band; 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
Economy Ghana
Economy - overview:
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.
Ghana opted for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country
(HIPC) program in 2002. Priorities include tighter monetary and
fiscal policies, accelerated privatization, and improvement of
social services. Receipts from the gold sector helped sustain GDP
growth in 2004. Inflation should ease, but remain a major internal
problem.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$48.27 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
5.4% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $2,300 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 34.3% industry: 24.2% services: 41.4% (2004 est.)
Labor force:
10.24 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 60%, industry 15%, services 25% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate:
20% (1997 est.)
Population below poverty line:
31.4% (1992 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.2% highest 10%: 30.1% (1999)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
40.7 (1999)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
13% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):
19.7% of GDP (2004 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $2.17 billion
expenditures: $2.56 billion, including capital expenditures of NA
(2004 est.)
Agriculture - products:
cocoa, rice, coffee, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, corn, shea nuts,
bananas; timber
Industries:
mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food
processing, cement, small commercial ship building
Industrial production growth rate:
3.8% (2000 est.)
Electricity - production:
6.922 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 5% hydro: 95% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption:
6.137 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports:
500 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports:
200 million kWh (2002)
Oil - production:
7,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
38,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
NA
Oil - imports:
NA
Oil - proved reserves:
8.255 million bbl (1 January 2002)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
11.89 billion cu m (1 January 2002)
Current account balance:
$83.87 million (2004 est.)
Exports:
$3.01 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities:
gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore,
diamonds
Exports - partners:
Mexico 69.8%, Netherlands 3.7%, UK 3% (2004)
Imports:
$3.699 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities:
capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs
Imports - partners:
Nigeria 12.6%, China 11.4%, UK 6.6%, US 6.4%, France 4.9%,
Netherlands 4.2% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$1.267 billion (2004 est.)
Debt - external:
$7.396 billion (2004 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
$6.9 billion (1999)
Currency (code):
cedi (GHC)
Currency code:
GHC
Exchange rates:
cedis per US dollar - 9,004.6 (2004), 8,677.4 (2003), 7,932.7
(2002), 7,170.8 (2001), 5,455.1 (2000)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Communications Ghana
Telephones - main lines in use:
302,300 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
799,900 (2003)
Telephone system:
general assessment: poor to fair system; Internet accessible; many
rural communities not yet connected; expansion of services is
underway
domestic: primarily microwave radio relay; wireless local loop has
been installed
international: country code - 233; satellite earth stations - 4
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); microwave radio relay link to Panaftel
system connects Ghana to its neighbors; fiber optic submarine cable
(SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 0, FM 49, shortwave 3 (2001)
Radios:
12.5 million (2001)
Television broadcast stations:
10 (2001)
Televisions:
1.9 million (2001)
Internet country code:
.gh
Internet hosts: