Economic Overview
Well endowed with natural resources, ghana has roughly twice the per capita output of the poorest countries in west africa. even so, ghana remains heavily dependent on international financial and technical assistance. gold and cocoa production, and individual remittances, are major sources of foreign exchange. the domestic economy continues to revolve around agriculture, which accounts for about 35% of gdp and employs about 55% of the work force, mainly small landholders. ghana opted for debt relief under the heavily indebted poor country (hipc) program in 2002, and is also benefiting from the multilateral debt relief initiative that took effect in 2006. thematic priorities under its current growth and poverty reduction strategy, which also provides the framework for development partner assistance, are: macroeconomic stability; private sector competitiveness; human resource development; and good governance and civic responsibility. sound macro-economic management along with high prices for gold and cocoa helped sustain gdp growth in 2007. ghana signed a millennium challenge corporation (mcc) compact in 2006, which aims to assist in transforming ghana's agricultural sector.
Environmental 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
Government Type
Constitutional democracy
Population
23,382,848
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to aids; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (july 2008 est.)
Location
Western africa, bordering the gulf of guinea, between cote d'ivoire and togo
Area
Total: 239,460 sq km
land: 230,940 sq km
water: 8,520 sq km
Slightly smaller than oregon
Country Aliases
Conventional long form: republic of ghana
conventional short form: ghana
former: gold coast
Capital
Name: accra
geographic coordinates: 5 33 n, 0 13 w
time difference: utc 0 (5 hours ahead of washington, dc during standard time)
Military Service
18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2008)
International Disputes
Ghana struggles to accommodate returning nationals who worked in the cocoa plantations and escaped fighting in cote d'ivoire
Sources: Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
