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Background: Formed from the merger of the British colony of the Gold Coast and the Togoland trust territory, Ghana in 1957 became the first country in colonial Africa to gain its independence. A long series of coups resulted in the suspension of the constitution in 1981 and the banning of 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. He was succeeded by John KUFUOR.
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Common Name: Ghana
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Local Official Name: Ghana
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Abbreviated Name: Republic of Ghana
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Official Name: Ghana
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Official Script Name: Ghana
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Local Common Name: Ghana
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Former Name: Gold Coast
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Territory of: NA
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Head of State: President John Agyekum KUFUOR
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Government Type: constitutional democracy
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Independence: 1957 March 6 (from UK)
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Constitution: new constitution approved 1992 April 28
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National Holiday: Independence Day, 6 March
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International Organization Participation: ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OAU, OPCW, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
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Administrative Divisions: 10 regions; Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, Western
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Dependent Areas: NA
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Legal System: based on English common law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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Suffrage: 18 years of age years
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Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches: Executive Branch:
chief of state: 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
head of government: 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
cabinet: Council of Ministers; president nominates members subject to approval by Parliament
elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 7 and 28 December 2000 (next to be held NA December 2004)
election results: John Agyekum KUFUOR elected president in runoff election; percent of vote - John KUFUOR 56.4%, John Atta MILLS 43.6%
Legislative Branch:
unicameral Parliament (200 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 7 December 2000 (next to be held NA December 2004)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NPP 100, NDC 92, PNC 3, CPP 1, independents 4
Judicial Branch:
Supreme Court
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Party Leaders: Convention People's Party or CPP [Nii Noi DOWUONA, general secretary]; Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere or EGLE [Owuraku AMOFA, chairman]; Great Consolidated Popular Party or GCPP [Dan LARTY]; National Convention Party or NCP [Sarpong KUMA-KUMA]; National Democratic Congress or NDC [Dr. Huudu YAHAYA, general secretary]; New Patriotic Party or NPP [Samuel Arthur ODOI-SYKES]; People's Convention Party or PCP [P. K. DONKOH-AYIFI, acting chairman]; People's Heritage Party or PHP [Emmanuel Alexander ERSKINE]; People's National Convention or PNC [Edward MAHAMA]; Reform Party [Kyeretwie OPUKU, general secretary]
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International Disputes: NA
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Illicit Drugs: 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
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Location of Ghana: Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Cote d'Ivoire and Togo
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Continent: Africa
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Land Area Total: 239,460 sq km
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Region: Eastern African |
Land Area Land: 230,940 sq km
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Capitol City: Accra
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Land Area Water: 8,520 sq km
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Current:
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Latitude: 008 00 N
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Border Boundary Land: 2,094 km
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Longitude: 002 00 W
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Border Boundary Coastline: 539 km
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Arable Land: 16.00 %
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Pastures: 0.00 %
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Crops: 7.00 %
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Woodlands and Forests: 0.00
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Highest Elevation: 880 m
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Location: Mount Afadjato
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Lowest Elevation: 0 m
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Location: Atlantic Ocean
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Largest City in Ghana: Accra
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Accra Largest City Population: 1,904,000
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Threatened Species: 138
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Environmental Issues: 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
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Environmental Agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
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Irrigated Land: 110
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Bordering Countries: Burkina Faso 549 km, Cote d'Ivoire 668 km, Togo 877 km
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Natural Resources: gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish, rubber, hydropower
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Geographical Terrain: mostly low plains with dissected plateau in south-central area
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Comparative Area of Ghana: slightly smaller than Oregon
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Ghana's Geography: Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake
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Click Here for detailed information about the weather conditions in Ghana.
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General Climate: tropical; warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast; hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north
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Natural Hazards: dry, dusty, northeastern harmattan winds occur from January to March; droughts
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Economic Overview: Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has roughly 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. Excessively expansionary monetary and fiscal policy prior to the 2000 elections led to accelerating inflation in early 2001. A depressed cocoa market and continued weak growth in non-traditional exports led to disappointing growth in 2001. Ghana opted for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) program in 2002.
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GDP: $39,400,000,000 USD
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Currency: cedi
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GDP per Capita: $1,980 USD
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Currency Code: GHC
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GDP Growth Rate: 3.00 %
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One $USD Equals: %fincurrencyequals% GHC
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Currency Exchange Rate History: cedis per US dollar - 7,195 (January 2002), 7,170.76 (2001), 5,455.06 (2000), 2,669.30 (1999), 2,314.15 (1998), 2,050.17 (1997)
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GDP of Agriculture: 36.00 %
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GDP of Industry: 25.00 %
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GDP of Services: 39.00 % |
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Inflation Rate: 25.00 % |
Population in Poverty: 31.40 %
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Unemployment Rate: 20.00 %
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Tourism: 373,000.00 visitors each year
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Consumption by lowest 10%: 2.40 %
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Budget Revenue in USD: $1,603,000,000 USD
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Consumption by upper 10%: 29.50 %
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Budget Expenditures in USD: $1,975,000,000 USD
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Electricity Production: 5,920,000,000 kWh
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Electricity Exports: 422,000,000 kWh
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Electricity Consumption: 5,484,000,000 kWh
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Electricity Imports: 400,000,000 kWh
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Electricity Production by Source:
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Fossil Fuel Electricity Production: 30.41%
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Nuclear Electricity Production: 0.00%
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Hydro Electricity Production: 69.59%
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Other Electricity Production: 0.00%
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Oil Production: 0 barrels per day
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Natural Gas Production: 0 cu m
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Oil Consumption: 0 barrels per day
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Natural Gas Consumption: 0 cu m
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Oil Exports: 0 barrels per day
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Natural Gas Exports: 0 cu m
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Oil Imports: 0 barrels per day
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Natural Gas Imports: 0 cu m
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Proven Oil Reserves: 0 barrels
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Proven Natural Gas Reserves: 0 cu m
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External Debt: $5,960,000,000 USD |
Received in economic aid: $6,900,000,000 USD
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Donated in economic aid: $0 USD
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Agricultural Products: cocoa, rice, coffee, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, corn, shea nuts, bananas; timber
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Primary Industries: mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food processing
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Industrial Growth Rate: 3.80 %
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Import Amount in USD: $2,830,000,000 USD - capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs
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Import Partners: UK, Nigeria, US, Germany, Italy, Spain
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Export Amount in USD: $1,940,000,000 USD - gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore, diamonds
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Export Partners: Togo, UK, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, US, France
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GINI Index: 39.60%
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Labor Force Number of People: 9,000,000
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Labor Force by Occupations: agriculture 60%, industry 15%, services 25%
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Radio Broadcast Stations: 52 |
Number of People with Radios: 12,500,000 |
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Television Broadcast Stations: 10 |
Number of People with Televisions: 1,900,000 |
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Number of People with Mainline Telephones: 240,000 |
Number of People with Mobile Phones: 150,000 |
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Internet Service Providers: 12 |
Internet Users: 200,000 |
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Internet Country Code: .gh |
Newspapers: 14 |
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Two Letter Country Code: GH |
Weights and Measures: |
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Phone Country Code: +233 |
Electricity Voltage: Volts |
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Telephone Systems: general assessment: poor to fair system; Internet accessible; many rural communities not yet connected; expansion of services is underway
domestic: primarily microwave radio relay; wireless local loop has been installed
international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); microwave radio relay link to Panaftel system connects Ghana to its neighbors
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Highways: 9,346 km |
Railways: 953 km
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Gas And Oil Pipelines: 0 km |
Waterways: 1,293 km
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Airports: 7 |
Heliports: 0
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Motor Vehicles: 4 per 1,000 people |
CO2 Emissions: 4,052,000 Metric Tons of CO2 per year |
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Per capita CO2 emissions: 0.20 Metric Tons of CO2 per year |
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Merchant Marines: total: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 16,450 GRT/22,097 DWT
ships by type: petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 5
note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Brazil 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Spain 1
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Ports and Harbors: Takoradi, Tema
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Population: 20,244,154 people type - nationality |
Birth Rate: 28.08 births per 1,000 people |
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Population Density: 82.00 people per sq km |
Death Rate: 10.31 deaths per 1,000 people |
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Population Growth: 1.70% per year |
Fertility Rate per Women: 3.69 babies born per woman |
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Population Male 0-14: 4,116,600 |
Population Female 0-14: 4,063,654 |
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Population Male 15-64: 5,625,397 |
Population Female 15-64: 5,723,786 |
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Population Male 65+: 338,352 |
Population Female 65+: 376,365 |
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Population 0-14: 40.40% |
Literacy Rate: 64.50% |
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Population 15-64: 56.10% |
Literacy rate of Males: 75.90% |
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Population 65+: 3.50% |
Literacy rate of Females: 53.50% |
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Population that is Male: 49.50
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Population that is Female: 50.50% |
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Life expectancy at birth in years: 57.06 years |
Infant mortality rate - baby deaths per 1000 births: 55.64 Babies die per 1,000 births |
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Life expectancy at birth for Males: 55.66 years |
Life expectancy at birth for Females: 58.51 years |
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Rate of AIDS/HIV infection: 3.60%
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Number of people living with AIDS or HIV: 340,000
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Number of people who died of AIDS: 33,000 |
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Disease Risk:
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Diseases:
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Net Migration Rate per 1,000 people: -0.74
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Nationality: GHANAIAN
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Ethnic Groups: black African 98.5% (major tribes - Akan 44%, Moshi-Dagomba 16%, Ewe 13%, Ga 8%, Gurma 3%, Yoruba 1%), European and other 1.5%
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Primary Language: African
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Other Languages: English (official), African languages (including Akan, Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga)
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Primary Religion: Christian
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Other Religions: indigenous beliefs 21%, Muslim 16%, Christian 63%
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Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police Force
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Manpower Fit to Serve: 18 years of age years
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Manpower Available: 5,045,355 People
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Manpower Fit to Serve: 2,799,292 People
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Amount of Manpower Available each Year: 213,237 People per year
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Expenditures: $35,200,000 USD per year
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Expenditures as a Percentage of GDP: 0.70
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Note: Phrasebase uses a variety of sources when compiling the facts and information presented above. This information is continually updated throughout the year.
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