Formed from the merger of the British colony of the Gold Coast and the Togoland trust territory, Ghana in 1957 became the first sub-Saharan country in colonial Africa to gain its independence. Ghana endured a long series of coups before Lt. Jerry RAWLINGS took power in 1981 and banned political parties. After approving a new constitution and restoring multiparty politics in 1992, RAWLINGS won presidential elections in 1992 and 1996, but was constitutionally prevented from running for a third term in 2000. John KUFUOR succeeded him and was reelected in 2004. John Atta MILLS took over as head of state in early 2009.
Population: 23,887,812
Age Structure:
0-14 years: 37.2% (male 4,494,633/female 4,394,074)
15-64 years: 59.2% (male 7,065,273/female 7,086,023)
65 years and over: 3.5% (male 389,886/female 457,923) (2009 est.)
Birth Rate: 28.74 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Death Rate: 9.13 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
Infant mortality Rate:
total: 51.18 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 50
male: 54.74 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 47.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
Life Expectancy:
total population: 60.1 years
country comparison to the world: 185
male: 58.92 years
female: 61.31 years (2009 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 1.9% (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 260,000 (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 21,000 (2007 est.)
Ethnic Groups:
Akan 45.3%, Mole-Dagbon 15.2%, Ewe 11.7%, Ga-Dangme 7.3%, Guan 4%, Gurma 3.6%, Grusi 2.6%, Mande-Busanga 1%, other tribes 1.4%, other 7.8% (2000 census)
Religions:
Christian 68.8% (Pentecostal/Charismatic 24.1%, Protestant 18.6%, Catholic 15.1%, other 11%), Muslim 15.9%, traditional 8.5%, other 0.7%, none 6.1% (2000 census)
Languages:
Asante 14.8%, Ewe 12.7%, Fante 9.9%, Boron (Brong) 4.6%, Dagomba 4.3%, Dangme 4.3%, Dagarte (Dagaba) 3.7%, Akyem 3.4%, Ga 3.4%, Akuapem 2.9%, other 36.1% (includes English (official)) (2000 census)
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 57.9%
male: 66.4%
female: 49.8% (2000 census)
Government Type: constitutional democracy
Capital: Accra
Geographic coordinates: 5 33 N, 0 13 W
Time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Independence: 6 March 1957 (from the UK)
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Currency: Cedis (GHC)
Population below poverty line: 28.5% (2007 est.)
Transnational Issues:
Disputes - international:
Ghana struggles to accommodate returning nationals who worked in the cocoa plantations and escaped fighting in Cote d'Ivoire
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 35,653 (Liberia); 8,517 (Togo) (2007)
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; 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.
**Information retreived from CIA - The World Factbook: www.cia.gov
