republic

Capital
Name: Accra
Geographic coordinates: 5 33 N, 0 13 W
Time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Etymology: the name derives from the Akan word "nkran" meaning "ants," and refers to the numerous anthills in the area around the capital

Administrative divisions: 16 regions; Ahafo, Ashanti, Bono, Bono East, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, North East, Northern, Oti, Savannah, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, Western, Western North

Dependent areas

Independence: 6 March 1957 (from the UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 6 March (1957)

Constitution
History: several previous; latest drafted 31 March 1992, approved and promulgated 28 April 1992, entered into force 7 January 1993
Amendments: proposed by Parliament; consideration requires prior referral to the Council of State, a body of prominent citizens who advise the president of the republic; passage of amendments to "entrenched" constitutional articles (including those on national sovereignty, fundamental rights and freedoms, the structure and authorities of the branches of government, and amendment procedures) requires approval in a referendum by at least 40% participation of eligible voters and at least 75% of votes cast, followed by at least two-thirds majority vote in Parliament, and assent of the president; amendments to non-entrenched articles do not require referenda; amended 1996

Legal system: mixed system of English common law and customary law

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent or grandparent must be a citizen of Ghana
Dual citizenship recognized: yes
Residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Nana Addo Dankwa AKUFO-ADDO (since 7 January 2017); Vice President Mahamudu BAWUMIA (since 7 January 2017); the president is both chief of state and head of government
Head of government: President Nana Addo Dankwa AKUFO-ADDO (since 7 January 2017); Vice President Mahamudu BAWUMIA (since 7 January 2017)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers; nominated by the president, approved by Parliament
Elections/appointments: president and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 7 December 2020 (next to be held in December 2024)
Election results: Nana Addo Dankwa AKUFO-ADDO reelected president in the first round; percent of vote - Nana Addo Dankwa AKUFO-ADDO (NPP) 51.3%, John Dramani MAHAMA (NDC) 47.4%, other 1.3% (2020)

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral Parliament (275 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 4-year terms)
Elections: last held on 7 December 2020 (next to be held in December 2024)
Election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party (preliminary) - NPP 137, NDC 137, independent 1; composition - men 235, women 40, percent of women 14.5%

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and 13 justices)
Judge selection and term of office: chief justice appointed by the president in consultation with the Council of State (a small advisory body of prominent citizens) and with the approval of Parliament; other justices appointed by the president upon the advice of the Judicial Council (an 18-member independent body of judicial, military and police officials, and presidential nominees) and on the advice of the Council of State; justices can retire at age 60, with compulsory retirement at age 70
Subordinate courts: Court of Appeal; High Court; Circuit Court; District Court; regional tribunals

Political parties and leaders:
Note: Ghana has more than 20 registered parties; included are those which participated in the 2020 general election

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, ATMIS, AU, C, ECOWAS, EITI (compliant country), FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINURSO, MONUSCO, NAM, OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNHRC, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNOOSA, UNSOM, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Alima MAHAMA (since 7 July 2021)
In the us chancery: 3,512 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 686-4,520
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 686-4,527
In the us email address and website:
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Virginia E. PALMER (since 16 June 2022)
From the us embassy: No. 24, Fourth Circular Road, Cantonments, Accra, P.O. Box 2,288, Accra
From the us mailing address: 2020 Accra Place, Washington DC 20,521-2020
From the us telephone: [233] (0) 30-274-1000
From the us email address and website:

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green, with a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow band; red symbolizes the blood shed for independence, yellow represents the country's mineral wealth, while green stands for its forests and natural wealth; the black star is said to be the lodestar of African freedom
Note: 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: black star, golden eagle; national colors: red, yellow, green, black

National anthem
Name: "God Bless Our Homeland Ghana"
Lyrics/music: unknown/Philip GBEHO
Note: music adopted 1957, lyrics adopted 1966; the lyrics were changed twice, in 1960 when a republic was declared and after a 1966 coup

National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites: 2 (both cultural)
Selected World Heritage Site locales:


top of page


Economy overview: West African trade and agrarian economy; COVID-19 reversed nearly 4 decades of continuous growth; major diamond, gold, cocoa, and oil exporter; high public debts; financial and energy sector reform programs adding to fiscal pressures; high remittances

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real gdp growth rate:

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 80.1% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 8.6% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 13.7% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 1.1% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 43% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -46.5% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 18.3% (2017 est.)
Industry: 24.5% (2017 est.)
Services: 57.2% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: cassava, yams, plantains, maize, oil palm fruit, taro, rice, cocoa, oranges, pineapples

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

Industrial production growth rate: -0.8% (2021 est.)

Labor force: 14.095 million (2021 est.)

Unemployment rate:

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 9.6% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 9.7%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 9.4%

Population below poverty line: 23.4% (2016 est.)

Gini index
Coefficient distribution of family income: 43.5 (2016 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10%: 2%
Highest 10%: 32.8% (2006)

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $9.492 billion (2018 est.)
Expenditures: $14.062 billion (2018 est.)
Surplus  or deficit: -6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Taxes and other revenues: 11.34% (of GDP) (2020 est.)

Public debt:

Revenue
From forest resources: 3.51% of GDP (2018 est.)
From coal: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)

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:
Partners: Switzerland 23%, United Arab Emirates 12%, China 12%, India 9%, Netherlands 5% (2020)
Commodities: gold, crude petroleum, cocoa products, cashews, manganese (2021)

Imports:
Partners: China 42%, Netherlands 5%, United States 5%, India 5%, United Arab Emirates 3% (2020)
Commodities: refined petroleum, cars, rice, delivery trucks, iron (2020)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

Debt external:

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


top of page


Electricity
Access population without electricity: 5 million (2020)
Access electrification-total population: 86.3% (2021)
Access electrification-urban areas: 95.2% (2021)
Access electrification-rural areas: 74% (2021)
Installed generating capacity: 5.312 million kW (2020 est.)
Consumption: 13,107,757,000 kWh (2019 est.)
Exports: 1.801 billion kWh (2020 est.)
Imports: 58 million kWh (2020 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 2.474 billion kWh (2019 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 63.8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources solar: 0.3% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources wind: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 35.9% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 0.1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

Coal
Production: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Consumption: 48,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
Exports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Imports: 48,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 0 metric tons (2019 est.)

Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 185,700 bbl/day (2021 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 98,000 bbl/day (2019 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate exports: 176,800 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate imports: 3,900 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 660 million barrels (2021 est.)

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 2,073 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports: 2,654 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports: 85,110 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 1,598,653,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
Consumption: 2,224,568,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
Exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Imports: 625.915 million cubic meters (2019 est.)
Proven reserves: 22.653 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 18.093 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 160,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 13.569 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 4.364 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 11.239 million Btu/person (2019 est.)


top of page


Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 330,016 (2022 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 1 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 40,454,073 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 123 (2021 est.)

Telephone system

Broadcast media: state-owned TV station, 2 state-owned radio networks; several privately owned TV stations and a large number of privately owned radio stations; transmissions of multiple international broadcasters are accessible; several cable and satellite TV subscription services are obtainable

Internet
Country code: .gh
Users total: 22.44 million (2021 est.)
Users percent of population: 68% (2021 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 78,371 (2020 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 0.3 (2020 est.)


top of page


Military expenditures:

Military and security forces: Ghana Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force (2023)
Note: the Ghana Police Service is under the Ministry of the Interior

Military service age and obligation: 18-27 years of age for voluntary military service, with basic education certificate; no conscription (2023)

Space program
Overview: has a small, nascent space program focused on research in space sciences and exploiting remote sensing (RS) technology for natural resource management, weather forecasting, agriculture, and national security issues; relies on foreign imagery for analysis but seeks to develop its own RS satellite capabilities; one of Africa’s leaders in satellite dish research; trains aerospace scientists and engineers; has established relations on space-related issues with China, Japan, and South Africa; cooperating with Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan, and Uganda to establish a joint satellite to monitor climate changes in the African continent; partner of the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) international astronomy initiative (2023)
Overview note: further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear Appendix S

Terrorist groups


top of page


National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 3 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 21
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 467,438 (2018)

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: 9G

Airports: 10 (2021)
With paved runways: 7
With paved runways note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
With unpaved runways: 3
With unpaved runways note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control

Heliports

Pipelines: 681.3 km gas, 11.4 km oil, 435 km refined products (2022)

Railways
Total: 947 km (2022)
Narrow gauge: 947 km (2022) 1.067-m gauge

Roadways
Total: 65,725 km (2021)
Paved: 14,948 km (2021)
Unpaved: 50,777 km (2021)
Urban: 28,480 km 27% total paved 73% total unpaved

Waterways: 1,293 km (2011) (168 km for launches and lighters on Volta, Ankobra, and Tano Rivers; 1,125 km of arterial and feeder waterways on Lake Volta)

Merchant marine
Total: 52 (2022)
By type: general cargo 7, oil tanker 3, other 42

Ports and terminals
Major seaports: Takoradi, Tema


top of page


Disputes international: disputed maritime border with Cote d'Ivoire was resolved in 2017 through a decision of a Special Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS)

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: Ghana is a transit and destination point for illicit drugs trafficked from Asia and South America to other African countries, Europe, and to a lesser extent North America;  not a significant source for drugs entering the United States;  limited local consumption of controlled pharmaceuticals, cocaine, and heroin from Asia and South America; cannabis cultivated and produced in large quantities in most rural areas of Ghana