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| Ghana | Plants and Animal | Back to Top |
The main industrial crops are palm oil, cotton, rubber, sugar cane, tobacco, and kenaf, the latter used in the production of fiber bags. None is of strategic economic importance, and all, apart from oil palms, have suffered as a result of the nation's economic difficulties. contempt claims that such crops could assist local industrialization efforts, the government has not focused the same attention on this area as on export crops. For example, sugar cane output has diminished with the closure of the nation's two sugar mills, which produced 237,000 tons per year in 1974-76, but only 110,000 tons in 1989.
Farm animal production is severely limited by the incidence of tsetse fly in Ghana's forested regions and by poor grazing vegetation elsewhere. It is of major importance only in the comparatively arid north and has not been earmarked for special treatment in Ghana's recovery program. In 1989 there were an around 1.2 million cattle, 2.2 million sheep, 2 million goats, 550,000 pigs, and 8 million chickens in Ghana.
| Ghana | Communications | Back to Top |
Poor to fair system; Internet accessible; many rural communities not yet connected; development of services is underway
domestic: primarily microwave radio relay; wireless local loop has been installed
international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); microwave radio relay link to Panaftel system connects Ghana to its neighbors
| Ghana | Culture | Back to Top |
Ghana, formerly the british colony of the Gold Coast, lies on the West African coast, just north of the equator. Its warm, humid climate is typical of the tropics. Ghana covers an area of around 239,000 square kilometers, much of it drained by the Volta River system. The population speaks languages that belong to the Kwa and Gur subfamilies of the Niger-Congo language group and is separated into more than 100 linguistic and cultural units. Ghana's population, as in most sub-Saharan African countries, consists of urban and rural workers, herders, traders, and fishermen. Matrilineal, patrilineal, and double-descent systems of social organization as well as villages and chiefdoms contribute to the national mosaic.
In the 1980s, the governing Provisional National Defence Council tried to address the nation's education problems by introducing a system that emphasized vocational and technical training for all students. A rural electrification program was also initiated. At the same time, village- and community-based primary care organizations enhanced child-care and nutritional programs aimed at illiterate mothers and those who held orthodox notions about marital relations. Although it is difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of these programs in the short term, at least some major problems have been recognized and steps have been taken to deal with them. The success of such programs, depends on the extent to which indigenous and modern institutions and cultural values are balanced and, particularly, on the manner in which conflict is resolved.
| Ghana | Defence | Back to Top |
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police Force, Palace Guard, Civil Defense
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 4,890,483 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 2,713,584 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 213,237 (2001 est.)
| Ghana | International Disputes | Back to Top |
None
| Ghana | Economy | Back to Top |
Before the reached of European colonists in the 1400s, farming, herding, and fishing were the main indigenous Ghanaian economic activities, with smaller numbers of people mining for gold. With the establishment of complete colonial control in the late 1800s, the territory’s economy was drawn fully into the world capitalist system, and gold was exported in large quantities to Europe. Ghanaian farmers produced cash crops such as cacao for the export market. European merchants, controlled the export and import economy. Upon freedom in 1957, the state assumed greater involvement in the national economy. From the late 1960s through the 1970s, Ghana experienced severe economic decline as a result of political instability. By the mid-1980s, economic recovery programs were underway to promote and expand private area investments. Both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) supported the reform programs. In the mid-1980s the government promoted industries using local raw materials and private investment in food production. From 1990 to 1999, Ghana’s economy grew an average of 4.3 % each year.
The economy is a mixture of private and public enterprise. National income is derived primarily from agricultural and mineral output and only to a limited extent from manufacturing and services. Most of the cash crops and mineral products are for export.Before freedom the government's role was confined mainly to the provision of such basic utilities as water, electricity, railways, roads, and postal services. Agriculture, commerce, banking, and industry were almost entirely in private hands, with foreign interests controlling the greater share in all of them except agriculture.
Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has 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 36% of GDP and employs 60% of the work force, mainly small landholders. In 1995-97, Ghana made mixed progress under a three-year structural adjustment program in cooperation with the IMF. On the minus side, public area wage increases and regional peacekeeping commitments have led to continued inflationary deficit financing, depreciation of the cedi, and rising public discontent with Ghana's austerity measures. Political uncertainty and a depressed cocoa market led to disappointing growth in 2000. A rebound in the cocoa market should push growth over 4% in 2001-02.
| Ghana | Education | Back to Top |
The dominant mode of transmitting knowledge in the precolonial societies of the Guinea Coast was through apprenticeship as smiths, drummers, or herbalists. By observing adult skills, or through proverbs, songs, and stories, children learned proper roles and behavior. Also, at various stages in life, particularly during the puberty rites for young adults, intensive moral and ethical instruction from family or societal elders was given. The purpose of that "informal" education was to ensure that the individual was able to satisfy the basic orthodox or communal needs, such as motherhood for women, and hunting, long-distance trading, or farming for men. It was also valuable that the religious sanctions associated with the various professions and stages in life be understood, because the orthodox society saw close relationships between religious and mundane activities.
Christian missionaries introduced Western-style education to Ghana in the 18th century. Although some schools are still affiliated with religious groups, the state is now the main provider of education. In 1996, 20 % of the national budget was spent on education. Primary education is free and compulsory. In 1996, 76 % of primary school-aged children attended primary school. Attendance at the secondary school level was 31 % and 1.4 % at the university level. A greater %age of boys attended school than girls, the gap widening above the primary school level. the disparity in attendance by gender was not due to any state policy.
| Ghana | Government | Back to Top |
Government: A parliamentary democracy at freedom in 1957, followed by alternating military and civilian governments. In January 1993, military government gave way to Fourth Republic after presidential and parliamentary elections in late 1992. The 1992 constitution divides powers among a president, parliament, cabinet, Council of State, and an independent judiciary. Government elected by universal vote.
Administrative Divisions: Ten administrative regions separated into 110 districts, each with its own District Assembly. Below districts are various types of councils, including fiftyeight town or area councils, 108 zonal councils, and 626 area councils. 16,000 unit committees on lowest level.
Judicial System: Legal system based on Ghanaian common law, customary (orthodox) law, and the 1992 constitution. Court hierarchy consists of Supreme Court of Ghana (highest court), Court of Appeal, and High Court of Justice. Beneath these bodies are district, orthodox, and local courts. Extrajudicial institutions include public tribunals, vigilante groups, and asafo companies. Since freedom, courts comparatively independent; this freedom continues under Fourth Republic. Lower courts being redefined and reorganized under Fourth Republic.
Politics: Since mid-1992 political parties legal after ten-year hiatus. Under Fourth Republic, major parties are National Democratic Congress, led by Jerry John Rawlings, which won presidential and parliamentary elections in 1992; New Patriotic Party, major opposition party; People's National Convention, led by former president Hilla Limann; and (new) People's Convention Party, successor to Kwame Nkrumah's original party of same name.
Foreign Relations: Since freedom, fervently devoted to ideals of nonalignment and Pan-Africanism, both closely identified with first president, Kwame Nkrumah. Favors international and regional political and economic cooperation. Active member of United Nations and Organization of African Unity. In 1994 President Rawlings elected chairman of Economic Community of West African States.
| Ghana | History | Back to Top |
Most Ethnic Groups constituting the population of Ghana had settled in their present locations by the sixteenth century. Prior to British control in the nineteenth century, political developments in the area largely revolved around the formation, development, and contraction of a number of states--a situation that often entailed much population movement. Some people, lived in so-called portionary societies and did not form states, particularly in northern Ghana. According to tradition, most present-day Ghanaians are descended not from the area's earliest inhabitants but from various migrant groups, the first of which likely came down the Volta River in the early thirteenth century.
By 1981 Ghana had undergone seven major changes of government since the fall of Nkrumah. Each change was followed by alienation of the majority of the population and by military intervention, touted to end the rule that was responsible for the nation's problems. Each time, the new government, civil or military, failed to stabilize the political and economic conditions of the nation.
As its fourth decade of freedom began in 1987, Ghana was under the administration of the Provisional National Defence Council, a military government led by Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings that had come to power in December 1981. Like the Nkrumah administration three decades earlier, the Provisional National Defence Council and Rawlings were criticized for their populism and desire for radical change. contempt the difficult early years of the Rawlings regime, Ghana's economy had begun to show signs of recovery by the late-1980s, and preparations were underway to return the nation to some form of democratic government.
| Ghana | Introduction | Back to Top |
Ghana, republic in western Africa, bordered on the north and north-west by Burkina Faso, on the east by Togo, on the south by the Gulf of Guinea, and on the west by Côte d'Ivoire. Formerly a British colony known as the Gold Coast, Ghana was the first majority-governed nation in sub-Saharan Africa to achieve freedom, in 1957. The nation is named after the ancient inland empire of Ghana, from which the ancestors of the inhabitants of the present nation are thought to have migrated. The total area of Ghana is 238,537 sq km (92,100 sq mi). The capital is Accra.
Official Name - Republic of Ghana| Ghana | Land | Back to Top |
N/A
| Ghana | Languages | Back to Top |
Over 100 linguistic and ethnic groups have been identified in Ghana. the population is classified into two major linguistic families: the Kwa and the Gur. The Kwa speakers, traditionally associated with the area south of the Volta, make up about 75 % of the population. The major Kwa linguistic subgroup is the Akan speakers, who are further subseparated into the Ashanti, Bono, Fante, Akuapem, Akyem, and Kwahu, among others. The Ashanti and Akuapem peoples speak similar Akan dialects, collectively known as Twi. Other Kwa linguistic groups include the Nzima, Ga, Gonja, Adangbe, and Ewe.
| Ghana | Life | Back to Top |
Women in premodern Ghanaian society were seen as bearers of children, retailers of fish, and farmers. Within the orthodox sphere, the childbearing ability of women was explained as the means by which lineage ancestors were allowed to be reborn. Barrenness was, therefore, considered the greatest misfortune. In precolonial times, polygamy was promoted, particularly for wealthy men. Anthropologists have explained the practice as a orthodox method for well-to-do men to procreate additional labor. In patrilineal societies, dowry received from marrying off daughters was also a orthodox means for fathers to accumulate additional wealth. Given the male dominance in orthodox society, some economic anthropologists have explained a female's ability to reproduce as the most valuable means by which women ensured social and economic security for themselves, particularly if they bore male children.
In orthodox society, marriage under customary law was often arranged or agreed upon by the fathers and other senior kinsmen of the prospective bride and bridegroom. This type of marriage served to link the two groups together in social relationships; hence, marriage within the ethnic group and in the immediate locality was promoted. The age at which marriage was arranged varied among ethnic groups, but men generally married women somewhat younger than they were. Some of the marriages were even arranged by the families long before the girl attained nubility. In these matters, family considerations outweighed personal ones--a situation that further reinforced the subservient position of the wife.
The overall impact of women on Ghanaian society cannot be overemphasized. The social and economic well-being of women, who as mothers, traders, farmers, and office workers compose slightly more than half of the nation's population, cannot be taken for granted. This was precisely the position taken by NCWD, which sponsored a number of studies on women's work, education, and training, and on family issues that are relevant in the design and execution of policies for the improvement of the condition of women. Among these considerations the NCWD stressed family planning, child care, and female education as paramount.
| Ghana | organization | Back to Top |
ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM, OAS (observer), OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO.
| Ghana | People | Back to Top |
Ghana's first postfreedom population census in 1960 counted about 6.7 million inhabitants. By 1970 the national census registered 8.5 million people, about a 27 % increase, while the most recent official census in 1984 recorded a figure of 12.3 million--almost double the 1960 figure. The nation's population was around to have increased to about 15 million in 1990 and to an around 17.2 million in mid-1994. With an annual growth rate of 2.2 % for the time between 1965 and 1980, a 3.4 % growth rate for 1981 through 1989, and a 1992 growth rate of 3.2 %, the nation's population is projected to surpass 20 million by the year 2000 and 35 million by 2025.
The population of Ghana in 2001 was 19,894,014, giving the nation a population density of 83 persons per sq km.Life expectancy at birth is around at 57.2 years, one of the highest rates in sub-Saharan Africa. With a birth rate of 28.95 per 1,000 and a death rate of 10.26 per 1,000, the nation’s population growth rate is 1.79 % (2001 estimate). While this current rate of increase is moderate compared with other West African nations, Ghana’s population almost tripled from 1960 to 2000.
| Ghana | Politics | Back to Top |
Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere or EGLE [Owuraku AMOFA, chairman]; National Convention Party or NCP [Sarpong KUMA-KUMA]; National Democratic Congress or NDC [Dr. Huudu YAHAYA, general secretary]; New Patriotic Party or NPP [Samuel Arthur ODOI-SYKES]; People's Convention Party or PCP [P. K. DONKOH-AYIFI, acting chairman]; People's Heritage Party or PHP [Emmanuel Alexander ERSKINE]; People's National Convention or PNC [Edward MAHAMA]
| Ghana | Provinces | Back to Top |
10 regions; Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, Western.
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| Ghana | Time | Back to Top |
| Ghana | Currency and General Information | Back to Top |
| Ghana Cedis | United States Dollars |
| 1.00 GHC | 0.000130719 USD |
| 7,650.00 GHC | 1 USD |
| Countries Currency Unit | USD/Unit | Units/USD | |
| DZD | Algeria Dinars | 0.0129554 | 77.1877 |
| USD | United States Dollars | 1.00000 | 1.00000 |
| ARS | Argentina Pesos | 0.341293 | 2.93004 |
| AUD | Australia Dollars | 0.533413 | 1.87472 |
| ATS | Austria Schillings ** | 0.0632609 | 15.8076 |
| BSD | Bahamas Dollars | 1.00000 | 1.00000 |
| BBD | Barbados Dollars | 0.502513 | 1.99000 |
| BEF | Belgium Francs ** | 0.0215788 | 46.3417 |
| BMD | Bermuda Dollars | 1.00000 | 1.00000 |
| BRL | Brazil Reals | 0.430318 | 2.32386 |
| GBP | United Kingdom Pounds | 1.42399 | 0.702251 |
| BGL | Bulgaria Leva | 0.447293 | 2.23567 |
| CAD | Canada Dollars | 0.627606 | 1.59336 |
| CLP | Chile Pesos | 0.00152392 | 656.202 |
| CNY | China Yuan Renminbi | 0.120813 | 8.27726 |
| CYP | Cyprus Pounds | 1.49883 | 0.667186 |
| CZK | Czech Republic Koruny | 0.0281883 | 35.4758 |
| DKK | Denmark Kroner | 0.117155 | 8.53568 |
| XCD | East Caribbean Dollars | 0.370370 | 2.70000 |
| EGP | Egypt Pounds | 0.217271 | 4.60255 |
| EUR | Euro | 0.870489 | 1.14878 |
| FJD | Fiji Dollars | 0.447227 | 2.23600 |
| FIM | Finland Markkaa ** | 0.146406 | 6.83034 |
| FRF | France Francs ** | 0.132705 | 7.53550 |
| DEM | Germany Deutsche Marks ** | 0.445074 | 2.24682 |
| XAU | Gold Ounces | 301.977 | 0.00331151 |
| GRD | Greece Drachmae ** | 0.00255463 | 391.447 |
| HKD | Hong Kong Dollars | 0.128215 | 7.79939 |
| HUF | Hungary Forint | 0.00358416 | 279.006 |
| ISK | Iceland Kronur | 0.00999868 | 100.013 |
| INR | India Rupees | 0.0205205 | 48.7319 |
| IDR | Indonesia Rupiahs | 0.000102055 | 9,798.61 |
| IEP | Ireland Pounds ** | 1.10529 | 0.904738 |
| ILS | Israel New Shekels | 0.212386 | 4.70841 |
| ITL | Italy Lire ** | 0.000449570 | 2,224.35 |
| JMD | Jamaica Dollars | 0.0210041 | 47.6099 |
| JPY | Japan Yen | 0.00754183 | 132.594 |
| JOD | Jordan Dinars | 1.41057 | 0.708931 |
| LBP | Lebanon Pounds | 0.000660937 | 1,513.00 |
| LUF | Luxembourg Francs ** | 0.0215788 | 46.3417 |
| MYR | Malaysia Ringgits | 0.263330 | 3.79751 |
| MXN | Mexico Pesos | 0.111007 | 9.00848 |
| NZD | New Zealand Dollars | 0.440474 | 2.27028 |
| NOK | Norway Kroner | 0.113022 | 8.84780 |
| NLG | Netherlands Guilders ** | 0.395011 | 2.53158 |
| PKR | Pakistan Rupees | 0.0166945 | 59.9000 |
| PHP | Philippines Pesos | 0.0196386 | 50.9202 |
| XPT | Platinum Ounces | 510.962 | 0.00195709 |
| PLN | Poland Zlotych | 0.243488 | 4.10699 |
| PTE | Portugal Escudos ** | 0.00434198 | 230.310 |
| ROL | Romania Lei | 0.0000303433 | 32,956.21 |
| RUR | Russia Rubles | 0.0321342 | 31.1195 |
| SAR | Saudi Arabia Riyals | 0.266668 | 3.74998 |
| XAG | Silver Ounces | 4.65692 | 0.214734 |
| SGD | Singapore Dollars | 0.542540 | 1.84318 |
| SKK | Slovakia Koruny | 0.0208441 | 47.9751 |
| ZAR | South Africa Rand | 0.0883340 | 11.3207 |
| KRW | South Korea Won | 0.000759354 | 1,316.91 |
| ESP | Spain Pesetas ** | 0.00523174 | 191.141 |
| XDR | IMF Special Drawing Rights | 1.24862 | 0.800882 |
| SDD | Sudan Dinars | 0.00384615 | 260.000 |
| SEK | Sweden Kronor | 0.0964189 | 10.3714 |
| CHF | Switzerland Francs | 0.593789 | 1.68410 |
| TWD | Taiwan New Dollars | 0.0286531 | 34.9002 |
| THB | Thailand Baht | 0.0230087 | 43.4619 |
| TTD | Trinidad and Tobago Dollars | 0.163399 | 6.12000 |
| TRL | Turkey Liras | 0.000000763622 | 1,309,549.07 |
| VEB | Venezuela Bolivares | 0.00108696 | 920.000 |
| ZMK | Zambia Kwacha | 0.000239866 | 4,169.00 |
| Ghana : Geographic coordinates | 8 00 N, 2 00 W |
| Ghana : Population growth rate | 1.79% |
| Ghana : Birth rate | 28.95 births/1,000 population |
| Ghana : Death rate | 10.26 deaths/1,000 population |
| Ghana : People living with HIV/AIDS | 340,000 |
| Ghana : Independence | 6 March 1957 |
| Ghana : National holiday | Independence Day, 6 March |
| Ghana : Constitution | 28 April 1992 |
| Ghana : GDP | purchasing power parity - $37.4 billion |
| Ghana : GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,900 |
| Ghana : Electricity - consumption | 5.573 billion kWh |
| Ghana : Exports | $1.6 billion gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore, diamonds |
| Ghana : Imports | $2.2 billion capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs |
| Ghana : Telephones | 200,000 |
| Ghana : Mobile cellular | 30,000 |
| Ghana : Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 18, shortwave 3 |
| Ghana : Radios | 4.4 million |
| Ghana : Television broadcast stations | 11 |
| Ghana : Televisions | 1.73 million |
| Ghana : Internet country code | .gh |
| Ghana : Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 |
| Ghana : Internet users | 20,000 |
| Ghana : Railways | 953 km |
| Ghana : Highways | 39,409 km |
| Ghana : Waterways | 1,293 km |
| Ghana : Pipelines | N/A |
| Ghana : Ports and harbors | Takoradi, Tema |
| Ghana : Merchant marine | 6 ships |
| Ghana : Airports | 12 |
| Ghana : Heliports | N/A |
| Ghana : Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police Force, Palace Guard, Civil Defense |
| Ghana : Military expenditures | $53 million |