Ghana

• tropical;
• warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast;
• hot and humid in southwest;
• hot and dry in north

agricultural land:

69.1%;

• arable land 20.7%;
• permanent crops 11.9%;
• permanent pasture 36.5%

forest:

21.2%

other:

9.7% (2011 est.)

• 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

party to:

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

signed, but not ratified:

Marine Life Conservation

• Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake (manmade reservoir) by surface area (8,482 sq km; 3,275 sq mi);
• the lake was created following the completion of the Akosombo Dam in 1965, which holds back the White Volta and Black Volta Rivers

noun:

Ghanaian(s)

adjective:

Ghanaian

at birth:

1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

0.99 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.94 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.95 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.86 male(s)/female

total population:

0.97 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

degree of risk:

very high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases:

malaria, dengue fever, and yellow fever

water contact disease:

schistosomiasis

respiratory disease:

meningococcal meningitis

animal contact disease:

rabies (2016)

total number:

1,806,750

percentage:

34% (2006 est.)

conventional long form:

Republic of Ghana

conventional short form:

Ghana

former:

Gold Coast

etymology:

named for the medieval West African kingdom of the same name, but whose location was actually further north than the modern country

name:

Accra

geographic coordinates:

5 33 N, 0 13 W

time difference:

UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

• several previous;
• latest drafted 31 March 1992, approved and promulgated 28 April 1992, entered into force 7 January 1993;
• amended 1996 (2016)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent or grandparent must be a citizen of Ghana

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

chief of state:

• President John Dramani MAHAMA (since 24 July 2012);
• Vice President Kwesi Bekoe AMISSAH-ARTHUR (since 6 August 2012);
• note - President MAHAMA assumed the presidency after the death of President John Atta MILLS and subsequently won the December 2012 presidential election;
• the president is both chief of state and head of government

head of government:

• President John Dramani MAHAMA (since 24 July 2012);
• Vice President Kwesi Bekoe AMISSAH-ARTHUR (since 6 August 2012);
• note - President MAHAMA assumed the presidency after the death of President John Atta MILLS and subsequently won the December 2012 presidential election;
• the president is both chief of state and head of government

cabinet:

Council of Ministers; nominated by the president, approved by Parliament

elections/appointments:

• president and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 8 December 2012 (next to be held on 7 December 2016)

election results:

John Dramani MAHAMA elected president; percent of vote - John Dramani MAHAMA (NDC) 50.7%, Nana Addo Dankwa AKUFO-ADDO (NPP) 47.7%, other 1.6%

description:

unicameral Parliament (275 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 4-year terms)

elections:

last held on 7 - 8 December 2012 (next to be held on 7 December 2016)

election results:

percent of vote by party - NPP 47.5%, NDC 46.4%, PNC 0.6%, independent 2.5%, other 3.0%; seats by party - NDC 150, NPP 120, PNC 1, independent 3, other 1

highest court(s):

Supreme Court (consists of a chief justice and 12 justices)

judge selection and term of office:

• chief justice appointed by the president in consultation with the Council of State (a small advisory body of prominent citizens) and with the approval of Parliament;
• other justices appointed by the president upon the advice of the Judicial Council (an 18-member independent body of judicial, military and police officials, and presidential nominees) and on the advice of the Council of State;
• justices can retire at age 60, with compulsory retirement at age 70

subordinate courts:

• Court of Appeal;
• High Court;
• Circuit Court;
• District Court;
• regional tribunals

• Convention People's Party or CPP [Samia NKRUMAH]
• National Democratic Congress or NDC [John Dramani MAHAMA]
• New Patriotic Party or NPP [Nana AFUKO-ADDO]
• People's National Convention or PNC [Hassan AYARIGA]

note: listed are four of the more popular political parties as of December 2012; there are more than 20 registered parties

• Christian Aid (water rights)
• Committee for Joint Action or CJA (social and economic issues)
• National Coalition Against the Privatization of Water or CAP (water rights)
• Oxfam (water rights)
• Public Citizen (water rights)
• Students Coalition Against EPA [Kwabena Ososukene OKAI] (education reform)
• Third World Network (social and economic issues)

chief of mission:

Ambassador Lt. Gen. Joseph Henry SMITH (since September 2014)

chancery:

3512 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 686-4520

FAX:

[1] (202) 686-4527

consulate(s) general:

New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Robert P. JACKSON (since 4 February 2016)

embassy:

24 Fourth Circular Rd., Cantonments, Accra

mailing address:

P.O. Box 194, Accra

telephone:

[233] 030-274-1000

FAX:

[233] 030-274-1389

• three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green, with a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow band;
• red symbolizes the blood shed for independence, yellow represents the country's mineral wealth, while green stands for its forests and natural wealth;
• the black star is said to be the lodestar of African freedom

note: 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

name:

"God Bless Our Homeland Ghana"

lyrics/music:

unknown/Philip GBEHO

note: music adopted 1957, lyrics adopted 1966; the lyrics were changed twice, in 1960 when a republic was declared and after a 1966 coup

agriculture:

44.7%

industry:

14.4%

services:

40.9% (2013 est.)

lowest 10%:

2%

highest 10%:

32.8% (2006)

general assessment:

• primarily microwave radio relay;
• wireless local loop has been installed;
• outdated and unreliable fixed-line infrastructure heavily concentrated in Accra

domestic:

competition among multiple mobile-cellular providers has spurred growth with a subscribership of more than 130 per 100 persons and rising

international:

• country code - 233;
• landing point for the SAT-3/WASC, Main One, and GLO-1 fiber-optic submarine cables that provide connectivity to South Africa, Europe, and Asia;
• satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean);
• microwave radio relay link to Panaftel system connects Ghana to its neighbors (2015)

• state-owned TV station, 2 state-owned radio networks;
• several privately owned TV stations and a large number of privately owned radio stations;
• transmissions of multiple international broadcasters are accessible;
• several cable and satellite TV subscription services are obtainable (2007)

number of registered air carriers:

4; inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 8

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

390,457

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

844,630 mt-km (2015)

total:

947 km

narrow gauge:

947 km 1.067-m gauge (2014)

country comparison to the world: 90

total:

109,515 km

paved:

13,787 km

unpaved:

95,728 km (2009)

country comparison to the world: 43

• 18-26 years of age for voluntary military service, with basic education certificate;
• no conscription;
• must be HIV/AIDS negative (2012)

current situation:

• Ghana is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking;
• the trafficking of Ghanians, particularly children, internally is more common than the trafficking of foreign nationals;
• Ghanian children are subjected to forced labor in fishing, domestic service, street hawking, begging, portering, mining, quarrying, herding, and agriculture, with girls, and to a lesser extent boys, forced into prostitution;
• Ghanian women, sometimes lured with legitimate job offers, and girls are sex trafficked in West Africa, the Middle East, and Europe;
• Ghanian men fraudulently recruited for work in the Middle East are subjected to forced labor or prostitution, and a few Ghanian adults have been identified as victims of false labor in the US;
• women and girls from Vietnam, China, and neighboring West African countries are sex trafficked in Ghana;
• the country is also a transit point for sex trafficking from West Africa to Europe

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List - Ghana does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
• however, it is making significant efforts to do so;
• Ghana continued to investigate and prosecute trafficking offenses but was unable to ramp up its anti-trafficking efforts in 2014 because the government failed to provide law enforcement or protection agencies with operating budgets;
• victim protection efforts decreased in 2014, with significantly fewer victims identified;
• most child victims were referred to NGO-run facilities, but care for adults was lacking because the government did not provide any support to the country’s Human Trafficking Fund for victim services or its two shelters;
• anti-trafficking prevention measures increased modestly, including reconvening of the Human Trafficking Management Board, public awareness campaigns on child labor and trafficking, and anti-trafficking TV and radio programs (2015)

• 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