Ghana (2005) | Tokelau (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | 10 regions; Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, Western | none (territory of New Zealand) |
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: 42%
15-64 years: 53% 65 years and over: 5% (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cocoa, rice, coffee, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, corn, shea nuts, bananas; timber | coconuts, copra, breadfruit, papayas, bananas; pigs, poultry, goats |
Airports | 12 (2004 est.) | none; lagoon landings are possible by amphibious aircraft (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.) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
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Area | total: 239,460 sq km
land: 230,940 sq km water: 8,520 sq km |
total: 10 sq km
land: 10 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Oregon | about 17 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC |
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. | Originally settled by Polynesian emigrants from surrounding island groups, the Tokelau Islands were made a British protectorate in 1889. They were transferred to New Zealand administration in 1925. |
Birth rate | 23.97 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | NA births/1,000 population |
Budget | revenues: $2.17 billion
expenditures: $2.56 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues: $430,800
expenditures: $2.8 million, including capital expenditures of $37,300 (1987 est.) |
Capital | Accra | none; each atoll has its own administrative center |
Climate | tropical; warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast; hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north | tropical; moderated by trade winds (April to November) |
Coastline | 539 km | 101 km |
Constitution | approved 28 April 1992 | administered under the Tokelau Islands Act of 1948, as amended in 1970 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Ghana
conventional short form: Ghana former: Gold Coast |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Tokelau |
Currency | - | New Zealand dollar (NZD) |
Death rate | 10.84 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | $7.396 billion (2004 est.) | $0 |
Dependency status | - | self-administering territory of New Zealand; note - Tokelauans are drafting a constitution and developing institutions and patterns of self-government as Tokelau moves toward free association with New Zealand |
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 |
none (territory of New Zealand) |
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 |
none (territory of New Zealand) |
Disputes - international | Ghana struggles to accommodate returning nationals who worked in the cocoa plantations and escaped rebel fighting in Cote d'Ivoire | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $6.9 billion (1999) | from New Zealand about $4 million annually |
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. | Tokelau's small size (three villages), isolation, and lack of resources greatly restrain economic development and confine agriculture to the subsistence level. The people rely heavily on aid from New Zealand - about $4 million annually - to maintain public services, with annual aid being substantially greater than GDP. The principal sources of revenue come from sales of copra, postage stamps, souvenir coins, and handicrafts. Money is also remitted to families from relatives in New Zealand. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.137 billion kWh (2002) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 500 million kWh (2002) | - |
Electricity - imports | 200 million kWh (2002) | - |
Electricity - production | 6.922 billion kWh (2002) | NA kWh |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Afadjato 880 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 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 | very limited natural resources and overcrowding are contributing to emigration to New Zealand |
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 |
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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) | Polynesian |
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) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.7229 (2003), 2.154 (2002), 2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (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); the UK and New Zealand are represented by Administrator Neil WALTER (since NA 2002)
head of government: Aliki Faipule Kuresa NASAU (since 2004) note - position rotates annually among members of the cabinet cabinet: the Council of Faipule, consisting of three elected leaders - one from each atoll - functions as a cabinet elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand; the head of government is chosen from the Council of Faipule and serves a one-year term |
Exports | NA | $98,000 f.o.b. (1983) |
Exports - commodities | gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore, diamonds | stamps, copra, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | Mexico 69.8%, Netherlands 3.7%, UK 3% (2004) | New Zealand (2000) |
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 | the flag of New Zealand is used |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $1.5 million (1993 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 34.3%
industry: 24.2% services: 41.4% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,300 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (1993 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.4% (2004 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 8 00 N, 2 00 W | 9 00 S, 172 00 W |
Geography - note | Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake | consists of three atolls, each with a lagoon surrounded by a number of reef-bound islets of varying length and rising to over three meters above sea level |
Highways | total: 46,176 km
paved: 8,496 km unpaved: 37,679 km (1999 est.) |
total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.2%
highest 10%: 30.1% (1999) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
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 | - |
Imports | NA | $323,000 c.i.f. (1983) |
Imports - commodities | capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs | foodstuffs, building materials, fuel |
Imports - partners | Nigeria 12.6%, China 11.4%, UK 6.6%, US 6.4%, France 4.9%, Netherlands 4.2% (2004) | New Zealand (2000) |
Independence | 6 March 1957 (from UK) | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.8% (2000 est.) | NA |
Industries | mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food processing, cement, small commercial ship building | small-scale enterprises for copra production, woodworking, plaited craft goods; stamps, coins; fishing |
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: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 13% (2004 est.) | NA |
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 | UNESCO (associate), UPU |
Irrigated land | 110 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Supreme Court in New Zealand exercises civil and criminal jurisdiction in Tokelau |
Labor force | 10.24 million (2004 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 60%, industry 15%, services 25% (1999 est.) | - |
Land boundaries | total: 2,094 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 549 km, Cote d'Ivoire 668 km, Togo 877 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 16.26%
permanent crops: 9.67% other: 74.07% (2001) |
arable land: 0% (soil is thin and infertile)
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), African languages (including Akan, Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga) | Tokelauan (a Polynesian language), English |
Legal system | based on English common law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | New Zealand and local statutes |
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 |
unicameral General Fono (48 seats; 15 members from each of the three islands elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms and the 3 island village mayors [pulenuku]); note - the Tokelau Amendment Act of 1996 confers limited legislative power on the General Fono |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 58.47 years
male: 57.7 years female: 59.26 years (2005 est.) |
total population: NA years
male: 68 years female: 70 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.) |
NA |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Cote d'Ivoire and Togo | Oceania, group of three atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
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) |
none |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $49.2 million (2004) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.6% (2004) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 6 March (1957) | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun: Ghanaian(s)
adjective: Ghanaian |
noun: Tokelauan(s)
adjective: Tokelauan |
Natural hazards | dry, dusty, northeastern harmattan winds occur from January to March; droughts | lies in Pacific typhoon belt |
Natural resources | gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish, rubber, hydropower, petroleum, silver, salt, limestone | NEGL |
Net migration rate | -0.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population |
Pipelines | refined products 74 km (2004) | - |
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] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | none |
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.) |
1,405 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 31.4% (1992 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 1.25% (2005 est.) | -0.01% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Takoradi, Tema | none; offshore anchorage only |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 49, shortwave 3 (2001) | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
note: each atoll has a radio broadcast station of unknown type that broadcasts shipping and weather reports (1998) |
Railways | total: 953 km
narrow gauge: 953 km 1.067-m gauge (2004) |
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Religions | Christian 63%, Muslim 16%, indigenous beliefs 21% | Congregational Christian Church 70%, Roman Catholic 28%, other 2%
note: on Atafu, all Congregational Christian Church of Samoa; on Nukunonu, all Roman Catholic; on Fakaofo, both denominations, with the Congregational Christian Church predominant |
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.) |
NA |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 21 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: adequate
domestic: radiotelephone service between islands international: country code - 690; radiotelephone service to Samoa; government-regulated telephone service (TeleTok), with 3 satellite earth stations, established in 1997 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 302,300 (2003) | 300 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 799,900 (2003) | 0 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 10 (2001) | - |
Terrain | mostly low plains with dissected plateau in south-central area | low-lying coral atolls enclosing large lagoons |
Total fertility rate | 3.02 children born/woman (2005 est.) | NA children born/woman |
Unemployment rate | 20% (1997 est.) | NA |
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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