Country Name: GHANA
Capital: Accra

US Contact:

Chancery:
3512 International Drive NW
Washington, DC 20008

1.202.686.4520
1.202.686.4527

Related Link: http://www.ghanaweb.com/

Geography

Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean between Cote d'Ivoire and TogoLatitude: 5 degrees, 36 minutes north Longitude: 0 degrees, 10 minutes east
Total: 238,540 km2;
Land: 230,020 sq km
Water: 8,520 sq km
Geographic coordinates: 8 00 N, 2 00 W

Population

18,800,000 (2000 Census) Females- 51% male 49%
Growth: 2.4 (2000 Census)
Birth rate: 44.66 births/1,000 (1993 est.)
Death rate: 12.52 deaths/1000 (1993 est.)

Climate

Tropical, temperatures vary with season and elevation. Except in the north two rainy seasons occur, from April to July and from September to November. In the north the rainy season begins in April and lasts until September. Annual rainfall ranges from about 1,100 mm (about 43 in) in the north to about 2,100 mm (about 83 in) in the southeast. The harmattan, a dry desert wind, blows from the northeast from December to March, lowering the humidity and creating hot days and cool nights in the north. In the south the effects of the harmattan are felt in January. In most areas the highest temperatures occur in March, the lowest in August.

Natural Resources/Land Use

Gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish, rubber, hydropower

Arable land: 12%
Permanent crops: 7%
Permanent pastures: 22%
Fforests and woodland: 35%
Other: 24% (1993 est.)
Irrigated Land: 60 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural Hazards/Environmental Issues

Dry, dusty, harmattan winds occur from January to March; droughts.

Recent drought in north severely affecting agricultural activities; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; poaching and habitat destruction threatens wildlife populations; water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water.

Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
Signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation

Economy

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:

IMFGDP: purchasing power parity - $37.4 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2000 est.)

Information Source: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/