]! ^! 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. A long series of coups resulted in the suspension of Ghana's third constitution in 1981 and a ban on political parties. A new constitution, restoring multiparty politics, was approved in 1992. Lt. Jerry RAWLINGS, head of state since 1981, won presidential elections in 1992 and 1996, but was constitutionally prevented from running for a third term in 2000. John KUFUOR, who defeated former Vice President John ATTA-MILLS in a free and fair election, succeeded him. 
]" ^" Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Cote d'Ivoire and Togo ^# 8 00 N, 2 00 W ^$ Africa ^% `! 239,460 sq km `" 230,940 sq km `# 8,520 sq km ^& slightly smaller than Oregon ^' `! 2,094 km `Y Burkina Faso 549 km, Cote d'Ivoire 668 km, Togo 877 km ^( 539 km ^) `$ 12 nm `M 24 nm `N 200 nm `O 200 nm ^* tropical; warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast; hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north ^+ mostly low plains with dissected plateau in south-central area ^, `% Atlantic Ocean 0 m `& Mount Afadjato 880 m ^- gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish, rubber, hydropower, petroleum, silver, salt, limestone ^. `' 17.54% `( 9.22% `) 73.24% (2005) ^/ 310 sq km (2003) ^0 dry, dusty, northeastern harmattan winds occur from January to March; droughts ^1 recurrent drought in north severely affects agricultural activities; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; poaching and habitat destruction threatens wildlife populations; water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water _P `P Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands `Q Marine Life Conservation ^2 Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake 
]# ^3 22,931,299 `* estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 38.2% (male 4,438,308/female 4,329,293) `, 58.2% (male 6,661,512/female 6,687,738) `- 3.6% (male 380,495/female 433,953) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 20.2 years `. 19.9 years `/ 20.4 years (2007 est.) ^6 1.972% (2007 est.) ^7 29.85 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 9.55 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 -0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.03 male(s)/female `1 1.025 male(s)/female `, 0.996 male(s)/female `- 0.877 male(s)/female `2 1.003 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 53.56 deaths/1,000 live births `. 58 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 48.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 59.12 years `. 58.31 years `/ 59.95 years (2007 est.) ^= 3.89 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> 3.1% (2003 est.) ^? 350,000 (2003 est.) ^@ 30,000 (2003 est.) _` `h very high `i bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria and yellow fever are high risks in some locations water contact disease: schistosomiasis `s meningococcal meningitis (2007) ^A `3 Ghanaian(s) `4 Ghanaian ^B African 98.5% (includes Akan 44%, Moshi-Dagomba 16%, Ewe 13%, Ga 8%, Gurma 3%, Yoruba 1%), European and other 1.5% (1998) ^C Christian 63%, Muslim 16%, indigenous beliefs 21% ^D English (official), African languages (including Akan, Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga) ^E `5 age 15 and over can read and write `2 74.8% `. 82.7% `/ 67.1% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `6 Republic of Ghana `7 Ghana `\ Gold Coast ^H constitutional democracy ^I `8 Accra `9 5 33 N, 0 13 W `: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) ^J 10 regions; Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, Western ^K 6 March 1957 (from UK) ^L Independence Day, 6 March (1957) ^M approved 28 April 1992 ^N based on English common law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `; President John Agyekum KUFUOR (since 7 January 2001); Vice President Alhaji Aliu MAHAMA (since 7 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government `< President John Agyekum KUFUOR (since 7 January 2001); Vice President Alhaji Aliu MAHAMA (since 7 January 2001) `= Council of Ministers; president nominates members subject to approval by Parliament `> president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 7 December 2004 (next to be held in December 2008) `? John Agyekum KUFUOR reelected president in election; percent of vote - John KUFUOR 53.4%, John ATTA-MILLS 43.7% ^Q unicameral Parliament (230 seats; note - increased from 200 seats in 2004 election; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms) `> last held 7 December 2004 (next to be held December in 2008) `? percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NPP 128, NDC 94, PNC 4, CPP 3, independent 1 ^R Supreme Court ^S Convention People's Party or CPP [Dr. Edmund DELLE]; Democratic Freedom Party or DFP [Alhaji Abudu Rahman ISSAKAH]; Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere or EGLE [Danny OFORI-ATTA]; Great Consolidated Popular Party or GCPP [Dan LARTY]; National Democratic Congress or NDC [Dr. Kwabena ADJEI]; New Patriotic Party or NPP [Peter MAC-MANU]; People's National Convention or PNC [Alhaji Amed RHAMADAN]; Reform Party [Kyeretwie OPUKU]; United Renaissance Party or URP [Charles Wayo] ^T NA ^U ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OIF, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO ^V `R Ambassador Dr. Kwame BAWUAH-EDUSEI `S 1156 15th St. NW #905, Washington, DC 20005 `T [1] (202) 785-1379 `U [1] (202) 785-1430 `V New York ^W `R Ambassador Pamela E. BRIDGEWATER `_ Ring Road East, Osu, Accra `` P. O. Box 194, Accra `T [233] (21) 775-347, 775-348 `U [233] (21) 776-008 ^X three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow 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 
]% ^Y Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has roughly twice the per capita output of the poorest 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 37% 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, but was included in a G-8 debt relief program decided upon at the Gleneagles Summit in July 2005. Priorities under its current $38 million Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) include tighter monetary and fiscal policies, accelerated privatization, and improvement of social services. Receipts from the gold sector helped sustain GDP growth in 2006 along with record high prices for Ghana's largest cocoa crop to date. Ghana received a Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant in 2006, which aims to assist in transforming Ghana's agricultural export sector. ^Z $59.15 billion (2006 est.) ^[ $10.18 billion (2006 est.) ^\ 5.7% (2006 est.) ^] $2,600 (2006 est.) ^^ `@ 37.3% `A 25.3% `B 37.5% (2006 est.) ^_ 10.87 million (2006 est.) ^` `@ 60% `A 15% `B 25% (1999 est.) ^a 20% (1997 est.) _! 31.4% (1992 est.) _" `C 2.2% `D 30.1% (1999) _d 30 (1999) _# 10.9% (2006 est.) _V 29% of GDP (2006 est.) _$ `E $3.616 billion `F $3.947 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.) _% 38.6% of GDP (2006 est.) _& cocoa, rice, coffee, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, corn, shea nuts, bananas; timber _' mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food processing, cement, small commercial ship building _( 3.8% (2000 est.) _) 6.489 billion kWh (2004) _* 7.095 billion kWh (2004) _+ 900 million kWh (2004) _, 1.96 billion kWh (2004) _- 7,477 bbl/day (2004 est.) _. 44,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) _/ NA bbl/day _0 NA bbl/day _W 8.255 million bbl (1 January 2002) _1 0 cu m (2004 est.) _2 0 cu m (2004 est.) _Z 23.79 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.) _Q $-219 million (2006 est.) _3 $3.286 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) _4 gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore, diamonds _5 Netherlands 12.5%, UK 8.3%, US 6.7%, Belgium 5.8%, France 5.6%, Germany 4.4% (2005) _6 $5.666 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) _7 capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs _8 Nigeria 15.2%, China 12.5%, US 6.3%, UK 5.2%, South Africa 4.5%, Brazil 4.1%, Netherlands 4% (2005) _[ $2.098 billion (2006 est.) _9 $3.546 billion (2006 est.) _: $6.9 billion (1999) _; cedi (GHC) _< cedis per US dollar - 9,174.8 (2006), 9,072.5 (2005), 9,004.6 (2004), 8,677.4 (2003), 7,932.7 (2002) _= calendar year 
]& _> 321,500 (2005) _? 2.842 million (2005) _@ `G poor to fair system; Internet accessible; many rural communities not yet connected; expansion of services is underway `H primarily microwave radio relay; wireless local loop has been installed `I 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 _A AM 0, FM 49, shortwave 3 (2001) _B 10 (2001) _C .gh _D 380 (2006) _E 401,300 (2005) 
]' _F 12 (2006) _G `! 7 `a 1 `b 4 `c 2 (2006) _R `! 5 `c 3 `W 2 (2006) _^ oil 13 km; refined products 316 km (2006) _e `! 953 km `n 953 km 1.067-m gauge (2005) _H `! 42,623 km `K 3,267 km `L 39,356 km (2004) _b 1,293 km `* 168 km for launches and lighters on Volta, Ankobra, and Tano rivers; 1,125 km of arterial and feeder waterways on Lake Volta (2005) _S `! 4 ships (1000 GRT or over) 6,308 GRT/9,418 DWT by type: cargo 1, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 2 `X 1 (Brazil 1) (2006) _I Takoradi, Tema 
]( _J Ghanaian Army, Ghanaian Navy, Ghanaian Air Force (2007) _T 18 years of age for compulsory and volunteer military service (2001) _K males age 18-49: 4,808,451 females age 18-49: 4,762,459 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 3,011,081 females age 18-49: 2,991,551 (2005 est.) _L males age 18-49: 251,056 females age 18-49: 247,777 (2005 est.) _U 0.8% (2006 est.) 
]) _N Ghana struggles to accommodate returning nationals who worked in the cocoa plantations and escaped fighting in Cote d'Ivoire _c `o 38,684 (Liberia), 14,136 (Togo) (2006) _O illicit producer of cannabis for the international drug trade; major transit hub for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin and, to a lesser extent, South American cocaine destined for Europe and the US; widespread crime and money laundering problem, but the lack of a well developed financial infrastructure limits the country's utility as a money laundering center; significant domestic cocaine and cannabis use 