Ghana

ghana 

Geography                 Economy                 Defense Forces
 

People                    Transportation          Government



Communications            History      	          Travel

GEOGRAPHY

Location

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

Area

Land Boundaries

Total 2,093 km, Burkina Faso 548 km, Cote d'Ivoire 668 km, Togo 877 km

Coastline

539 km

Maritime Claims

International 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
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Afadjato 880 m

Natural Resources

Land Use

Irrigated Land

80 sq km (1989)

Environment

Note: Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake; northeasterly harmattan wind (January to March)

PEOPLE

Population

17,698,271 (July 1996 est.)
17,763,138 (July 1995 est.)

Age Structure

0-14 Years

43% (male 3,856,673; female 3,819,946) (July 1996 est.)
46% (male 4,069,945; female 4,030,154) (July 1995 est.)

15-64 Years

54% (male 4,658,142; female 4,814,060) (July 1996 est.)
51% (male 4,494,533; female 4,638,451) (July 1995 est.)

65 Years and Over

3% (male 262,159; female 287,291) (July 1996 est.)
3% (male 253,869; female 276,186) (July 1995 est.)

Population Growth Rate

2.29% (1996 est.)
3.06% (1995 est.)

Birth Rate

35 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
43.57 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death Rate

11.15 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
12.02 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net Migration Rate

-0.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
-0.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.) 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: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant Mortality Rate

80.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
81.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth

Total Fertility Rate

4.59 children born/woman (1996 est.)
6.09 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality

Ethnic Divisions

Religions

Languages

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

Literacy

Age 15 and over that can read and write (1995 est.)

Labor Force

3.7 million

By occupation:

GOVERNMENT

Names

Digraph

GH

Type

Constitutional democracy

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 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

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive Branch

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

National Democratic Congress (NDC), Jerry John RAWLINGS; New Patriotic Party (NPP), Peter Ala ADJETY; People's Heritage Party (PHP), Alex ERSKINE; National Convention Party (NCP), Kow ARKAAH; Every Ghanian Living Everywhere (EGLE), Ashang OKINE; Peoples Convention Party (PCP), B.K. NKETSIA; Peoples National Convention (PNC), Alhaji Asuma BANDA

Member of

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

National Anthem

Flag

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

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.

National Product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $25.1 billion (1995 est.); $22.6 billion (1994 est.)

National Product Real Growth Rate

5% (1995 est.)
5% (1994 est.)

National Product Per Capita

$1,400 (1995 est.)
$1,310 (1994 est.)

Inflation Rate (consumer Prices)

69% (1995 est.)
25% (1993 est.)

Unemployment Rate

10% (1993 est.)
10% (1991)

Budget

Exports

$1 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.)

Commodities:

Partners:

Imports

$1.7 billion (c.i.f., 1993 est.)

Commodities:

Partners:

External Debt

$4.6 billion (December 1993 est.)

Industrial Production

Growth rate 2.8% (1994 est.); 3.4% in manufacturing (1993); accounts for 16% of GDP

Electricity

Industries

Agriculture

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

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.

Economic Aid

Currency

1 new cedi (C) = 100 pesewas

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)

Fiscal Year

Calendar year

TRANSPORTATION

Railroads

Highways

Inland 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

Pipelines

None

Ports

Takoradi, Tema

Merchant Marine

Airports

COMMUNICATIONS

Telephone System

70,000 telephones (1988 est.); poor to fair system

Radio

Television

DEFENSE FORCES

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force, Palace Guard, Civil Defense

Manpower Availability

Males age 15-49 4,135,538; males fit for military service 2,303,423; males reach military age (18) annually 176,332 (1996 est.)

Defense Expenditures

Exchange rate conversion - $30 million, 0.8% of GDP (1994); $108 million, 1.5% of GDP (1993)

History
World Atlas