note: 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 2001 est.)
Currency:
cedi (GHC)
Languages:
English (official), African languages (including Akan, Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga)
Elevation:
highest point: Mount Afadjato 880 m
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
Natural hazards:
dry, dusty, harmattan winds occur from January to March; droughts
Climate:
tropical; warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast; hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north
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 IMF. On the minus side, public sector wage increases and regional peacekeeping commitments have led to continued inflationary deficit financing, depreciation of the cedi, and rising public discontent with Ghana's austerity measures. Political uncertainty and a depressed cocoa market led to disappointing growth in 2000. A rebound in the cocoa market should push growth over 4% in 2001-02.
black African 99.8% (major tribes - Akan 44%, Moshi-Dagomba 16%, Ewe 13%, Ga 8%), European and other 0.2%
Yellow fever:
A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from all travellers.
Malaria:
Malaria risk—predominantly due to P. falciparum—exists throughout the year in the whole country. Resistance to chloroquine and sulfadoxine–pyrimethamine reported.
