Ghana Overview

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Population / geography

ghana population - fertility rate

Country name Republic of GhanaGhana
Land area 238,537 km ²
Population 27.4 million (2015 estimate)
Life expectancy Total: 61.5Men: 60.5

Women: 62.5 years

(2015 estimate)

Age structure 0-14: 38.0%15-64: 57.7%

65 and older: 4.3%

(2017 estimate)

Population growth 2.2%(2017 estimate)
Population groups
  • Akan 47.5%
  • Mole dagbon 16.6%
  • Ewe 13.9%
  • Ga-Dangme 7.4%
  • Gurma 5.7%
  • Guan 3.7%
  • Grusi 2.5%
  • Mande 1.1%
  • Others 1.4%

(2010 estimate)

Languages
  • English (official language)
  • Asante 16%
  • Ewe 14%
  • Fante 11.6%
  • Boron (Brong) 4.9%
  • Dagomba 4.4%
  • Dangme 4.2%
  • Dagarte (Dagaba) 3.9%
  • Kokomba 3.5%
  • Akyem 3.2%
  • Ga 3.1%
  • Other Akan and tribal languages ​​(including Twi, Akuapi etc) 31.2%

(2010 estimate)

Religions Christians 71.2% (Pentecostal / Charismatic Movement 28.3%, Protestants 18.4%, Catholics 13.1%, others 11.4%)Muslims (Sunnis, Ahmadiyya, Shiites and others) 17.6%

Traditional (tribal religions & animists) 5.2%

Others 0.8%

None 5.2%

(2010 estimate)

Time zone UTC ± 0
Currency 1 Ghana Cedi (GHS) / 100 Pesewas
Prefix +233
National holiday 6th March
Independence day March 6, 1957 (independence of the British Crown Colony Gold Coast from British colonial rule under the name Ghana)

Sources: Countryaah.com

Ghana is a West African state that borders the Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Togo, as well as the Gulf of Guinea in the south, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. The capital and largest city of Ghana is Accra with over two million residents, the second million city in the country is Kumasi. Ghana, then called the Gold Coast, gained independence from Great Britain on March 6, 1957.

Ghana is a multi-ethnic state and regionally strongly influenced by the various ethnic groups. The largest ethnic groups are the Asante (Ashanti), who mainly live in central Ghana, and the Fante (Fanti), who live in the coastal regions.

Due to its good economic situation compared to other African countries, Ghana is also a country of immigration, mainly for migrants and refugees from neighboring countries. Global tourism is also becoming increasingly important in Ghana.

The official language of Ghana is English, but French is an important foreign language because the country is surrounded by francophone countries. According to a 2015 survey, around 2,000 people in Ghana are learning German.

Politics / Administration

Country name Republic of Ghana / Republic of Ghana
Capital Accra
Form of government Republic / Presidential Democracy
Head of state, also head of government Prime Minister Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo (in office: 7 January 2017)
Representative Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia (Vice President since January 2017)
Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey (Foreign Minister since January 2017)
Minister of Education Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh (Minister of Education since January 2017)
Research or Science Minister Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng (Minister for Environment, Science, Technology & Innovation since 2017)
Houses of Parliament Unicameral parliament; 275 seats; Chairman: Aaron Mike Oquaye (since January 2017)
Ruling parties New Patriotic Party (NPP) (169 seats)
Opposition parties National Democratic Congress (NDC) (106 seats)
Administrative structure 10 regions with regional ministers, 213 districts with District Chief Executives and District Assemblies

Political system

The Republic of Ghana is a presidential democracy and is based on the 1992 constitution. The president, who is also head of government, is directly elected by the Ghanaians for a term of four years. Ghana is divided into ten regions, which are administered by the respective regional ministers. These in turn consist of a total of 213 districts, each of the so-called District Chief Executives respectively. Municipality Chief Executives and the District Assemblies are administered. These are appointed by the President.

The country’s legislature is independent, with the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General linked in the office of the Attorney General.

Government, party country and opposition

Ghana is considered to be one of the most stable democracies in Africa. The last presidential election took place on December 7, 2016 and was peaceful. Here, the candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, prevailed against the previous incumbent John Dramani Mahama (NDC) with 53.8 % of the vote. His party (NPP) has an absolute majority in parliament. The opposition is the National Democratic Congress (NDC) party; no other parties are represented in parliament.

Business information

The economic situation in Ghana has steadily improved over the past few decades, which is due in particular to the country’s increasingly stable political situation. In addition, Ghana has a great wealth of natural resources and mineral resources, such as gold, oil and cocoa, through which the country has been able to establish trade partnerships worldwide. Ghana has been classified as a low-middle-income country by the World Bank. After a strong economic boom in the early 2000s, the country has seen lower growth rates in recent years. This was due, among other things, to difficulties in oil production. Economic growth of 8% is forecast for 2018 if oil production stabilizes and the situation in other branches of the economy also improves. The main exports of the country are oil, gold, cocoa, nuts, wood and manganese ore. Ghana’s main customer countries are Switzerland, India, the United Arab Emirates, China, Vietnam, the Netherlands and Burkina Faso. The main import goods are cars and delivery vans, rice, cement and frozen fish. The most important trading partners for the import of goods are China, the United Kingdom, USA, Belgium, India, Germany, France, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.

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