241 lines
19 KiB
Plaintext
241 lines
19 KiB
Plaintext
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GHANA
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GEOGRAPHY
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Total area: 238,540 km2; land area: 230,020 km2
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Comparative area: slightly smaller than Oregon
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Land boundaries: 2,093 km total; Burkina 548 km, Ivory Coast
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668 km, Togo 877 km
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Coastline: 539 km
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Maritime claims:
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Contiguous zone: 24 nm;
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Continental shelf: 200 nm;
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Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
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Territorial sea: 12 nm
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Climate: tropical; warm and comparatively dry along southeast
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coast; hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north
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Terrain: mostly low plains with dissected plateau in south-central
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area
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Natural resources: gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite,
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manganese, fish, rubber
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Land use: arable land 5%; permanent crops 7%; meadows and pastures
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15%; forest and woodland 37%; other 36%; includes irrigated NEGL%
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Environment: recent drought in north severely affecting marginal
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agricultural activities; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; dry,
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northeasterly harmattan wind (January to March)
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Note: Lake Volta is world's largest artificial lake
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PEOPLE
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Population: 15,616,934 (July 1991), growth rate 3.2% (1991)
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Birth rate: 46 births/1,000 population (1991)
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Death rate: 13 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
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Net migration rate: - 1 migrant/1,000 population (1991)
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Infant mortality rate: 86 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
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Life expectancy at birth: 53 years male, 56 years female (1991)
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Total fertility rate: 6.3 children born/woman (1991)
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Nationality: noun--Ghanaian(s); adjective--Ghanaian
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Ethnic divisions: black African 99.8% (major tribes--Akan 44%,
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Moshi-Dagomba 16%, Ewe 13%, Ga 8%), European and other 0.2%
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Religion: indigenous beliefs 38%, Muslim 30%, Christian 24%,
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other 8%
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Language: English (official); African languages include Akan,
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Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga
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Literacy: 60% (male 70%, female 51%) age 15 and over can
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read and write (1990 est.)
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Labor force: 3,700,000; agriculture and fishing 54.7%, industry
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18.7%, sales and clerical 15.2%, services, transportation, and
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communications 7.7%, professional 3.7%; 48% of population of working age
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(1983)
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Organized labor: 467,000 (about 13% of labor force)
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GOVERNMENT
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Long-form name: Republic of Ghana
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Type: military
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Capital: Accra
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Administrative divisions: 10 regions; Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo,
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Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta,
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Western
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Independence: 6 March 1957 (from UK, formerly Gold Coast)
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Constitution: 24 September 1979; suspended 31 December 1981
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Legal system: based on English common law and customary law;
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has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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National holiday: Independence Day, 6 March (1957)
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Executive branch: chairman of the Provisional National Defense
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Council (PNDC), PNDC, Cabinet
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Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly dissolved after 31
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December 1981 coup, and legislative powers were assumed by the
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Provisional National Defense Council
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Judicial branch: Supreme Court
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Leaders:
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Chief of State and Head of Government--Chairman of the Provisional
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National Defense Council Flt. Lt. (Ret.) Jerry John RAWLINGS (since
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31 December 1981)
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Political parties and leaders: none; political parties outlawed
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after 31 December 1981 coup
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Suffrage: none
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Elections: none
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Communists: a small number of Communists and sympathizers
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Member of: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-24, G-77, GATT,
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IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL,
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IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD,
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UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIIMOG, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
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Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Dr. Joseph ABBEY; Chancery at
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2460 16th Street NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone (202) 462-0761;
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there is a Ghanaian Consulate General in New York;
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US--Ambassador Raymond C. EWING; Embassy at Ring Road East, East of
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Danquah Circle, Accra (mailing address is P. O. Box 194, Accra);
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telephone 233 (21) 775347 through 775349
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Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green
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with a large black five-pointed star centered in the gold band; uses the
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popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the flag of Bolivia
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which has a coat of arms centered in the yellow band
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ECONOMY
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Overview: Supported by substantial international assistance, Ghana
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has been implementing a steady economic rebuilding program since 1983,
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including moves toward privatization and relaxation of government
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controls. Heavily dependent on cocoa, gold, and timber exports,
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economic growth is threatened by a poor cocoa harvest and higher oil
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prices in 1991. Rising inflation--unofficially estimated at 50%--could
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undermine Ghana's relationships with multilateral lenders. Civil service
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wage increases and the cost of peacekeeping forces sent to Liberia are
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boosting government expenditures and undercutting structural adjustment
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reforms. Ghana opened a stock exchange in 1990.
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GNP: $5.8 billion, per capita $380; real growth rate 2.7% (1990
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est.)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 50% (1990 est.)
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Unemployment rate: 1.9% (1989)
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Budget: revenues $821 million; expenditures $782 million, including
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capital expenditures of $151 million (1990 est.)
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Exports: $826 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
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commodities--cocoa 45%, gold, timber, tuna, bauxite, and aluminum;
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partners--US 23%, UK, other EC
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Imports: $1.2 billion (c.i.f., 1990 est.);
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commodities--petroleum 16%, consumer goods, foods, intermediate
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goods, capital equipment;
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partners--US 10%, UK, FRG, France, Japan, South Korea, GDR
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External debt: $3.1 billion (1990 est.)
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Industrial production: growth rate 7.4% in manufacturing (1989);
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accounts for almost 1.5% of GDP
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Electricity: 1,172,000 kW capacity; 4,110 million kWh produced,
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280 kWh per capita (1989)
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Industries: mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, fishing,
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aluminum, food processing
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Agriculture: accounts for more than 50% of GDP (including fishing
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and forestry); the major cash crop is cocoa; other principal crops--rice,
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coffee, cassava, peanuts, corn, shea nuts, timber; normally
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self-sufficient in food
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Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the international
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drug trade
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Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $455
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million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
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(1970-88), $2.3 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $78 million;
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Communist countries (1970-89), $106 million
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Currency: cedi (plural--cedis); 1 cedi (C) = 100 pesewas
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Exchange rates: cedis (C) per US$1--342.91 (November 1990), 270.00
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(1989), 202.35 (1988), 153.73 (1987), 89.20 (1986), 54.37 (1985)
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Fiscal year: calendar year
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COMMUNICATIONS
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Railroads: 953 km, all 1.067-meter gauge; 32 km double track;
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railroads undergoing major renovation
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Highways: 28,300 km total; 6,000 km concrete or bituminous surface,
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22,300 km gravel, laterite, and improved earth surfaces
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Inland waterways: Volta, Ankobra, and Tano Rivers provide 155 km of
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perennial navigation for launches and lighters; Lake Volta provides
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1,125 km of arterial and feeder waterways
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Pipelines: none
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Ports: Tema, Takoradi
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Merchant marine: 4 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
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52,016 GRT/66,627 DWT
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Civil air: 6 major transport aircraft
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Airports: 10 total, 9 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways;
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none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 7 with
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runways 1,220-2,439 m
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Telecommunications: poor to fair system of open-wire and cable,
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radio relay links; 38,000 telephones; stations--6 AM, no FM, 9 TV;
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1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
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DEFENSE FORCES
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Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force, paramilitary Palace
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Guard, National Civil Defense Organization
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Manpower availability: males 15-49, 3,538,503; 1,983,493 fit for
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military service; 169,698 reach military age (18) annually
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Defense expenditures: $23 million, 0.5% of GNP (1988)
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