Barbados (2005) | Ghana (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 11 parishes; Christ Church, Saint Andrew, Saint George, Saint James, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Lucy, Saint Michael, Saint Peter, Saint Philip, Saint Thomas; note - the city of Bridgetown may be given parish status | 10 regions; Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, Western |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.6% (male 28,813/female 28,634)
15-64 years: 70.6% (male 96,590/female 100,622) 65 years and over: 8.8% (male 9,432/female 15,163) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years:
41.18% (male 4,123,317; female 4,068,786) 15-64 years: 55.35% (male 5,455,577; female 5,555,278) 65 years and over: 3.47% (male 328,809; female 362,247) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, vegetables, cotton | cocoa, rice, coffee, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, corn, shea nuts, bananas; timber |
Airports | 1 (2004 est.) | 12 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total:
6 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 431 sq km
land: 431 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
238,540 sq km land: 230,020 sq km water: 8,520 sq km |
Area - comparative | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Oregon |
Background | The island was uninhabited when first settled by the British in 1627. Slaves worked the sugar plantations established on the island until 1834 when slavery was abolished. The economy remained heavily dependent on sugar, rum, and molasses production through most of the 20th century. The gradual introduction of social and political reforms in the 1940s and 1950s led to complete independence from the UK in 1966. In the 1990s, tourism and manufacturing surpassed the sugar industry in economic importance. | 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. |
Birth rate | 12.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 28.95 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $847 million (including grants)
expenditures: $886 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.) |
revenues:
$1.39 billion expenditures: $1.47 billion, including capital expenditures of $370 million (1996 est.) |
Capital | Bridgetown | Accra |
Climate | tropical; rainy season (June to October) | tropical; warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast; hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north |
Coastline | 97 km | 539 km |
Constitution | 30 November 1966 | new constitution approved 28 April 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Barbados |
conventional long form:
Republic of Ghana conventional short form: Ghana former: Gold Coast |
Currency | - | cedi (GHC) |
Death rate | 9.17 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 10.26 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $668 million (2003) | $7 billion (1999 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Mary E. KRAMER
embassy: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building, Broad Street, Bridgetown; (courier) ALICO Building-Cheapside, Bridgetown mailing address: P. O. Box 302, Bridgetown; CMR 1014, APO AA 34055 telephone: [1] (246) 436-4950 FAX: [1] (246) 429-5246, 429-3379 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Kathryn D. ROBINSON embassy: Ring Road East, East of Danquah Circle, Accra mailing address: P. O. Box 194, Accra telephone: [233] (21) 775348 FAX: [233] (21) 776008 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Michael Ian KING
chancery: 2144 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9200 FAX: [1] (202) 332-7467 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York consulate(s): Los Angeles |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Kobena KOOMSON 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 | in 2005, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago agreed to compulsory international arbitration that will result in a binding award challenging whether the northern limit of Trinidad and Tobago's and Venezuela's maritime boundary extends into Barbadian waters and the southern limit of Barbadian traditional fishing; joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under UNCLOS, which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the Caribbean Sea | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $9.1 million (1995) | $477.3 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Historically, the Barbadian economy had been dependent on sugarcane cultivation and related activities, but production in recent years has diversified into light industry and tourism. Offshore finance and information services are important foreign exchange earners. The government continues its efforts to reduce unemployment, to encourage direct foreign investment, and to privatize remaining state-owned enterprises. The economy contracted in 2002-03 mainly due to a decline in tourism. Growth probably was positive in 2004, as economic conditions in the US and Europe moderately improved. | Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has 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. In 1995-97, Ghana made mixed progress under a three-year structural adjustment program in cooperation with the IMF. On the minus side, public sector wage increases and regional peacekeeping commitments have led to continued inflationary deficit financing, depreciation of the cedi, and rising public discontent with Ghana's austerity measures. Political uncertainty and a depressed cocoa market led to disappointing growth in 2000. A rebound in the cocoa market should push growth over 4% in 2001-02. |
Electricity - consumption | 744 million kWh (2002) | 5.573 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 400 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 890 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 800 million kWh (2002) | 5.466 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
26.82% hydro: 73.18% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Hillaby 336 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Afadjato 880 m |
Environment - current issues | pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of aquifers | recent drought in north severely affecting 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, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 |
Ethnic groups | black 90%, white 4%, Asian and mixed 6% | black African 99.8% (major tribes - Akan 44%, Moshi-Dagomba 16%, Ewe 13%, Ga 8%), European and other 0.2% |
Exchange rates | Barbadian dollars per US dollar - 2 (2004), 2 (2003), 2 (2002), 2 (2001), 2 (2000) | cedis per US dollar - 6,895.77 (January 2001), 5,321.68 (2000), 2,647.32 (1999), 2,314.15 (1998), 2,050.17 (1997), 1,637.23 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Clifford Straughn HUSBANDS (since 1 June 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Owen Seymour ARTHUR (since 7 September 1994); Deputy Prime Minister Mia MOTTLEY (since 26 May 2003) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister 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 and 28 December 2000 (next to be held NA December 2004) election results: John Agyekum KUFUOR elected president in runoff; percent of vote - John KUFUOR 56.4%, John Atta MILLS 43.6% |
Exports | NA | $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals, electrical components | gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore, diamonds |
Exports - partners | US 20.6%, UK 14.5%, Trinidad and Tobago 13.9%, Saint Lucia 6.9%, Jamaica 6.6%, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 5.1% (2004) | Togo, UK, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, US, France (1998) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold, and blue with the head of a black trident centered on the gold band; the trident head represents independence and a break with the past (the colonial coat of arms contained a complete trident) | 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 | - | purchasing power parity - $37.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 6%
industry: 16% services: 78% (2000 est.) |
agriculture:
36% industry: 25% services: 39% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $16,400 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.3% (2004 est.) | 3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 10 N, 59 32 W | 8 00 N, 2 00 W |
Geography - note | easternmost Caribbean island | Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake; northeasterly harmattan wind (January to March) |
Highways | total: 1,600 km
paved: 1,578 km unpaved: 22 km (2002) |
total:
39,409 km paved: 11,653 km (including 30 km of expressways) unpaved: 27,756 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%:
3.6% highest 10%: 26.1% (1997) |
Illicit drugs | one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for Europe and the US; offshore financial center | illicit producer of cannabis for the international drug trade; transit hub for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin and South American cocaine destined for Europe and the US |
Imports | NA | $2.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components | capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | US 35.2%, Trinidad and Tobago 20%, UK 5.6%, Japan 4.3% (2004) | UK, Nigeria, US, Germany, Italy, Spain (1998) |
Independence | 30 November 1966 (from UK) | 6 March 1957 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | -3.2% (2000 est.) | 4.2% (1996 est.) |
Industries | tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export | mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food processing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 12.5 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 14.14 deaths/1,000 live births female: 10.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
56.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -0.5% (2003 est.) | 22.8% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | 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, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM, OAS (observer), OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1998 est.) | 60 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Judicature (judges are appointed by the Service Commissions for the Judicial and Legal Services) | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 128,500 (2001 est.) | 9 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 10%, industry 15%, services 75% (1996 est.) | agriculture 60%, industry 15%, services 25% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
2,093 km border countries: Burkina Faso 548 km, Cote d'Ivoire 668 km, Togo 877 km |
Land use | arable land: 37.21%
permanent crops: 2.33% other: 60.46% (2001) |
arable land:
12% permanent crops: 7% permanent pastures: 22% forests and woodland: 35% other: 24% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English | English (official), African languages (including Akan, Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga) |
Legal system | English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts | based on English common law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (21-member body appointed by the governor general) and the House of Assembly (30 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 21 May 2003 (next to be held by May 2008) election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - BLP 23, DLP 7 |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.59 years
male: 70.6 years female: 74.6 years (2005 est.) |
total population:
57.24 years male: 55.86 years female: 58.66 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 99.7% male: 99.7% female: 99.7% (2002 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 64.5% male: 75.9% female: 53.5% (1995 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island in the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela | 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 |
contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 58 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 427,465 GRT/668,195 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 14, cargo 31, chemical tanker 6, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 2, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 53 (Bahamas 1, Bangladesh 1, Canada 12, Greece 11, Lebanon 2, Netherlands 1, Norway 17, UAE 1, United Kingdom 7) registered in other countries: 1 (2005) |
total:
6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 13,484 GRT/18,583 DWT ships by type: petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 4 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | the Royal Barbados Defense Force includes a land-based Troop Command and a small Coast Guard; the primary role of the land element is to defend the island against external aggression; the Command consists of a single, part-time battalion with a small regular cadre that is deployed throughout the island; it increasingly supports the police in patrolling the coastline to prevent smuggling and other illicit activities (2005) | - |
Military branches | Royal Barbados Defense Force: Troops Command and Coast Guard (2005) | Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police Force, Palace Guard, Civil Defense |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | $53 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 0.7% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
4,890,483 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
2,713,584 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
213,237 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 30 November (1966) | Independence Day, 6 March (1957) |
Nationality | noun: Barbadian(s) or Bajan (colloquial)
adjective: Barbadian or Bajan (colloquial) |
noun:
Ghanaian(s) adjective: Ghanaian |
Natural hazards | infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides | dry, dusty, harmattan winds occur from January to March; droughts |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, natural gas | gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish, rubber, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | -0.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | 0 km |
Political parties and leaders | Barbados Labor Party or BLP [Owen ARTHUR]; Democratic Labor Party or DLP [Clyde Mascoll] | Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere or EGLE [Owuraku AMOFA, chairman]; 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] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Barbados Workers Union [Leroy TROTMAN]; Clement Payne Labor Union [David COMMISSIONG]; People's Progressive Movement [Eric SEALY]; Worker's Party of Barbados [Dr. George BELLE] | NA |
Population | 279,254 (July 2005 est.) | 19,894,014
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 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 31.4% (1992 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.33% (2005 est.) | 1.79% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bridgetown | Takoradi, Tema |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 6, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 0, FM 18, shortwave 3 (1999) |
Radios | - | 4.4 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
953 km (undergoing major rehabilitation) narrow gauge: 953 km 1.067-m gauge (32 km double track) (1997 est.) |
Religions | Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, other 12% | indigenous beliefs 38%, Muslim 30%, Christian 24%, other 8% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.01 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: island-wide automatic telephone system international: country code - 1-246; satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Trinidad and Saint Lucia |
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 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 134,000 (2003) | 200,000 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 140,000 (2003) | 30,000 (yearend 1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus two cable channels) (2004) | 11 (1999) |
Terrain | relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region | mostly low plains with dissected plateau in south-central area |
Total fertility rate | 1.65 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 3.82 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10.7% (2003 est.) | 20% (1997 est.) |
Waterways | - | 1,293 km
note: Volta, Ankobra, and Tano Rivers provide 168 km of perennial navigation for launches and lighters; Lake Volta provides 1,125 km of arterial and feeder waterways |