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Introduction Ghana
Background:
 Formed from merger of British colony of Gold Coast and Togoland trust territory, Ghana in 1957 became first country in colonial Africa to gain its independence. A long series of coups resulted in suspension of constitution in 1981 and banning of political parties. A new constitution, restoring multiparty politics, previously approved in 1992. Lt. Jerry RAWLINGS, head of state since 1981, won presidential elections in 1992 and 1996, but previously constitutionally prevented from running for a third term in 2000. He previously succeeded by John KUFUOR, who defeated former Vice President Atta MILLS in a free and fair election.
Geography Ghana
Location:
 Western Africa, bordering Gulf of Guinea, between Cote d'Ivoire and Togo
Geographic coordinates:
 8 00 N, 2 00 W
Map references:
 Africa
Area:
 total: 239,460 sq km
land: 230,940 sq km
water: 8,520 sq km
Area - comparative:
 slightly smaller than Oregon
Land boundaries:
 total: 2,094 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 549 km, Cote d'Ivoire 668 km, Togo 877 km
Coastline:
 539 km
Maritime claims:
 contiguous zone: 24 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM
exclusive economic zone: 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 extremes:
 lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Afadjato 880 m
Natural resources:
 gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish, rubber, hydropower
Land use:
 arable land: 15.82%
permanent crops: 7.47%
other: 76.71% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
 110 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
 dry, dusty, northeastern harmattan winds occur from January to March; droughts
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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
Geography - note:
 Lake Volta is world's largest artificial lake
People Ghana
Total Population:
 20,467,747
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2003 est.)
Age structure:
 0-14 years: 38.9% (male 4,021,570; female 3,938,454)
15-64 years: 57.5% (male 5,859,940; female 5,909,910)
65 years and over: 3.6% (male 350,045; female 387,828) (2003 est.)
Median age:
 total: 19.8 years
male: 19.5 years
female: 20 years (2002)
Population growth rate:
 1.45% (2003 est.)
Birth rate:
 25.84 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Death rate:
 10.53 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Net migration rate:
 -0.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Sex ratio:
 at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female
Population: 1 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
 total: 53.02 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 49.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
male: 55.97 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy:
 Population: 56.53 years
male: 55.66 years
female: 57.43 years (2003 est.)
Total fertility rate:
 3.32 children born/woman (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
 3% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
 360,000 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
 28,000 (2001 est.)
Nationality:
 noun: Ghanaian(s)
adjective: Ghanaian
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)
Religions:
 indigenous beliefs 21%, Muslim 16%, Christian 63%
Languages:
 English (official), African languages (including Akan, Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga)
Literacy:
 definition: age 15 and over can read and write
female: 67.1% (2003 est.)
male: 82.7%
Population: 74.8%
People - note:
 there are 9,500 Liberians, 2,000 Sierra Leoneans, and 1,000 Togolese refugees residing in Ghana (2002)
Government Ghana
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
Independence:
 6 March 1957 (from UK)
National holiday:
 Independence Day, 6 March (1957)
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:
 chief of state: President John Agyekum KUFUOR (since 7 January 2001); Vice President Alhaji Aliu MAHAMA (since 7 January 2001); note - president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President John Agyekum KUFUOR (since 7 January 2001); Vice President Alhaji Aliu MAHAMA (since 7 January 2001); note - president is both chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Council of Ministers; president nominates members subject to approval by Parliament
elections: president and vice president elected on same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 7 and 28 December 2000 (next to be held NA December 2004)
election results: John Agyekum KUFUOR elected president in runoff election; percent of vote - John KUFUOR 56.4%, John Atta MILLS 43.6%
Legislative branch:
 unicameral Parliament (200 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 7 December 2000 (next to be held NA December 2004)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NPP 100, NDC 92, PNC 3, CPP 1, independents 4
Judicial branch:
 Supreme Court
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
International organization participation:
 ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, C, ECA, 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, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OAU, OPCW, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in US:
 chief of mission: Ambassador Alan J. KYEREMATEN
consulate(s) general: New York
FAX: [1] (202) 686-4527
telephone: [1] (202) 686-4520
chancery: 3512 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from US:
 chief of mission: Ambassador Mary Carlin YATES
embassy: 6th and 10th Lanes, 798/1 Osu, Accra
mailing address: P. O. Box 194, Accra
telephone: [233] (21) 775-347, 775-348
FAX: [233] (21) 701-813
Flag description:
 three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with a large black five-pointed star centered in yellow band; uses popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to flag of Bolivia, which has a coat of arms centered in yellow band
Economy Ghana
Economy - overview:
 Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has roughly twice per capita output of 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. domestic economy continues to revolve around subsistence agriculture, which accounts for 36% of GDP and employs 60% of work force, mainly limited landholders. Ghana opted for debt relief under Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) program in 2002. Policy priorities include tighter monetary and fiscal policies, accelerated privatization, and improvement of social services.
GDP:
 buying power parity - $41.25 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
 4.5% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita:
 buying power parity - $2,000 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
 agriculture: 36%
industry: 25%
services: 39% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line:
 31.4% (1992 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
 lowest 10%: 2.2%
highest 10%: 30.1% (1999)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
 40.7 (1999)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
 14.5% (2002 est.)
Labor force:
 9 million (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
 agriculture 60%, industry 15%, services 25% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate:
 20% (1997 est.)
Budget:
 revenues: $1.603 billion
expenditures: $1.975 billion, includes capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
Industries:
 mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food processing
Industrial production growth rate:
 3.8% (2000 est.)
Electricity - production:
 8.801 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source:
 fossil fuel: 5%
hydro: 95%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption:
 8.835 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
 300 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
 950 million kWh (2001)
Oil - production:
 7,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
 38,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
 NA (2001)
Oil - imports:
 NA (2001)
Oil - proved reserves:
 8.255 million bbl (37257)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
 11.89 billion cu m (37257)
Agriculture - products:
 cocoa, rice, coffee, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, corn, shea nuts, bananas; timber
Exports:
 $2.2 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Exports - commodities:
 gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore, diamonds
Exports - partners:
 Netherlands 14.8%, UK 9.9%, US 7%, Germany 6.6%, France 5.8%, Nigeria 4.8%, Belgium 4.4%, Italy 4.2% (2002)
Imports:
 $2.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Imports - commodities:
 capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs
Imports - partners:
 Nigeria 21.3%, UK 7.2%, US 6.6%, China 6.2%, Italy 6.1%, Cote d'Ivoire 6.1%, Germany 4.7%, Netherlands 4% (2002)
Debt - external:
 $7.2 billion (2002 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
 $6.9 billion (1999)
Currency:
 cedi (GHC)
Currency code:
 GHC
Exchange rates:
 cedis per US dollar - NA (2002), 7,170.76 (2001), 5,455.06 (2000), 2,669.3 (1999), 2,314.15 (1998)
Fiscal year:
 calendar year
Communications Ghana
Telephones - main lines in use:
 240,000 (2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
 150,000 (2001)
Telephone system:
 general assessment: poor to fair system; Internet accessible; many rural communities not yet connected; expansion of services is underway
domestic: primarily microwave radio relay; wireless local loop has been installed
international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); microwave radio relay link to Panaftel system connects Ghana to its neighbors
Radio broadcast stations:
 AM 0, FM 49, shortwave 3 (2001)
Radios:
 12.5 million (2001)
Television broadcast stations:
 10 (2001)
Televisions:
 1.9 million (2001)
Internet country code:
 .gh
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
 12 (2000)
Internet users:
 200,000 (2002)
Transportation Ghana
Railways:
 total: 953 km
narrow gauge: 953 km 1.067-m gauge (2002)
Highways:
 total: 39,409 km
paved: 11,665 km
unpaved: 27,744 km (1999 est.)
Waterways:
 1,293 km
note: 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:
 refined products 74 km (2003)
Ports and harbors:
 Takoradi, Tema
Merchant marine:
 total: 9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 20,559 GRT/27,531 DWT
note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Brazil 1, Saint Vincent and Grenadines 1, Spain 1 (2002 est.)
ships by type: petroleum tanker 3, refrigerated cargo 6
Airports:
 12 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways:
 total: 7
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
 total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 2 (2002)
Military Ghana
Military branches:
 Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police Force
Military manpower - military age:
 18 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - availability:
 males age 15-49: 5,240,557 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:
 males age 15-49: 2,911,474 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
 males: 239,742 (2003 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
 $36.01 million (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
 0.6% (FY02)
Transnational Issues Ghana
Disputes - international:
 Ghana has received many refugees and returning nationals escaping rebel fighting in Cote d'Ivoire
Illicit drugs:
 illicit producer of cannabis for international drug trade; major transit hub for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin and, to a lesser extent, South American cocaine destined for Europe and US; widespread crime and corruption have made money laundering a problem, but lack of a well-developed financial infrastructure limits countries utility as a money-laundering center