Republic of Ghana
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Capital city: Accra
Location: West Africa
Longitude: 7.9465 degrees N
Latitude: 1.0232 degrees W
Population: 28.9 million
Official language: English
Currency: Ghana Cedi (GH¢)
Time zone: GMT
Climate: Tropical
Average temperature: 26°C (about 79°F) Independence: 6 March 1957
Government: Democracy
Gross Domestic Product (GDP): Approximately US$44 billion (as at September 2017)
Inflation rate: 11.8% (December 2017)
Tourism and places of interest :
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Ghana is a favourite tourist destination in West Africa. There are many tourist sites and attractions across the country, notably:
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• Kakum National Park
• Elmina Castle
• Cape Coast Castle and Fort William
• Mole National Park
• Paga Crocodile Pond
• Nzulezu Stilt Village
• Lake Bosomtwi
• Aburi Botanical Gardens; and
• Wli Waterfalls.
Economy
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The services sector is the largest contributor to Ghana’s GDP (62% as of the end of the second quarter of 2017). The industrial sector is the next largest sector of the economy (26.5% as at the end of the second quarter of 2017), followed by the agricultural sector with a 11.5% contribution to GDP at the end of the 2017 second quarter.
With about 778, 044 metric tonnes of cocoa beans having been produced in the 2015/2016 crop year, Ghana is the second-largest producer of cocoa in the world after Côte d’Ivoire.
Ghana is currently a net importer of petroleum products. However, expected production of oil and gas from the Tweneboa, Enyenera, and Ntomme (TEN) and Sankofa oilfields will increase output in 2018 and improve the balance of trade position. PwC 7 Gold production was expected to increase in 2018 after a 45% increase in output from 2015 to 2016. Total gold output was 4.1 million ounces, attributable mainly to artisanal miners (1.5 million ounces in 2016, from 267 662 ounces in 2015).
The issue of illegal gold mining affected gold revenue earned by the country in 2016. The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources indicated that approximately $2.3 billion worth of gold was lost through illegal mining. As such, the government has rolled out the Multilateral Mining Integrated Project to curb this practice.
Ratings agency Fitch revised the outlook on Ghana’s credit rating from negative to stable and affirmed their B credit rating, mainly due to progress made in stabilising the economy with an expected improvement of GDP growth, declining inflation, a stable currency and increased foreign exchange reserves. In addition, Fitch is of the opinion that the current government will make progress in reducing the budget deficit after the fiscal slippage experienced prior to the elections in November 2016.
Population and people
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Ghana’s current population is estimated at about 28.9 million (27.7 million in 2016), with females forming 49.1% of the total population. According to the United Nations Statistics Division, the population density was 119 persons per square kilometer as of November 2017. The greatest concentration of people is in the Greater Accra Region. The country’s population grew by 2.39% in 2016 and is expected to reach approximately 29 million by the beginning of 2018.
Ghana has a youthful population, with some 60% of the population falling between the ages of 15 and 64 years. The age dependency ratio is 66.7%, implying that the dependent section of the population is more than half of the working population.
The average life expectancy at birth in Ghana is 61 years (59.8 years for males and 62.3 years for females). This is below the average life expectancy of the global population, which stands at 71 years.
Ghana is blessed with a rich diversity of ethnic groups, each with its own unique culture and way of life. The official language and mode of communication is English, which is taught in all schools.
The major ethnic groups in Ghana include the Akans (the Akyem, Ashanti, Kwahu, Akuapem, Bono and others), who form about 47.5% of the country’s total population. Other ethnic groups are the Ga-Dangme (7.4%), Ewes (13.9%), Mole-Dagbani (16.6%), Guan (3.7%), Gurma (5.7%), Grusi (2.5%), Ghana at a glance 6 Doing Business and Investing in Ghana Mande (1.1%) and others (1.4%).
Ghanaians are known to be very hospitable people, and this trait spans across all the ethnics groups. They are very religious, as the following distribution depicts: Christianity accounts for 71.2% (Catholic – 13.1%, Protestant – 18.4%, Pentecostal/ Charismatic – 28.3%, others – 11.4%), Islamic worship for 17.6%, traditional worship for 5.2%, other religions for 0.8% and no religion for 5.2%.