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Ghana Country Guide

Explore Ghana in Africa

Ghana with the capital city Accra is located in Africa (Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea). It covers some 239,460 square kilometres (slightly smaller than Oregon) with 23,382,000 citizens.

Interactive map of Ghana

The topography includes mostly low plains with dissected plateau in south-central area. The average density of population is approximately 98 per km². The notable climate conditions in Ghana can be described as tropical with warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast, hot and humid in southwest and hot and dry in north. Possible natural disasters include dry, dusty, northeastern harmattan winds occur from January to March or droughts.

To reach someone in Ghana dial +233 prior to a number. There are 267,400 installed telephones. And there are 15,109,000 registered mobile phones. The cellular networks commonly support frequencies of 900 MHz. Websites registered in this country end with the top level domain ".gh". If you want to bring electric equipment on your trip (e.g. laptop power supply), note the local power outlet of 230V - 50Hz.

About the flag and history of Ghana

Ghana Flag Icon

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.


Formed from the merger of the British colony of the Gold Coast and the Togoland trust territory, Ghana in 1957 became the first sub-Saharan country in colonial Africa to gain its independence. Ghana endured a long series of coups before Lt. Jerry RAWLINGS took power in 1981 and banned political parties. After approving a new constitution and restoring multiparty politics in 1992, RAWLINGS won presidential elections in 1992 and 1996 but was constitutionally prevented from running for a third term in 2000. John KUFUOR succeeded him and was reelected in 2004. John Atta MILLS took over as head of state in early 2009, but he died in July 2012 and was succeeded by his vice president John Dramani MAHAMA, who subsequently won a December 2012 special presidential election.



Geography Quick-Facts

SummaryContinent: Africa
Neighbours: Ivory Coast, Togo, Burkina Faso
Capital: Accra
Size239,460 square kilometers (km² or sqkm) or 92,456 square miles (mi² or sqmi)
slightly smaller than Oregon
Population23,382,000
CurrencyName Cedi, Currency Code:GHC
Country Top Level Domain (cTLD).gh
Telephone Country Prefix+233
Mobile Phone Connections15,109,000
Landline Phone Connections267,400

Country Position in World Rankings

Information about single country attributes and how these compare against the rest of the world. The information below is compiled with data from 2013. As such, it may differ a bit to the Information above in the text (which is from 2010).

Geography

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Area238,533 (sq km)82

People and Society

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Population25,199,609 48
Population growth rate2.19 (%)42
Birth rate31.70 (births/1,000 population)37
Death rate7.53 (deaths/1,000 population)114
Net migration rate-2.23 (migrant(s)/1,000 population)166
Maternal mortality rate350.00 (deaths/100,000 live births)32
Infant mortality rate39.70 (deaths/1,000 live births)59
Life expectancy at birth65.32 (years)172
Total fertility rate4.12 (children born/woman)38
Health expenditures5.20 (% of GDP)130
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate1.80 (%)32
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS260,000 23
HIV/AIDS - deaths18,000 16
Obesity - adult prevalence rate7.50 (%)140
Children under the age of 5 years underweight14.30 (%)54
Education expenditures8.20 (% of GDP)12
Unemployment, youth ages 15-2416.60 (%)80

Economy

Value nameValueWorld Rank
GDP (purchasing power parity)83,740,000,000 79
GDP - real growth rate7.00 (%)27
GDP - per capita (PPP)3,400 174
Labor force11,670,000 47
Unemployment rate11.00 (%)117
Distribution of family income - Gini index39.40 65
Investment (gross fixed)25.10 (% of GDP)52
Taxes and other revenues21.50 (% of GDP)153
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)-6.10 (% of GDP)174
Public debt47.40 (% of GDP)71
Inflation rate (consumer prices)9.10 (%)193
Central bank discount rate17.00 (%)8
Commercial bank prime lending rate18.20 (%)23
Stock of narrow money6,042,000,000 91
Stock of broad money11,560,000,000 103
Stock of domestic credit10,180,000,000 98
Market value of publicly traded shares3,531,000,000 91
Industrial production growth rate5.00 (%)60
Current account balance-4,559,000,000 162
Exports13,580,000,000 82
Imports17,520,000,000 82
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold5,888,000,000 85
Debt - external11,230,000,000 93

Energy

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Electricity - production8,764,000,000 (kWh)98
Electricity - consumption6,122,000,000 (kWh)105
Electricity - exports752,000,000 (kWh)57
Electricity - imports198,000,000 (kWh)88
Electricity - installed generating capacity1,985,000 (kW)102
Electricity - from fossil fuels40.60 (% of total installed capacity)169
Electricity - from hydroelectric plants59.40 (% of total installed capacity)34
Crude oil - production72,580 (bbl/day)54
Crude oil - exports14,000 (bbl/day)55
Crude oil - imports43,000 (bbl/day)59
Crude oil - proved reserves660,000,000 (bbl)45
Refined petroleum products - production27,260 (bbl/day)93
Refined petroleum products - consumption61,590 (bbl/day)93
Refined petroleum products - exports7,275 (bbl/day)92
Refined petroleum products - imports24,390 (bbl/day)96
Natural gas - consumption120,000,000 (cu m)104
Natural gas - imports120,000,000 (cu m)73
Natural gas - proved reserves22,650,000,000 (cu m)77
Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy10,580,000 (Mt)100

Communications

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Telephones - main lines in use284,700 119
Telephones - mobile cellular21,166,000 46
Internet hosts59,086 93
Internet users1,297,000 93

Transportation

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Airports10 157
Railways947 (km)91
Roadways62,221 (km)71
Waterways1,293 (km)57
Merchant marine4 133

Military

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Military expenditures1.70 (% of GDP)85

Data based on CIA facts book 2010 & 2013, wikipedia, national statistical offices and their census releases

List of current world heritage sites

NameSince
Asante Traditional Buildings
To the north-east of Kumasi, these are the last material remains of the great Asante civilization, which reached its high point in the 18th century. Since the dwellings are made of earth, wood and straw, they are vulnerable to the onslaught of time a ...
1980
Forts and Castles, Volta, Greater Accra, Central and Western Regions
The remains of fortified trading-posts, erected between 1482 and 1786, can still be seen along the coast of Ghana between Keta and Beyin. They were links in the trade routes established by the Portuguese in many areas of the world during their era of ...
1979