Ghana is a multiethnic country rich in natural resources and is one of the most stable and democratic countries in West Africa. Ghana has been inhabited for at least several thousand years, however, little is known about its early inhabitants. By the 12th century, the gold trade started to boom in Bono (Bonoman) state in what is today southern Ghana, and it became the genesis of Akan power and wealth in the region. Beginning in the 15th century, the Portuguese, followed by other European powers, arrived and contested for trading rights. Numerous kingdoms and empires emerged in the area, among the most powerful were the Kingdom of Dagbon in the north and the Asante (Ashanti) Empire in the south. By the mid-18th century, Asante was a highly organized state with immense wealth; it provided enslaved people for the Atlantic slave trade, and in return received firearms that facilitated its territorial expansion. The Asante resisted increasing British influence in the coastal areas, engaging in a series of wars during the 19th century before ultimately falling under British control. Formed from the merger of the British colony of the Gold Coast and the Togoland trust territory, Ghana in 1957 became the first Sub-Saharan country in colonial Africa to gain its independence, with Kwame NKRUMAH as its first leader.
Ghana endured a series of coups before Lt. Jerry RAWLINGS took power in 1981 and banned political parties. After approving a new constitution and restoring multiparty politics in 1992, RAWLINGS won presidential elections in 1992 and 1996 but was constitutionally prevented from running for a third term in 2000. John KUFUOR of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) succeeded him and was reelected in 2004. John Atta MILLS of the National Democratic Congress won the 2008 presidential election and took over as head of state. MILLS died in July 2012 and was constitutionally succeeded by his vice president, John Dramani MAHAMA, who subsequently won the December 2012 presidential election. In 2016, Nana Addo Dankwa AKUFO-ADDO of the NPP defeated MAHAMA, marking the third time that Ghana’s presidency had changed parties since the return to democracy. AKUFO-ADDO was reelected in 2020. In recent years, Ghana has taken an active role in promoting regional stability and is highly integrated in international affairs.
Ghana has a young age structure, with approximately 57% of the population under the age of 25. Its total fertility rate fell significantly during the 1980s and 1990s but has stalled at around four children per woman for the last few years. Fertility remains higher in the northern region than the Greater Accra region. On average, desired fertility has remained stable for several years; urban dwellers want fewer children than rural residents. Increased life expectancy, due to better health care, nutrition, and hygiene, and reduced fertility have increased Ghana’s share of elderly persons; Ghana’s proportion of persons aged 60+ is among the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Poverty has declined in Ghana, but it remains pervasive in the northern region, which is susceptible to droughts and floods and has less access to transportation infrastructure, markets, fertile farming land, and industrial centers. The northern region also has lower school enrollment, higher illiteracy, and fewer opportunities for women.
Ghana was a country of immigration in the early years after its 1957 independence, attracting labor migrants largely from Nigeria and other neighboring countries to mine minerals and harvest cocoa – immigrants composed about 12% of Ghana’s population in 1960. In the late 1960s, worsening economic and social conditions discouraged immigration, and hundreds of thousands of immigrants, mostly Nigerians, were expelled.
During the 1970s, severe drought and an economic downturn transformed Ghana into a country of emigration; neighboring Cote d’Ivoire was the initial destination. Later, hundreds of thousands of Ghanaians migrated to Nigeria to work in its booming oil industry, but most were deported in 1983 and 1985 as oil prices plummeted. Many Ghanaians then turned to more distant destinations, including other parts of Africa, Europe, and North America, but the majority continued to migrate within West Africa. Since the 1990s, increased emigration of skilled Ghanaians, especially to the US and the UK, drained the country of its health care and education professionals. Internally, poverty and other developmental disparities continue to drive Ghanaians from the north to the south, particularly to its urban centers.
" }, "Age structure": { "0-14 years": { "text": "37.44% (male 5,524,932/female 5,460,943)" }, "15-24 years": { "text": "18.64% (male 2,717,481/female 2,752,601)" }, "25-54 years": { "text": "34.27% (male 4,875,985/female 5,177,959)" }, "55-64 years": { "text": "5.21% (male 743,757/female 784,517)" }, "65 years and over": { "text": "4.44% (male 598,387/female 703,686) (2020 est.)" } }, "Dependency ratios": { "total dependency ratio": { "text": "67.4" }, "youth dependency ratio": { "text": "62.2" }, "elderly dependency ratio": { "text": "5.3" }, "potential support ratio": { "text": "17.1 (2020 est.)" } }, "Median age": { "total": { "text": "21.4 years" }, "male": { "text": "21 years" }, "female": { "text": "21.9 years (2020 est.)" } }, "Population growth rate": { "text": "2.23% (2022 est.)" }, "Birth rate": { "text": "28.55 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)" }, "Death rate": { "text": "6.14 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)" }, "Net migration rate": { "text": "-0.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)" }, "Population distribution": { "text": "population is concentrated in the southern half of the country, with the highest concentrations being on or near the Atlantic coast as shown in this population distribution map" }, "Urbanization": { "urban population": { "text": "58.6% of total population (2022)" }, "rate of urbanization": { "text": "3.06% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)" } }, "Major urban areas - population": { "text": "3.630 million Kumasi, 2.605 million ACCRA (capital), 1.035 million Sekondi Takoradi (2022)" }, "Sex ratio": { "at birth": { "text": "1.03 male(s)/female" }, "0-14 years": { "text": "1.02 male(s)/female" }, "15-24 years": { "text": "0.99 male(s)/female" }, "25-54 years": { "text": "0.89 male(s)/female" }, "55-64 years": { "text": "0.88 male(s)/female" }, "65 years and over": { "text": "0.72 male(s)/female" }, "total population": { "text": "0.95 male(s)/female (2022 est.)" } }, "Mother's mean age at first birth": { "text": "20.7 years (2014 est.)", "note": "note: median age at first birth among women 25-49" }, "Maternal mortality ratio": { "text": "308 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)" }, "Infant mortality rate": { "total": { "text": "32.59 deaths/1,000 live births" }, "male": { "text": "36.05 deaths/1,000 live births" }, "female": { "text": "29.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2022 est.)" } }, "Life expectancy at birth": { "total population": { "text": "69.37 years" }, "male": { "text": "67.7 years" }, "female": { "text": "71.09 years (2022 est.)" } }, "Total fertility rate": { "text": "3.66 children born/woman (2022 est.)" }, "Contraceptive prevalence rate": { "text": "27.2% (2017/18)" }, "Drinking water source": { "improved: urban": { "text": "urban: 98.7% of population" }, "improved: rural": { "text": "rural: 83.8% of population" }, "improved: total": { "text": "total: 92.4% of population" }, "unimproved: urban": { "text": "urban: 1.3% of population" }, "unimproved: rural": { "text": "rural: 16.2% of population" }, "unimproved: total": { "text": "total: 7.6% of population (2020 est.)" } }, "Current Health Expenditure": { "text": "3.4% (2019)" }, "Physicians density": { "text": "0.14 physicians/1,000 population (2017)" }, "Hospital bed density": { "text": "0.9 beds/1,000 population (2011)" }, "Sanitation facility access": { "improved: urban": { "text": "urban: 84.8% of population" }, "improved: rural": { "text": "rural: 52.8% of population" }, "improved: total": { "text": "total: 71.1% of population" }, "unimproved: urban": { "text": "urban: 15.2% of population" }, "unimproved: rural": { "text": "rural: 47.2% of population" }, "unimproved: total": { "text": "total: 28.9% of population (2020 est.)" } }, "HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate": { "text": "1.7% (2020 est.)" }, "HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS": { "text": "350,000 (2020 est.)" }, "HIV/AIDS - deaths": { "text": "13,000 (2020 est.)" }, "Major infectious diseases": { "degree of risk": { "text": "very high (2020)" }, "food or waterborne diseases": { "text": "bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever" }, "vectorborne diseases": { "text": "malaria, dengue fever, and yellow fever" }, "water contact diseases": { "text": "schistosomiasis" }, "animal contact diseases": { "text": "rabies" }, "respiratory diseases": { "text": "meningococcal meningitis" }, "note": "note: since October 2021, there has been a yellow fever outbreak in Ghana with numerous cases, including some deaths, in the following regions: Savannah, Upper West, Bono, and Oti; the CDC recommends travelers going to Ghana should receive vaccination against yellow fever at least 10 days before travel and should take steps to prevent mosquito bites while there; those never vaccinated against yellow fever should avoid travel to Nigeria during the outbreak; there are no medications to treat or cure yellow fever" }, "Obesity - adult prevalence rate": { "text": "10.9% (2016)" }, "Children under the age of 5 years underweight": { "text": "12.6% (2017/18)" }, "Child marriage": { "women married by age 15": { "text": "5% (2018)" }, "women married by age 18": { "text": "19.3% (2018)" }, "men married by age 18": { "text": "3.9% (2018 est.)" } }, "Education expenditures": { "text": "4% of GDP (2018)" }, "Literacy": { "definition": { "text": "age 15 and over can read and write" }, "total population": { "text": "79%" }, "male": { "text": "83.5%" }, "female": { "text": "74.5% (2018)" } }, "School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)": { "total": { "text": "12 years" }, "male": { "text": "12 years" }, "female": { "text": "12 years (2020)" } }, "Unemployment, youth ages 15-24": { "total": { "text": "9.1%" }, "male": { "text": "9.4%" }, "female": { "text": "8.7% (2017 est.)" } } }, "Environment": { "Environment - current issues": { "text": "recurrent drought in north severely affects agricultural activities; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; poaching and habitat destruction threaten wildlife populations; water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water" }, "Environment - international agreements": { "party to": { "text": "Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling" }, "signed, but not ratified": { "text": "Marine Life Conservation" } }, "Air pollutants": { "particulate matter emissions": { "text": "31.95 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)" }, "carbon dioxide emissions": { "text": "16.67 megatons (2016 est.)" }, "methane emissions": { "text": "22.75 megatons (2020 est.)" } }, "Climate": { "text": "tropical; warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast; hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north" }, "Land use": { "agricultural land": { "text": "69.1% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: arable land": { "text": "arable land: 20.7% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent crops": { "text": "permanent crops: 11.9% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent pasture": { "text": "permanent pasture: 36.5% (2018 est.)" }, "forest": { "text": "21.2% (2018 est.)" }, "other": { "text": "9.7% (2018 est.)" } }, "Urbanization": { "urban population": { "text": "58.6% of total population (2022)" }, "rate of urbanization": { "text": "3.06% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)" } }, "Revenue from forest resources": { "forest revenues": { "text": "3.51% of GDP (2018 est.)" } }, "Revenue from coal": { "coal revenues": { "text": "0% of GDP (2018 est.)" } }, "Major infectious diseases": { "degree of risk": { "text": "very high (2020)" }, "food or waterborne diseases": { "text": "bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever" }, "vectorborne diseases": { "text": "malaria, dengue fever, and yellow fever" }, "water contact diseases": { "text": "schistosomiasis" }, "animal contact diseases": { "text": "rabies" }, "respiratory diseases": { "text": "meningococcal meningitis" }, "note": "note: since October 2021, there has been a yellow fever outbreak in Ghana with numerous cases, including some deaths, in the following regions: Savannah, Upper West, Bono, and Oti; the CDC recommends travelers going to Ghana should receive vaccination against yellow fever at least 10 days before travel and should take steps to prevent mosquito bites while there; those never vaccinated against yellow fever should avoid travel to Nigeria during the outbreak; there are no medications to treat or cure yellow fever" }, "Waste and recycling": { "municipal solid waste generated annually": { "text": "3,538,275 tons (2005 est.)" } }, "Major rivers (by length in km)": { "text": "Volta river mouth (shared with Burkina Faso [s]) - 1,600 kmGhana has a market-based economy with relatively few policy barriers to trade and investment in comparison with other countries in the region, and Ghana is endowed with natural resources. Ghana's economy was strengthened by a quarter century of relatively sound management, a competitive business environment, and sustained reductions in poverty levels, but in recent years has suffered the consequences of loose fiscal policy, high budget and current account deficits, and a depreciating currency.
Agriculture accounts for about 20% of GDP and employs more than half of the workforce, mainly small landholders. Gold, oil, and cocoa exports, and individual remittances, are major sources of foreign exchange. Expansion of Ghana’s nascent oil industry has boosted economic growth, but the fall in oil prices since 2015 reduced by half Ghana’s oil revenue. Production at Jubilee, Ghana's first commercial offshore oilfield, began in mid-December 2010. Production from two more fields, TEN and Sankofa, started in 2016 and 2017 respectively. The country’s first gas processing plant at Atuabo is also producing natural gas from the Jubilee field, providing power to several of Ghana’s thermal power plants.
As of 2018, key economic concerns facing the government include the lack of affordable electricity, lack of a solid domestic revenue base, and the high debt burden. The AKUFO-ADDO administration has made some progress by committing to fiscal consolidation, but much work is still to be done. Ghana signed a $920 million extended credit facility with the IMF in April 2015 to help it address its growing economic crisis. The IMF fiscal targets require Ghana to reduce the deficit by cutting subsidies, decreasing the bloated public sector wage bill, strengthening revenue administration, boosting tax revenues, and improving the health of Ghana’s banking sector. Priorities for the new administration include rescheduling some of Ghana’s $31 billion debt, stimulating economic growth, reducing inflation, and stabilizing the currency. Prospects for new oil and gas production and follow through on tighter fiscal management are likely to help Ghana’s economy in 2018.
" }, "Real GDP (purchasing power parity)": { "Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2020": { "text": "$164.84 billion (2020 est.)" }, "Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2019": { "text": "$164.16 billion (2019 est.)" }, "Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2018": { "text": "$154.13 billion (2018 est.)" }, "note": "note: data are in 2017 dollars" }, "Real GDP growth rate": { "Real GDP growth rate 2017": { "text": "8.4% (2017 est.)" }, "Real GDP growth rate 2016": { "text": "3.7% (2016 est.)" }, "Real GDP growth rate 2015": { "text": "3.8% (2015 est.)" } }, "Real GDP per capita": { "Real GDP per capita 2020": { "text": "$5,300 (2020 est.)" }, "Real GDP per capita 2019": { "text": "$5,400 (2019 est.)" }, "Real GDP per capita 2018": { "text": "$5,200 (2018 est.)" }, "note": "note: data are in 2017 dollars" }, "GDP (official exchange rate)": { "text": "$65.363 billion (2019 est.)" }, "Inflation rate (consumer prices)": { "Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2019": { "text": "8.4% (2019 est.)" }, "Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2018": { "text": "9.8% (2018 est.)" }, "Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2017": { "text": "12.3% (2017 est.)" } }, "Credit ratings": { "Fitch rating": { "text": "B (2013)" }, "Moody's rating": { "text": "B3 (2015)" }, "Standard & Poors rating": { "text": "B- (2020)" } }, "GDP - composition, by sector of origin": { "agriculture": { "text": "18.3% (2017 est.)" }, "industry": { "text": "24.5% (2017 est.)" }, "services": { "text": "57.2% (2017 est.)" } }, "GDP - composition, by end use": { "household consumption": { "text": "80.1% (2017 est.)" }, "government consumption": { "text": "8.6% (2017 est.)" }, "investment in fixed capital": { "text": "13.7% (2017 est.)" }, "investment in inventories": { "text": "1.1% (2017 est.)" }, "exports of goods and services": { "text": "43% (2017 est.)" }, "imports of goods and services": { "text": "-46.5% (2017 est.)" } }, "Agricultural products": { "text": "cassava, yams, plantains, maize, oil palm fruit, taro, rice, cocoa, oranges, pineapples" }, "Industries": { "text": "mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food processing, cement, small commercial ship building, petroleum" }, "Industrial production growth rate": { "text": "16.7% (2017 est.)" }, "Labor force": { "text": "12.49 million (2017 est.)" }, "Labor force - by occupation": { "agriculture": { "text": "44.7%" }, "industry": { "text": "14.4%" }, "services": { "text": "40.9% (2013 est.)" } }, "Unemployment rate": { "Unemployment rate 2015": { "text": "11.9% (2015 est.)" }, "Unemployment rate 2013": { "text": "5.2% (2013 est.)" } }, "Unemployment, youth ages 15-24": { "total": { "text": "9.1%" }, "male": { "text": "9.4%" }, "female": { "text": "8.7% (2017 est.)" } }, "Population below poverty line": { "text": "23.4% (2016 est.)" }, "Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income": { "Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income 2016": { "text": "43.5 (2016 est.)" }, "note": "42.3 (2012-13)the military of Ghana traces its origins to the Gold Coast Constabulary that was established in 1879 and renamed the Gold Coast Regiment in 1901; the Gold Coast Regiment was part of the West African Frontier Force (WAFF), a multi-regiment force formed by the British colonial office in 1900 to garrison the West African colonies of Gold Coast (Ghana), Nigeria (Lagos and the protectorates of Northern and Southern Nigeria), Sierra Leone, and Gambia; the WAFF served with distinction in both East and West Africa during World War I; in 1928, it received royal recognition and was re-named the Royal West African Frontier Force (RWAFF); the RWAFF went on to serve in World War II as part of the British 81st and 82nd (West African) divisions in the East Africa and Burma campaigns; following independence in 1957, the Gold Coast Regiment formed the basis for the new Ghanaian Army
as of 2021, the primary missions for the Ghanaian military included assisting other security services with internal security and patrolling the country’s economic exclusion zone, which has led to efforts to expand the Navy’s capabilities in recent years; since sending a contingent of troops to the Congo in 1960, the Ghana military has been a regular contributor to African- and UN-sponsored peacekeeping missions
" }, "Maritime threats": { "text": "the International Maritime Bureau reports the territorial and offshore waters in the Niger Delta and Gulf of Guinea remain a very high risk for piracy and armed robbery of ships; in 2021, there were 34 reported incidents of piracy and armed robbery at sea in the Gulf of Guinea region; although a significant decrease from the total number of 81 incidents in 2020, it included the one hijacking and three of five ships fired upon worldwide; while boarding and attempted boarding to steal valuables from ships and crews are the most common types of incidents, almost a third of all incidents involve a hijacking and/or kidnapping; in 2021, 57 crew members were kidnapped in seven separate incidents in the Gulf of Guinea, representing 100% of kidnappings worldwide; Nigerian pirates in particular are well armed and very aggressive, operating as far as 200 nm offshore; the Maritime Administration of the US Department of Transportation has issued a Maritime Advisory (2022-001 - Gulf of Guinea-Piracy/Armed Robbery/Kidnapping for Ransom) effective 4 January 2022, which states in part, \"Piracy, armed robbery, and kidnapping for ransom continue to serve as significant threats to US-flagged vessels transiting or operating in the Gulf of Guinea\"
" } }, "Transnational Issues": { "Disputes - international": { "text": "disputed maritime border between Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire
" }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { "text": "6,045 (Cote d'Ivoire) (flight from 2010 post-election fighting) (2022)" } }, "Illicit drugs": { "text": "a transit and destination point for illicit drugs trafficked from Asia and South America to other African nations and Europe, and to a lesser extent the United States; cultivation of cannabis for domestic use and is trafficked to regional markets or to Europe" } } }