Ghana (2001) | Honduras (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 10 regions; Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, Western | 18 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Atlantida, Choluteca, Colon, Comayagua, Copan, Cortes, El Paraiso, Francisco Morazan, Gracias a Dios, Intibuca, Islas de la Bahia, La Paz, Lempira, Ocotepeque, Olancho, Santa Barbara, Valle, Yoro |
Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years: 41.8% (male 1,400,778; female 1,340,834)
15-64 years: 54.6% (male 1,774,619; female 1,806,568) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 112,100; female 125,709) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cocoa, rice, coffee, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, corn, shea nuts, bananas; timber | bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp |
Airports | 12 (2000 est.) | 117 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
6 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 12
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 4 (2002) |
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.) |
total: 103
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 18 under 914 m: 83 (2002) |
Area | total:
238,540 sq km land: 230,020 sq km water: 8,520 sq km |
total: 112,090 sq km
land: 111,890 sq km water: 200 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Oregon | slightly larger than Tennessee |
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. | Part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation in 1821. After two and one-half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982. During the 1980s, Honduras proved a haven for anti-Sandinista contras fighting the Marxist Nicaraguan Government and an ally to Salvadoran Government forces fighting against leftist guerrillas. The country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed about 5,600 people and caused almost $1 billion in damage. |
Birth rate | 28.95 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 31.21 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.39 billion expenditures: $1.47 billion, including capital expenditures of $370 million (1996 est.) |
revenues: $607 million
expenditures: $411.9 million, including capital expenditures of $106 million (1999 est.) |
Capital | Accra | Tegucigalpa |
Climate | tropical; warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast; hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north | subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains |
Coastline | 539 km | 820 km |
Constitution | new constitution approved 28 April 1992 | 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Ghana conventional short form: Ghana former: Gold Coast |
conventional long form: Republic of Honduras
conventional short form: Honduras local long form: Republica de Honduras local short form: Honduras |
Currency | cedi (GHC) | lempira (HNL) |
Death rate | 10.26 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.74 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $7 billion (1999 est.) | $5.6 billion (2001) (2001) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Larry Leon PALMER
embassy: Avenida La Paz, Apartado Postal No. 3453, Tegucigalpa mailing address: American Embassy, APO AA 34022, Tegucigalpa telephone: [504] 238-5114, 236-9320 FAX: [504] 236-9037 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Mario Miguel CANAHUATI
chancery: Suite 4-M, 3007 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-7702 FAX: [1] (202) 966-9751 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), Tampa honorary consulate(s): Boston, Detroit, Jacksonville, and St. Louis |
Disputes - international | none | Honduras claims Sapodilla Cays off the coast of Belize; El Salvador disputes tiny Conejo Island off Honduras in the Golfo de Fonseca; many of the "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras boundary remain undemarcated despite ICJ adjudication in 1992; with respect to the maritime boundary in the Golfo de Fonseca, the ICJ referred to the line determined by the 1900 Honduras-Nicaragua Mixed Boundary Commission and advised a tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua; Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 and against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over disputed maritime boundary involving 50,000 sq km in the Caribbean Sea, including the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank |
Economic aid - recipient | $477.3 million (1995) | $557.8 million (1999) (1999) |
Economy - overview | 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. | Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere with an extraordinarily unequal distribution of income, is banking on expanded trade privileges under the Enhanced Caribbean Basin Initiative and on debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. While the country has met most of its macroeconomic targets, it failed to meet the IMF's goals to liberalize its energy and telecommunications sectors. Growth remains dependent on the status of the US economy, its major trading partner, on commodity prices, particularly coffee, and on containment of the recent rise in crime. |
Electricity - consumption | 5.573 billion kWh (1999) | 3.593 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 400 million kWh (1999) | 5 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 890 million kWh (1999) | 275 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 5.466 billion kWh (1999) | 3.573 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
26.82% hydro: 73.18% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 37%
hydro: 63% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Afadjato 880 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m |
Environment - current issues | 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 | urban population expanding; deforestation results from logging and the clearing of land for agricultural purposes; further land degradation and soil erosion hastened by uncontrolled development and improper land use practices such as farming of marginal lands; mining activities polluting Lago de Yojoa (the country's largest source of fresh water) as well as several rivers and streams with heavy metals |
Environment - international 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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | black African 99.8% (major tribes - Akan 44%, Moshi-Dagomba 16%, Ewe 13%, Ga 8%), European and other 0.2% | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1% |
Exchange rates | 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) | lempiras per US dollar - 16.0256 (January 2002), 15.9197 (2001), 15.1407 (2000), 14.5039 (1999), 13.8076 (1998), 13.0942 (1997) |
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; percent of vote - John KUFUOR 56.4%, John Atta MILLS 43.6% |
chief of state: President Ricardo (Joest) MADURO (since 27 January 2002); First Vice President Vicente WILLIAMS Agasse (since 27 January 2002); Second Vice President Armida Villela Maria DE LOPEZ Contreras (since 27 January 2002); Third Vice President Alberto DIAZ Lobo (since 27 January 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ricardo (Joest) MADURO (since 27 January 2002); First Vice President Vicente WILLIAMS Agasse (since 27 January 2002); Second Vice President Armida Villela Maria DE LOPEZ Contreras (since 27 January 2002); Third Vice President Alberto DIAZ Lobo (since 27 January 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 25 November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2005) election results: Ricardo (Joest) MADURO (PN) elected president - 52.2%, Raphael PINEDA Ponce (PL) 44.3%, others 3.5% |
Exports | $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $2 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore, diamonds | coffee, bananas, shrimp, lobster, meat; zinc, lumber |
Exports - partners | Togo, UK, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, US, France (1998) | US 39.9%, El Salvador 9.2%, Germany 7.9%, Belgium 5.8%, Guatemala 5.4% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | 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 | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with five blue five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band; the stars represent the members of the former Federal Republic of Central America - Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which features a triangle encircled by the word REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom, centered in the white band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $37.4 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $17 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
36% industry: 25% services: 39% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 18%
industry: 32% services: 50% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,600 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2000 est.) | 2.1% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 00 N, 2 00 W | 15 00 N, 86 30 W |
Geography - note | Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake; northeasterly harmattan wind (January to March) | has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast |
Highways | total:
39,409 km paved: 11,653 km (including 30 km of expressways) unpaved: 27,756 km (1997) |
total: 15,400 km
paved: 3,126 km unpaved: 12,274 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
3.6% highest 10%: 26.1% (1997) |
lowest 10%: 0%
highest 10%: 44% (1997) (1997) |
Illicit drugs | 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 | transshipment point for drugs and narcotics; illicit producer of cannabis, cultivated on small plots and used principally for local consumption; corruption is a major problem; some money-laundering activity |
Imports | $2.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $2.7 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs | machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | UK, Nigeria, US, Germany, Italy, Spain (1998) | US 46.1%, Guatemala 8.2%, El Salvador 6.6%, Mexico 4.7%, Japan 4.6% (2000) |
Independence | 6 March 1957 (from UK) | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.2% (1996 est.) | 4% (1999 est.) |
Industries | mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food processing | sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products |
Infant mortality rate | 56.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 30.48 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 22.8% (2000 est.) | 9.7% (2001 est.) |
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, 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 | BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 8 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 60 sq km (1993 est.) | 760 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are elected for seven-year terms by the National Congress) |
Labor force | 9 million (2000 est.) | 2.3 million (1997 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 60%, industry 15%, services 25% (1999 est.) | agriculture 34%, industry 21%, services 45% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
2,093 km border countries: Burkina Faso 548 km, Cote d'Ivoire 668 km, Togo 877 km |
total: 1,520 km
border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km |
Land use | arable land:
12% permanent crops: 7% permanent pastures: 22% forests and woodland: 35% other: 24% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 15.15%
permanent crops: 3.13% other: 81.72% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official), African languages (including Akan, Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga) | Spanish, Amerindian dialects |
Legal system | based on English common law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law with increasing influence of English common law; recent judicial reforms include abandoning Napoleonic legal codes in favor of the oral adversarial system; accepts ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
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 |
unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (128 seats; members are elected proportionally to the number of votes their party's presidential candidate receives to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 25 November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PN 61, PL 55, PUD 5, PDC 4, PINU-SD 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
57.24 years male: 55.86 years female: 58.66 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 68.77 years
male: 67.11 years female: 70.51 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 64.5% male: 75.9% female: 53.5% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 74% male: 74% female: 74.1% (1999) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Cote d'Ivoire and Togo | Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Nicaragua |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | 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.) |
total: 284 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 749,243 GRT/846,942 DWT
ships by type: bulk 20, cargo 166, chemical tanker 5, container 6, livestock carrier 1, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 54, refrigerated cargo 12, roll on/roll off 8, short-sea passenger 4, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Argentina 1, Bahrain 1, Belize 1, British Virgin Islands 1, Bulgaria 1, China 8, Costa Rica 1, Cyprus 1, Egypt 6, El Salvador 1, Germany 1, Greece 18, Hong Kong 3, Indonesia 2, Italy 1, Japan 7, Lebanon 4, Liberia 4, Maldives 2, Marshall Islands 1, Mexico 1, Nigeria 1, Norway 1, Panama 14, Philippines 1, Romania 2, Russia 1, Saint Kitts and Nevis 3, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Singapore 24, South Korea 12, Spain 1, Syria 1, Taiwan 4, Tanzania 1, Trinidad and Tobago 1, Turkey 2, Turks and Caicos Islands 1, United Arab Emirates 6, United Kingdom 1, United States 5, Vanuatu 1, Vietnam 1, Virgin Islands (UK) 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police Force, Palace Guard, Civil Defense | Army, Navy (including marines), Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $53 million (FY99) | $35 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.7% (FY99) | 0.6% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
4,890,483 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 1,563,174 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
2,713,584 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 930,718 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
213,237 (2001 est.) |
males: 72,335 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 6 March (1957) | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
Nationality | noun:
Ghanaian(s) adjective: Ghanaian |
noun: Honduran(s)
adjective: Honduran |
Natural hazards | dry, dusty, harmattan winds occur from January to March; droughts | frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast |
Natural resources | gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish, rubber, hydropower | timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -0.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -2.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | 0 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | 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] | Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Dr. Hernan CORRALES Padilla]; Democratic Unification Party or PUD [leader NA]; Liberal Party or PL [Roberto MICHELETTI Bain]; National Innovation and Unity Party-Social Democratic Party or PINU-SD [Olban F. VALLADARES]; National Party of Honduras or PN [Raphael CALLEJAS] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras or CODEH; Confederation of Honduran Workers or CTH; Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations or CCOP; General Workers Confederation or CGT; Honduran Council of Private Enterprise or COHEP; National Association of Honduran Campesinos or ANACH; National Union of Campesinos or UNC; Popular Bloc or BP; United Federation of Honduran Workers or FUTH |
Population | 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.) |
6,560,608
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 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 31.4% (1992 est.) | 53% (1993 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.79% (2001 est.) | 2.34% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Takoradi, Tema | La Ceiba, Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo, Tela, Puerto Lempira |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 18, shortwave 3 (1999) | AM 241, FM 53, shortwave 12 (1998) |
Radios | 4.4 million (1997) | 2.45 million (1997) |
Railways | total:
953 km (undergoing major rehabilitation) narrow gauge: 953 km 1.067-m gauge (32 km double track) (1997 est.) |
total: 595 km
narrow gauge: 318 km 1.067-m gauge; 277 km 0.914-m gauge (2000) |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 38%, Muslim 30%, Christian 24%, other 8% | Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant minority |
Sex ratio | 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.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | 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 |
general assessment: inadequate system
domestic: NA international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System |
Telephones - main lines in use | 200,000 (1998) | 234,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 30,000 (yearend 1998) | 14,427 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 11 (1999) | 11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low plains with dissected plateau in south-central area | mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains |
Total fertility rate | 3.82 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.03 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 20% (1997 est.) | 28% (2001 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 |
465 km (navigable by small craft) |