Ghana (2005) | Canada (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | 10 regions; Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, Western | 10 provinces and 3 territories*; Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories*, Nova Scotia, Nunavut*, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon Territory* |
Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years: 18.2% (male 3,038,800; female 2,890,579)
15-64 years: 68.7% (male 11,225,686; female 11,111,941) 65 years and over: 13% (male 1,807,472; female 2,433,396) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cocoa, rice, coffee, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, corn, shea nuts, bananas; timber | wheat, barley, oilseed, tobacco, fruits, vegetables; dairy products; forest products; fish |
Airports | 12 (2004 est.) | 1,357 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 7
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
total: 503
over 3,047 m: 18 2,438 to 3,047 m: 15 1,524 to 2,437 m: 150 914 to 1,523 m: 245 under 914 m: 75 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
total: 823
1,524 to 2,437 m: 67 914 to 1,523 m: 347 under 914 m: 409 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 239,460 sq km
land: 230,940 sq km water: 8,520 sq km |
total: 9,984,670 sq km
land: 9,093,507 sq km water: 891,163 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Oregon | somewhat larger than the US |
Background | 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. | A land of vast distances and rich natural resources, Canada became a self-governing dominion in 1867 while retaining ties to the British crown. Economically and technologically the nation has developed in parallel with the US, its neighbor to the south across an unfortified border. Canada's paramount political problem is meeting public demands for quality improvements in health care and education services after a decade of budget cuts. The issue of reconciling Quebec's francophone heritage with the majority anglophone Canadian population has moved to the back burner in recent years; support for separatism abated after the Quebec government's referendum on independence failed to pass in October of 1995. |
Birth rate | 23.97 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 10.91 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.17 billion
expenditures: $2.56 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues: $348.2 billion
expenditures: $342.7 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
Capital | Accra | Ottawa |
Climate | tropical; warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast; hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north | varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north |
Coastline | 539 km | 202,080 km |
Constitution | approved 28 April 1992 | 17 April 1982 (Constitution Act); originally, the machinery of the government was set up in the British North America Act of 1867; charter of rights and unwritten customs |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Ghana
conventional short form: Ghana former: Gold Coast |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Canada |
Currency | - | Canadian dollar (CAD) |
Death rate | 10.84 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 7.67 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $7.396 billion (2004 est.) | $1.9 billion (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Paul CELLUCCI
embassy: 490 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 1G8 mailing address: P. O. Box 5000, Ogdensburgh, NY 13669-0430 telephone: [1] (613) 238-5335, 4470 FAX: [1] (613) 688-3082 consulate(s) general: Calgary, Halifax, Montreal, Quebec, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Michael F. KERGIN
chancery: 501 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001 telephone: [1] (202) 682-1740 FAX: [1] (202) 682-7726 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, and Seattle consulate(s): Anchorage, Denver, Houston, Philadelphia, Raleigh-Durham, San Diego, San Francisco (trade office), and San Jose (trade office) |
Disputes - international | Ghana struggles to accommodate returning nationals who worked in the cocoa plantations and escaped rebel fighting in Cote d'Ivoire | managed maritime boundary disputes with the US at Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and around the disputed Machias Seal Island and North Rock; uncontested dispute with Denmark over Hans Island sovereignty in the Kennedy Channel between Ellesmere Island and Greenland |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $1.3 billion (1999) |
Economic aid - recipient | $6.9 billion (1999) | - |
Economy - overview | 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. | As an affluent, high-tech industrial society, Canada today closely resembles the US in its market-oriented economic system, pattern of production, and high living standards. Since World War II, the impressive growth of the manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy into one primarily industrial and urban. The 1989 US-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (which includes Mexico) touched off a dramatic increase in trade and economic integration with the US. As a result of the close cross-border relationship, the economic sluggishness in the United States in 2001-02 had a negative impact on the Canadian economy. Real growth averaged nearly 3% during 1993-2000, but declined in 2001, with moderate recovery in 2002-03. Unemployment is up, with contraction in the manufacturing and natural resource sectors. Nevertheless, given its great natural resources, skilled labor force, and modern capital plant Canada enjoys solid economic prospects. Solid fiscal management has produced a long-term budget surplus which is substantially reducing the national debt, although public debate continues over how to manage the rising cost of the publicly funded healthcare system. Trade accounts for roughly a third of GDP. Canada enjoys a substantial trade surplus with its principal trading partner, the United States, which absorbs more than 85% of Canadian exports. Roughly 90% of the population lives within 160 kilometers of the US border. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.137 billion kWh (2002) | 504.4 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 500 million kWh (2002) | 38.4 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 200 million kWh (2002) | 16.11 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 6.922 billion kWh (2002) | 566.3 billion kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Afadjato 880 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Logan 5,959 m |
Environment - current issues | 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 | air pollution and resulting acid rain severely affecting lakes and damaging forests; metal smelting, coal-burning utilities, and vehicle emissions impacting on agricultural and forest productivity; ocean waters becoming contaminated due to agricultural, industrial, mining, and forestry activities |
Environment - international 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 |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | 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) | British Isles origin 28%, French origin 23%, other European 15%, Amerindian 2%, other, mostly Asian, African, Arab 6%, mixed background 26% |
Exchange rates | cedis per US dollar - 9,004.6 (2004), 8,677.4 (2003), 7,932.7 (2002), 7,170.8 (2001), 5,455.1 (2000) | Canadian dollars per US dollar - 1.4011 (2003), 1.5693 (2002), 1.5488 (2001), 1.4851 (2000), 1.4857 (1999) |
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 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% |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Adrienne CLARKSON (since 7 October 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister Paul MARTIN (since 12 December 2003); Deputy Prime Minister Anne MCLELLAN (since 12 December 2003) cabinet: Federal Ministry chosen by the prime minister from among the members of his own party sitting in Parliament elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister for a five-year term; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Commons is automatically designated prime minister by the governor general |
Exports | NA | 2.008 million bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore, diamonds | motor vehicles and parts, industrial machinery, aircraft, telecommunications equipment; chemicals, plastics, fertilizers; wood pulp, timber, crude petroleum, natural gas, electricity, aluminum |
Exports - partners | Mexico 69.8%, Netherlands 3.7%, UK 3% (2004) | US 86.6%, Japan 2.1%, UK 1.4% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
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 | two vertical bands of red (hoist and fly side, half width), with white square between them; an 11-pointed red maple leaf is centered in the white square; the official colors of Canada are red and white |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $958.7 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 34.3%
industry: 24.2% services: 41.4% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 2.2%
industry: 29.2% services: 68.6% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,300 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $29,800 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.4% (2004 est.) | 1.7% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 00 N, 2 00 W | 60 00 N, 95 00 W |
Geography - note | Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake | second-largest country in world (after Russia); strategic location between Russia and US via north polar route; approximately 90% of the population is concentrated within 160 km of the US border |
Heliports | - | 12 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total: 46,176 km
paved: 8,496 km unpaved: 37,679 km (1999 est.) |
total: 1,408,800 km
paved: 497,306 km (including 16,900 km of expressways) unpaved: 911,494 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.2%
highest 10%: 30.1% (1999) |
lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 23.8% (1994) |
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 | illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic drug market and export to US; use of hydroponics technology permits growers to plant large quantities of high-quality marijuana indoors; transit point for heroin and cocaine entering the US market; vulnerable to narcotics money laundering because of its mature financial services sector |
Imports | NA | 1.145 million bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, crude oil, chemicals, electricity, durable consumer goods |
Imports - partners | Nigeria 12.6%, China 11.4%, UK 6.6%, US 6.4%, France 4.9%, Netherlands 4.2% (2004) | US 60.6%, China 5.6%, Japan 4.1% (2003) |
Independence | 6 March 1957 (from UK) | 1 July 1867 (union of British North American colonies); 11 December 1931 (independence recognized) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.8% (2000 est.) | 0.2% (2003 est.) |
Industries | mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food processing, cement, small commercial ship building | transportation equipment, chemicals, processed and unprocessed minerals, food products; wood and paper products; fish products, petroleum and natural gas |
Infant mortality rate | 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.) |
total: 4.82 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.28 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 13% (2004 est.) | 2.8% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | 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 | ACCT, AfDB, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CDB, CE (observer), EAPC, EBRD, ESA (cooperating state), FAO, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNMOVIC, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Irrigated land | 110 sq km (1998 est.) | 7,200 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Supreme Court of Canada (judges are appointed by the prime minister through the governor general); Federal Court of Canada; Federal Court of Appeal; Provincial Courts (these are named variously Court of Appeal, Court of Queens Bench, Superior Court, Supreme Court, and Court of Justice) |
Labor force | 10.24 million (2004 est.) | 17.04 million (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 60%, industry 15%, services 25% (1999 est.) | agriculture 3%, manufacturing 15%, construction 5%, services 74%, other 3% (2000) |
Land boundaries | total: 2,094 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 549 km, Cote d'Ivoire 668 km, Togo 877 km |
total: 8,893 km
border countries: US 8,893 km (includes 2,477 km with Alaska) |
Land use | arable land: 16.26%
permanent crops: 9.67% other: 74.07% (2001) |
arable land: 4.96%
permanent crops: 0.02% other: 95.02% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), African languages (including Akan, Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga) | English 59.3% (official), French 23.2% (official), other 17.5% |
Legal system | based on English common law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law, except in Quebec, where civil law system based on French law prevails; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | 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 |
bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of the Senate or Senat (members appointed by the governor general with the advice of the prime minister and serve until reaching 75 years of age; its normal limit is 105 senators) and the House of Commons or Chambre des Communes (308 seats; members elected by direct, popular vote to serve for up to five-year terms)
elections: House of Commons - last held 28 June 2004 (next to be held by NA 2009) election results: House of Commons - percent of vote by party - Liberal Party 36.7%, Conservative Party 29.6%, New Democratic Party 15.7%, Bloc Quebecois 12.4%, Greens 4.3%, independents 0.4%, other 0.9%; seats by party - Liberal Party 134, Conservative Party 99, Bloc Quebecois 54, New Democratic Party 19, independent 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 58.47 years
male: 57.7 years female: 59.26 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 79.96 years
male: 76.59 years female: 83.5 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 74.8% male: 82.7% female: 67.1% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97% (1986 est.) male: NA female: NA |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Cote d'Ivoire and Togo | Northern North America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean on the east, North Pacific Ocean on the west, and the Arctic Ocean on the north, north of the conterminous US |
Map references | Africa | North America |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | 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) |
total: 119 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,784,229 GRT/2,657,499 DWT
by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 59, cargo 13, chemical tanker 6, combination bulk 2, combination ore/oil 1, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 18, rail car carrier 1, roll on/roll off 11, short-sea/passenger 3, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: Germany 3, Hong Kong 2, Monaco 18, United Kingdom 3, United States 2 registered in other countries: 43 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | Canadian Armed Forces: Land Forces Command, Maritime Command, Air Command |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $49.2 million (2004) | $9,801.7 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.6% (2004) | 1.1% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 8,417,314 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 7,176,642 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 214,623 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 6 March (1957) | Canada Day, 1 July (1867) |
Nationality | noun: Ghanaian(s)
adjective: Ghanaian |
noun: Canadian(s)
adjective: Canadian |
Natural hazards | dry, dusty, northeastern harmattan winds occur from January to March; droughts | continuous permafrost in north is a serious obstacle to development; cyclonic storms form east of the Rocky Mountains, a result of the mixing of air masses from the Arctic, Pacific, and North American interior, and produce most of the country's rain and snow east of the mountains |
Natural resources | gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish, rubber, hydropower, petroleum, silver, salt, limestone | iron ore, nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, potash, diamonds, silver, fish, timber, wildlife, coal, petroleum, natural gas, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -0.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 5.96 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | refined products 74 km (2004) | crude and refined oil 23,564 km; liquid petroleum gas 74,980 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | 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] | Bloc Quebecois [Gilles DUCEPPE]; Conservative Party of Canada (a merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party) [Stephen HARPER]; Liberal Party [Paul MARTIN]; New Democratic Party [Jack LAYTON] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 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.) |
32,507,874 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 31.4% (1992 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 1.25% (2005 est.) | 0.92% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Takoradi, Tema | Becancour (Quebec), Churchill, Halifax, Hamilton, Montreal, New Westminster, Prince Rupert, Quebec, Saint John (New Brunswick), St. John's (Newfoundland), Sept Isles, Sydney, Trois-Rivieres, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Vancouver, Windsor |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 49, shortwave 3 (2001) | AM 535, FM 53, shortwave 6 (1998) |
Railways | total: 953 km
narrow gauge: 953 km 1.067-m gauge (2004) |
total: 48,909 km
standard gauge: 48,909 km 1.435-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | Christian 63%, Muslim 16%, indigenous beliefs 21% | Roman Catholic 46%, Protestant 36%, other 18%
note: based on the 1991 census |
Sex ratio | 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.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
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: 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 |
general assessment: excellent service provided by modern technology
domestic: domestic satellite system with about 300 earth stations international: country code - 1-xxx; 5 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) and 2 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 302,300 (2003) | 19,950,900 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 799,900 (2003) | 13,221,800 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 10 (2001) | 80 (plus many repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low plains with dissected plateau in south-central area | mostly plains with mountains in west and lowlands in southeast |
Total fertility rate | 3.02 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 1.61 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 20% (1997 est.) | 7.8% (2003 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) |
631 km
note: Saint Lawrence Seaway of 3,769 km, including the Saint Lawrence River of 3,058 km, shared with United States (2003) |