Access to THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1994 provided courtesy of
the libraries of the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
======================================================
National Trade Data Bank
ITEM ID     : CI WOFACT WO0091
DATE        : Oct 28, 1994
 
AGENCY      : CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
PROGRAM     : WORLD FACTBOOK
TITLE       : World Factbook: Ghana
 
Source key      : CI 
Program key     : CI WOFACT 
Update sched.   : Annually         
Data type       : TEXT 
End year        : 1994
Date of record  : 19941020
Keywords 3      :  
Keywords 3      : | Ghana 
 
 
                                   Ghana
 
 
                                 Geography
 
Location:
     Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean between Cote
     d'Ivoire and Togo
Map references:
     Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
     238,540 sq km
land area:
     230,020 sq km
comparative area:
     slightly smaller than Oregon
Land boundaries:
     total 2,093 km, Burkina 548 km, Cote 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
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
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%
Irrigated land:
     80 sq km (1989)
 
 
Environment:
current issues:
     recent drought in north severely affecting agricultural activities;
     deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; poaching and habitat
     destruction threatens wildlife populations; water pollution; limited
     supply of safe drinking water
natural hazards:
     dry, dusty, harmattan winds occur from January to March
international agreements:
     party to - Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the
     Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
     Tropical Timber, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity,
     Climate Change, Marine Life Conservation
Note:
     Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake; northeasterly
     harmattan wind (January to March)
 
                                  People
 
Population:
     17,225,185 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     3.09% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     44.13 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     12.27 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     -0.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     83.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     55.52 years
male:
     53.58 years
female:
     57.52 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     6.15 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
     Ghanaian(s)
adjective:
     Ghanaian
Ethnic divisions:
     black African 99.8% (major tribes - Akan 44%, Moshi-Dagomba 16%, Ewe
     13%, Ga 8%), European and other 0.2%
Religions:
     indigenous beliefs 38%, Muslim 30%, Christian 24%, other 8%
Languages:
     English (official), African languages (including Akan, Moshi-Dagomba,
     Ewe, and Ga)
Literacy:
     age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
 
 
total population:
     60%
male:
     70%
female:
     51%
Labor force:
     3.7 million
by occupation:
     agriculture and fishing 54.7%, industry 18.7%, sales and clerical
     15.2%, services, transportation, and communications 7.7%, professional
     3.7%
note:
     48% of population of working age (1983)
 
                                Government
 
Names:
conventional long form:
     Republic of Ghana
conventional short form:
former:
     Gold Coast
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 UK)
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:
     universal at 18
Executive branch:
chief of state and head of government:
     President Jerry John RAWLINGS (since 3 November 1992) election last
     held 3 November 1992 (next to be held NA)
cabinet:
     Cabinet; president nominates members subject to approval by the
     Parliament
Legislative branch:
     unicameral
National Assembly:
     elections last held 29 December 1992 (next to be held NA)
 
 
Judicial branch:
     Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders:
     National Democratic Congress, Jerry John Rawlings; New Patriotic
     Party, Albert Adu BOAHEN; People's Heritage Party, Alex Erskine;
     various other smaller parties
Member of:
     ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-24, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD,
     ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC,
     IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, MINURSO, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD,
     UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNPROFOR, UNTAC, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO,
     WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador Ekwow SPIO-GARBRAH
chancery:
     3512 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
     (202) 686-4520
FAX:
     (202) 686-4527
consulate(s) general:
     New York
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador Kenneth L. BROWN
embassy:
     Ring Road East, East of Danquah Circle, Accra
mailing address:
     P. O. Box 194, Accra
telephone:
     [233] (21) 775348, 775349, 775297 or 775298
FAX:
     [233] (21) 776008
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:
     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. The agriculture sector consists largely of small traditional
     farm holdings, rain-fed for the most part. 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 boosted government expenditures and
     undercut structural adjustment reforms. Ghana opened a stock exchange
     in 1990 and plans to float 5% of its stake in Ashanti Goldfields
     Corporation, which would make the exchange the largest in sub-Saharan
     Africa outside of South Africa.
National product:
     GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $25 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
     3.9% (1992 est.)
National product per capita:
     $1,500 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     10% (1992)
Unemployment rate:
     10% (1991)
Budget:
revenues:
     $1 billion
expenditures:
     $905 million, including capital expenditures of $200 million (1991
     est.)
Exports:
     $1 billion (f.o.b., 1992)
commodities:
     cocoa 40%, gold, timber, tuna, bauxite, and aluminum
partners:
     Germany 31%, US 12%, UK 11%, Netherlands 6%, Japan 5% (1991)
Imports:
     $1.5 billion (c.i.f., 1992)
commodities:
     petroleum 16%, consumer goods, foods, intermediate goods, capital
     equipment
partners:
     UK 22%, US 11%, Germany 9%, Japan 6%
External debt:
     $4.6 billion (1992 est.)
Industrial production:
     growth rate in manufacturing (1992); accounts for almost 15% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
     1,180,000 kW
production:
     4.49 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
     290 kWh (1991)
 
 
Industries:
     mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum, food processing
Agriculture:
     accounts for 43% 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 the US and
     Europe
Economic aid:
recipient:
     US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $455 million; Western
     (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $2.6
     billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $78 million; Communist
     countries (1970-89) $106 million
Currency:
     1 new cedi (C) = 100 pesewas
Exchange rates:
     new cedis per US$1 - 713.00 (October 1993), 437.09 (1992), 367.83
     (1991), 326.33 (1990), 270.00 (1989)
Fiscal year:
     calendar year
 
                              Communications
 
Railroads:
     953 km, all 1.067-meter gauge; 32 km double track; railroads
     undergoing major renovation
Highways:
total:
     32,250 km
paved:
     concrete, bituminous 6,084 km
unpaved:
     gravel, crushed stone, improved earth 26,166 km
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:
     Tema, Takoradi
Merchant marine:
     5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 46,289 GRT/61,606 DWT, cargo 4,
     refrigerated cargo 1
Airports:
total:
     11
usable:
     11
with permanent-surface runways:
     6
 
 
with runways over 3,659 m:
     0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
     3
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
     6
Telecommunications:
     poor to fair system handled primarily by microwave radio relay links;
     42,300 telephones; broadcast stations - 4 AM, 1 FM, 4 (8 translators)
     TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
 
                              Defense Forces
 
Branches:
     Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force, Civil Defense
Manpower availability:
     males age 15-49 3,867,183; fit for military service 2,159,769; reach
     military age (18) annually 170,283 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
     exchange rate conversion - $30 million, less than 1% of GDP (1989
     est.)
 
 
 
===========================================================================
This section of THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1994 produced by the United States
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was derived from the US Dept. of Commerce
Economics and Statistics Division's NATIONAL TRADE DATA BANK (NTDB) CD-ROM,
November, 1994, SuDoc No. C 1.88:994/11/v.1-2 / Presented by Raleigh Muns,
(srcmuns@umslvma.umsl.edu) University of Missouri-St. Louis Libraries.