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Western Africa, east of the Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivoire). Slightly smaller than Oregon, with 539 kilometers of coastline. Hot and humid in the south, hot and dry in the north. Capital: Accra.
In 1964, four years after becoming president, Kwame Nkrumah suspended Ghana's constitution and made Ghana a one-party state. A military coup in 1966 ended Nkrumah's rule, and Ghana remained a one-party state until 1992. Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings was head of state from 1981. In 1992 multi-party elections were held. Rawlings was genuinely popular and won 60 percent of the vote. He worked at improving Ghana's economy and won re-election in 1996, with 57 percent of the vote. The new 1992 constitution allowed him only two terms, ending his presidency in 2000. John Kufuor from a rival political party, was elected president. In 2004 John Kufuor was relection with 52.7 percent of the vote. Ghanians are proud of their democracy and value the stability that it provides.
Figures unless otherwise stated are from the CIA Factbook.
Estimated per capita GDP:
2007 $1,400 (Ranks 200th)
GDP annual growth rate estimated for 2007: 6.2 percent. (Ranks 62nd)
Real GDP growth for 2005: 4.5 percent.
Factbook: Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has roughly twice the per capita output of the 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. The domestic economy continues to revolve around subsistence agriculture, which accounts for 34% of GDP and employs 60% of the work force, mainly small landholders.
Exports in 2005: Europe 38.5 percent, 4.2 percent to Japan and 6.4 percent to the United States. Exports gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore, diamonds.
Deaths: 9.39. Births: 29.22, down from 29.85 in 2007.
Estimate for 2008: 23.382 million, up from 21 million in 2005. Growth rate estimated for 2008: 1.928 percent per year. Density estimated in 2005: 91 persons per square kilometer.
2008: More leaving than arriving, a new loss of 0.55 persons per 1,000 population.
Infant mortality estimated for 2008: 52.31, down from 53.56 in 2007 (deaths before the age of one year per 1,000 live births).
Average life expectancy at birth estimated for 2008: 59.49 years, 59.12 in 2007.
A report published by the BBC describes a poll of 50,000 families in 28 African countries, by the UN Economic Commission for Africa. There are complaints of "corruption, poor tax systems, run-down and unaccountable public services, weak parliaments and unreformed courts." Ghana led the survey in trust of authorities - at 75 percent of those polled.
Major tribes: Akan 44 percent, Moshi-Dagomba 16 percent, Ewe 13 percent, Ga 8 percent. Gurma 3 percent, Yoruba 1 percent. Europeans and others: 1.5 percent
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofe Annan is from Ghana. According to Wikipedia: "Annan's family was part of the country's elite; both of his grandfathers and his uncle were tribal chiefs. His father was half Asante and half Fante; his mother was Fante. Annan's father worked for a long period as an export manager for the Lever Brothers cocoa company."
SOURCES:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/
BBC News
Copyright © 2008 by Frank E. Smitha. All rights reserved.