Compare Bahamas, The (2008) - Ghana (2005)

Compare Bahamas, The (2008) z Ghana (2005)

	Bahamas, The (2008)	Ghana (2005)

Administrative divisions	21 districts; Acklins and Crooked Islands, Bimini, Cat Island, Exuma, Freeport, Fresh Creek, Governor's Harbour, Green Turtle Cay, Harbour Island, High Rock, Inagua, Kemps Bay, Long Island, Marsh Harbour, Mayaguana, New Providence, Nichollstown and Berry Islands, Ragged Island, Rock Sound, Sandy Point, San Salvador and Rum Cay	10 regions; Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, Western
Age structure	0-14 years: 27% (male 41,268/female 41,186) 15-64 years: 66.5% (male 99,961/female 103,230) 65 years and over: 6.5% (male 8,176/female 11,834) (2007 est.)	0-14 years: 37.1% (male 3,946,326/female 3,862,390) 15-64 years: 59.1% (male 6,203,035/female 6,235,107) 65 years and over: 3.7% (male 366,472/female 416,523) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	citrus, vegetables; poultry	cocoa, rice, coffee, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, corn, shea nuts, bananas; timber
Airports	62 (2007)	12 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 24 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 7 (2007)	total: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 38 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 22 (2007)	total: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 13,940 sq km land: 10,070 sq km water: 3,870 sq km	total: 239,460 sq km land: 230,940 sq km water: 8,520 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Connecticut	slightly smaller than Oregon
Background	Lucayan Indians inhabited the islands when Christopher COLUMBUS first set foot in the New World on San Salvador in 1492. British settlement of the islands began in 1647; the islands became a colony in 1783. Since attaining independence from the UK in 1973, The Bahamas have prospered through tourism and international banking and investment management. Because of its geography, the country is a major transshipment point for illegal drugs, particularly shipments to the US and Europe, and its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants into the US.	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. A long series of coups resulted in the suspension of the constitution in 1981 and a ban on 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. John KUFUOR, who defeated former Vice President Atta MILLS in a free and fair election, succeeded him.
Birth rate	17.3 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	23.97 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $1.03 billion expenditures: $1.03 billion (FY04/05)	revenues: $2.17 billion expenditures: $2.56 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
Capital	name: Nassau geographic coordinates: 25 05 N, 77 21 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November	Accra
Climate	tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream	tropical; warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast; hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north
Coastline	3,542 km	539 km
Constitution	10 July 1973	approved 28 April 1992
Country name	conventional long form: Commonwealth of The Bahamas conventional short form: The Bahamas	conventional long form: Republic of Ghana conventional short form: Ghana former: Gold Coast
Death rate	9.13 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	10.84 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$342.6 million (2004 est.)	$7.396 billion (2004 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Ned L. SIEGEL embassy: 42 Queen Street, Nassau mailing address: local or express mail address: P. O. Box N-8197, Nassau; US Department of State, 3370 Nassau Place, Washington, DC 20521-3370 telephone: [1] (242) 322-1181, 356-3229 (after hours) FAX: [1] (242) 356-0222	chief of mission: Ambassador Mary Carlin YATES embassy: 6th and 10th Lanes, 798/1 Osu, Accra mailing address: P. O. Box 194, Accra telephone: [233] (21) 775-347, 775-348 FAX: [233] (21) 701-813
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Cornelius A. SMITH chancery: 2220 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 319-2660 FAX: [1] (202) 319-2668 consulate(s) general: Miami, New York	chief of mission: Ambassador Alan J. KYEREMATEN chancery: 3512 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 686-4520 FAX: [1] (202) 686-4527 consulate(s) general: New York
Disputes - international	disagrees with the US on the alignment of a potential maritime boundary; continues to monitor and interdict drug dealers and Haitian refugees in Bahamian waters	Ghana struggles to accommodate returning nationals who worked in the cocoa plantations and escaped rebel fighting in Cote d'Ivoire
Economic aid - recipient	$4.78 million (2004)	$6.9 billion (1999)
Economy - overview	The Bahamas is one of the wealthiest Caribbean countries with an economy heavily dependent on tourism and offshore banking. Tourism together with tourism-driven construction and manufacturing accounts for approximately 60% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs half of the archipelago's labor force. Steady growth in tourism receipts and a boom in construction of new hotels, resorts, and residences had led to solid GDP growth in recent years, but tourist arrivals have been on the decline since 2006. Financial services constitute the second-most important sector of the Bahamian economy and, when combined with business services, account for about 36% of GDP. However, since December 2000, when the government enacted new regulations on the financial sector, many international businesses have left The Bahamas. Manufacturing and agriculture combined contribute approximately a tenth of GDP and show little growth, despite government incentives aimed at those sectors. Overall growth prospects in the short run rest heavily on the fortunes of the tourism sector. Tourism, in turn, depends on growth in the US, the source of more than 80% of the visitors.	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 34% of GDP and employs 60% of the work force, mainly small landholders. Ghana opted for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) program in 2002. Priorities include tighter monetary and fiscal policies, accelerated privatization, and improvement of social services. Receipts from the gold sector helped sustain GDP growth in 2004. Inflation should ease, but remain a major internal problem.
Electricity - consumption	1.762 billion kWh (2005)	6.137 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	500 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	200 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	1.894 billion kWh (2005)	6.922 billion kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island 63 m	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Afadjato 880 m
Environment - current issues	coral reef decay; solid waste disposal	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
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements	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
Ethnic groups	black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3%	black African 98.5% (major tribes - Akan 44%, Moshi-Dagomba 16%, Ewe 13%, Ga 8%, Gurma 3%, Yoruba 1%), European and other 1.5% (1998)
Exchange rates	Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1 (2007), 1 (2006), 1 (2005), 1 (2004), 1 (2003)	cedis per US dollar - 9,004.6 (2004), 8,677.4 (2003), 7,932.7 (2002), 7,170.8 (2001), 5,455.1 (2000)
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Arthur D. HANNA (since 1 February 2006) head of government: Prime Minister Hubert A. INGRAHAM (since 4 May 2007) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the prime minister's recommendation elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister	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 December 2004 (next to be held December 2008) election results: John Agyekum KUFUOR reelected president in election; percent of vote - John KUFUOR 53.4%, John Atta MILLS 43.7%
Exports	transshipments of 41,290 bbl/day (2004)	NA
Exports - commodities	mineral products and salt, animal products, rum, chemicals, fruit and vegetables	gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore, diamonds
Exports - partners	Spain 22.3%, US 19.8%, Poland 13.5%, Germany 13%, UK 5.7%, Guatemala 4.9% (2006)	Mexico 69.8%, Netherlands 3.7%, UK 3% (2004)
Fiscal year	1 July - 30 June	calendar year
Flag description	three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine, with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side	three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow band; 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
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 3% industry: 7% services: 90% (2001 est.)	agriculture: 34.3% industry: 24.2% services: 41.4% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $2,300 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	2.8% (2007 est.)	5.4% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	24 15 N, 76 00 W	8 00 N, 2 00 W
Geography - note	strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain of which 30 are inhabited	Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake
Heliports	1 (2007)	-
Highways	-	total: 46,176 km paved: 8,496 km unpaved: 37,679 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: 27% (2000)	lowest 10%: 2.2% highest 10%: 30.1% (1999)
Illicit drugs	transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and Europe; offshore financial center	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
Imports	68,250 bbl/day (2004)	NA
Imports - commodities	machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals	capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs
Imports - partners	US 24.7%, Brazil 15.7%, Japan 13.1%, South Korea 7.8%, Spain 6.2% (2006)	Nigeria 12.6%, China 11.4%, UK 6.6%, US 6.4%, France 4.9%, Netherlands 4.2% (2004)
Independence	10 July 1973 (from UK)	6 March 1957 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	3.8% (2000 est.)
Industries	tourism, banking, cement, oil transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe	mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food processing, cement, small commercial ship building
Infant mortality rate	total: 24.17 deaths/1,000 live births male: 29.58 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	total: 51.43 deaths/1,000 live births male: 54.25 deaths/1,000 live births female: 48.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2.4% (2007 est.)	13% (2004 est.)
International organization participation	ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITSO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)	ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Irrigated land	10 sq km (2003)	110 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Privy Council (London); Courts of Appeal; Supreme (lower) Court; magistrates courts	Supreme Court
Labor force	181,900 (2006)	10.24 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 5%, industry 5%, tourism 50%, other services 40% (2005 est.)	agriculture 60%, industry 15%, services 25% (1999 est.)
Land boundaries	0 km	total: 2,094 km border countries: Burkina Faso 549 km, Cote d'Ivoire 668 km, Togo 877 km
Land use	arable land: 0.58% permanent crops: 0.29% other: 99.13% (2005)	arable land: 16.26% permanent crops: 9.67% other: 74.07% (2001)
Languages	English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants)	English (official), African languages (including Akan, Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga)
Legal system	based on English common law	based on English common law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (16 seats; members appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime minister and the opposition leader to serve five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (41 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms); the government may dissolve the Parliament and call elections at any time elections: last held 2 May 2007 (next to be called by May 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - FNM 49.86%, PLP 47.02%; seats by party - FNM 23, PLP 18	unicameral Parliament (230 seats; note - increased from 200 seats in last election; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 7 December 2004 (next to be held December 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NPP 128, NDC 92, other 10
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 65.66 years male: 62.37 years female: 69.02 years (2007 est.)	total population: 58.47 years male: 57.7 years female: 59.26 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 95.6% male: 94.7% female: 96.5% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 74.8% male: 82.7% female: 67.1% (2003 est.)
Location	Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida, northeast of Cuba	Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Cote d'Ivoire and Togo
Map references	Central America and the Caribbean	Africa
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm
Merchant marine	total: 1,213 ships (1000 GRT or over) 40,403,455 GRT/54,276,183 DWT by type: barge carrier 1, bulk carrier 225, cargo 240, chemical tanker 84, combination ore/oil 13, container 72, liquefied gas 49, livestock carrier 2, passenger 117, passenger/cargo 34, petroleum tanker 196, refrigerated cargo 118, roll on/roll off 18, specialized tanker 4, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 39 foreign-owned: 1,134 (Angola 6, Australia 3, Belgium 15, Bermuda 12, Brazil 1, Canada 13, China 9, Croatia 1, Cuba 1, Cyprus 20, Denmark 66, Finland 8, France 43, Germany 40, Greece 214, Hong Kong 3, Iceland 1, Indonesia 3, Ireland 2, Italy 1, Japan 62, Jordan 2, Kenya 1, Malaysia 11, Monaco 11, Montenegro 2, Netherlands 24, Nigeria 2, Norway 232, Philippines 1, Poland 15, Russia 5, Saudi Arabia 15, Singapore 9, Slovenia 1, South Africa 1, Spain 11, Sweden 5, Switzerland 2, Taiwan 1, Thailand 1, Trinidad and Tobago 1, Turkey 5, UAE 20, UK 68, US 162, Uruguay 1, Venezuela 1) registered in other countries: 3 (Barbados 1, Panama 2) (2007)	total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 19,086 GRT/26,185 DWT by type: petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 3 foreign-owned: 1 (Brazil 1) (2005)
Military branches	Royal Bahamian Defense Force: Land Force, Navy, Air Wing (2007)	Army, Navy, Air Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$49.2 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	0.5% (2006)	0.6% (2004)
National holiday	Independence Day, 10 July (1973)	Independence Day, 6 March (1957)
Nationality	noun: Bahamian(s) adjective: Bahamian	noun: Ghanaian(s) adjective: Ghanaian
Natural hazards	hurricanes and other tropical storms cause extensive flood and wind damage	dry, dusty, northeastern harmattan winds occur from January to March; droughts
Natural resources	salt, aragonite, timber, arable land	gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish, rubber, hydropower, petroleum, silver, salt, limestone
Net migration rate	-2.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-0.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines	-	refined products 74 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders	Free National Movement or FNM [Hubert INGRAHAM]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE]	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]
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	NA
Population	305,655 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 2007 est.)	21,029,853 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 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	9.3% (2004)	31.4% (1992 est.)
Population growth rate	0.602% (2007 est.)	1.25% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Takoradi, Tema
Radio broadcast stations	AM 3, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2006)	AM 0, FM 49, shortwave 3 (2001)
Railways	-	total: 953 km narrow gauge: 953 km 1.067-m gauge (2004)
Religions	Baptist 35.4%, Anglican 15.1%, Roman Catholic 13.5%, Pentecostal 8.1%, Church of God 4.8%, Methodist 4.2%, other Christian 15.2%, none or unspecified 2.9%, other 0.8% (2000 census)	Christian 63%, Muslim 16%, indigenous beliefs 21%
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.002 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.968 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.691 male(s)/female total population: 0.956 male(s)/female (2007 est.)	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: modern facilities domestic: totally automatic system; highly developed; the Bahamas Domestic Submarine Network links 14 of the islands and is designed to satisfy increasing demand for voice and broadband internet services international: country code - 1-242; landing point for the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) fiber-optic submarine cable that provides links to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth station - 2 (2007)	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: country code - 233; satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); microwave radio relay link to Panaftel system connects Ghana to its neighbors; fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia
Telephones - main lines in use	133,100 (2005)	302,300 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular	227,800 (2005)	799,900 (2003)
Television broadcast stations	2 (2006)	10 (2001)
Terrain	long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills	mostly low plains with dissected plateau in south-central area
Total fertility rate	2.15 children born/woman (2007 est.)	3.02 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	7.6% (2006 est.)	20% (1997 est.)
Waterways	-	1,293 km note: 168 km for launches and lighters on Volta, Ankobra, and Tano rivers; 1,125 km of arterial and feeder waterways on Lake Volta (2003)

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