Compare Ghana (2006) - Sierra Leone (2005)

Compare Ghana (2006) z Sierra Leone (2005)

	Ghana (2006)	Sierra Leone (2005)

Administrative divisions	10 regions; Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, Western	3 provinces and 1 area; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western
Age structure	0-14 years: 38.8% (male 4,395,744/female 4,288,720) 15-64 years: 57.7% (male 6,450,828/female 6,483,781) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 371,428/female 419,071) (2006 est.)	0-14 years: 44.7% (male 1,318,508/female 1,371,164) 15-64 years: 52% (male 1,494,068/female 1,637,276) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 93,047/female 103,580) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	cocoa, rice, coffee, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, corn, shea nuts, bananas; timber	rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish
Airports	12 (2006)	10 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 7 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2006)	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2006)	total: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 239,460 sq km land: 230,940 sq km water: 8,520 sq km	total: 71,740 sq km land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Oregon	slightly smaller than South Carolina
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.	The 1991 to 2002 civil war between the government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one-third of the population), many of whom are now refugees in neighboring countries. With the support of the UN peacekeeping force and contributions from the World Bank and international community, demobilization and disarmament of the RUF and Civil Defense Forces (CDF) combatants has been completed. National elections were held in May 2002 and the government continues to slowly reestablish its authority. However, the gradual withdrawal of most UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) peacekeepers in 2004 and early 2005, deteriorating political and economic conditions in Guinea, and the tenuous security situation in neighboring Liberia may present challenges to the continuation of Sierra Leone's stability.
Birth rate	30.52 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	42.84 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $3.216 billion expenditures: $3.506 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)	revenues: $96 million expenditures: $351 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.)
Capital	name: Accra geographic coordinates: 5 33 N, 0 13 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	Freetown
Climate	tropical; warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast; hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north	tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April)
Coastline	539 km	402 km
Constitution	approved 28 April 1992	1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times
Country name	conventional long form: Republic of Ghana conventional short form: Ghana former: Gold Coast	conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone conventional short form: Sierra Leone
Death rate	9.72 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	20.61 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$6.999 billion (2005 est.)	$1.5 billion (2002 est.)
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 Thomas N. HULL embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 226481 through 226485 FAX: [232] (22) 225471
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Fritz Kwabena POKU chancery: 1156 15th St. NW #905, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 785-1379 FAX: [1] (202) 785-1430 consulate(s) general: New York	chief of mission: Ambassador Ibrahim M. KAMARA chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793
Disputes - international	Ghana struggles to accommodate returning nationals who worked in the cocoa plantations and escaped fighting in Cote d'Ivoire	domestic fighting among disparate rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone perpetuate insurgencies, street violence, looting, arms trafficking, ethnic conflicts, and refugees in border areas; UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has maintained over 4,000 peacekeepers in Sierra Leone since 1999; Sierra Leone pressures Guinea to remove its forces from the town of Yenga occupied since 1998
Economic aid - recipient	$6.9 billion (1999)	$103 million (2001 est.)
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, but was included in a G-8 debt relief program decided upon at the Gleneagles Summit in July 2005. Priorities under its current $38 million Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) include tighter monetary and fiscal policies, accelerated privatization, and improvement of social services. Receipts from the gold sector helped sustain GDP growth in 2005 along with record high prices for Ghana's largest cocoa crop to date. Inflation should ease but remains a major internal problem. Ghana also remains a candidate country to benefit from Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) funding that could assist in transforming Ghana's agricultural export sector. A final decision on its MCC bid is expected in spring 2006.	Sierra Leone is an extremely poor African nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. While it possesses substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources, its economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. About two-thirds of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Plans to reopen bauxite and rutile mines shut down during an 11 year civil war have not been implemented due to lack of foreign investment. Alluvial diamond mining remains the major source of hard currency earnings. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad, which is essential to offset the severe trade imbalance and supplement government revenues. International financial institutions contributed over $600 million in development aid and budgetary support in 2003.
Electricity - consumption	5.081 billion kWh (2003)	237.4 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	400 million kWh (2003)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	500 million kWh (2003)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	5.356 billion kWh (2003)	255.3 million kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Afadjato 880 m	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 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	rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleting natural resources; overfishing
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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Ethnic groups	African 98.5% (includes Akan 44%, Moshi-Dagomba 16%, Ewe 13%, Ga 8%, Gurma 3%, Yoruba 1%), European and other 1.5% (1998)	20 native African tribes 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole (Krio) 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians
Exchange rates	cedis per US dollar - 9,072.5 (2005), 9,004.6 (2004), 8,677.4 (2003), 7,932.7 (2002), 7,170.8 (2001)	leones per US dollar - 2,701.3 (2004), 2,347.9 (2003), 2,099 (2002), 1,986.2 (2001), 2,092.1 (2000)
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 (eligible for a second term); 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: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 14 May 2002 (next to be held May 2007); note - president's tenure of office is limited to two five-year terms election results: Ahmad Tejan KABBAH reelected president; percent of vote - Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (SLPP) 70.6%, Ernest KOROMA (APC) 22.4%
Exports	NA bbl/day	NA
Exports - commodities	gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore, diamonds	diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish (1999)
Exports - partners	Netherlands 12.6%, UK 8.3%, US 6.7%, Belgium 5.8%, France 5.7%, Germany 4.5% (2005)	Belgium 61.6%, Germany 11.8%, US 5.4% (2004)
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 light green (top), white, and light blue
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 36.6% industry: 24.6% services: 38.7% (2005 est.)	agriculture: 49% industry: 30% services: 21% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $600 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	5.9% (2005 est.)	6% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	8 00 N, 2 00 W	8 30 N, 11 30 W
Geography - note	Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake	rainfall along the coast can reach 495 cm (195 inches) a year, making it one of the wettest places along coastal, western Africa
Heliports	-	2 (2004 est.)
Highways	-	total: 11,300 km paved: 904 km unpaved: 10,396 km (2002)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 2.2% highest 10%: 30.1% (1999)	lowest 10%: 0.5% highest 10%: 43.6% (1989)
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 bbl/day	NA
Imports - commodities	capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs	foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals (1995)
Imports - partners	Nigeria 15.4%, China 12.7%, US 6.4%, UK 5.3%, Netherlands 4.1%, South Africa 4.1% (2005)	Germany 14%, Cote d'Ivoire 10.7%, UK 9.1%, US 8.4%, China 5.6%, Netherlands 5%, South Africa 4.1% (2004)
Independence	6 March 1957 (from UK)	27 April 1961 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	3.8% (2000 est.)	NA
Industries	mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food processing, cement, small commercial ship building	diamonds mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining, small commercial ship repair
Infant mortality rate	total: 55.02 deaths/1,000 live births male: 59.56 deaths/1,000 live births female: 50.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)	total: 143.64 deaths/1,000 live births male: 161.06 deaths/1,000 live births female: 125.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	15.1% (2005 est.)	1% (2002 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, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OIF, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO	ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Irrigated land	310 sq km (2003)	290 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court	Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court
Labor force	10.62 million (2005 est.)	1.369 million (1981 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 60% industry: 15% services: 25% (1999 est.)	agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA
Land boundaries	total: 2,094 km border countries: Burkina Faso 549 km, Cote d'Ivoire 668 km, Togo 877 km	total: 958 km border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km
Land use	arable land: 17.54% permanent crops: 9.22% other: 73.24% (2005)	arable land: 6.98% permanent crops: 0.89% other: 92.13% (2001)
Languages	English (official), African languages (including Akan, Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga)	English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%)
Legal system	based on English common law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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 Parliament (124 seats - 112 elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members serve five-year terms) elections: last held 14 May 2002 (next to be held May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - SLPP 70.06%, APC 22.35%, PLP 3%, others 4.59%; seats by party - SLPP 83, APC 27, PLP 2
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 58.87 years male: 58.07 years female: 59.69 years (2006 est.)	total population: 39.87 years male: 37.74 years female: 42.06 years (2005 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 English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic total population: 29.6% male: 39.8% female: 20.5% (2000 est.)
Location	Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Cote d'Ivoire and Togo	Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia
Map references	Africa	Africa
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
Merchant marine	total: 4 ships (1000 GRT or over) 6,308 GRT/9,418 DWT by type: cargo 1, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 2 foreign-owned: 1 (Brazil 1) (2006)	total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 7,435 GRT/8,750 DWT by type: petroleum tanker 2 (2005)
Military branches	Ghanaian Army, Ghanaian Navy, Ghanaian Air Force (2006)	Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF): Army (includes Air Wing, Maritime Wing)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$83.65 million (2005 est.)	$13.2 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	0.8% (2005 est.)	1.7% (2004)
National holiday	Independence Day, 6 March (1957)	Independence Day, 27 April (1961)
Nationality	noun: Ghanaian(s) adjective: Ghanaian	noun: Sierra Leonean(s) adjective: Sierra Leonean
Natural hazards	dry, dusty, northeastern harmattan winds occur from January to March; droughts	dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms
Natural resources	gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish, rubber, hydropower, petroleum, silver, salt, limestone	diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite
Net migration rate	-0.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (2005 est.)
Pipelines	oil 13 km; refined products 316 km (2006)	-
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]	All People's Congress or APC [Ben KANU]; Peace and Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington MORRISON, interim chairman]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Sama BANYA]; numerous others
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	trade unions and student unions
Population	22,409,572 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 2006 est.)	6,017,643 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	31.4% (1992 est.)	68% (1989 est.)
Population growth rate	2.07% (2006 est.)	2.22% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Freetown, Pepel, Sherbro Islands
Radio broadcast stations	AM 0, FM 49, shortwave 3 (2001)	AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999)
Railways	total: 953 km narrow gauge: 953 km 1.067-m gauge (2005)	-
Religions	Christian 63%, Muslim 16%, indigenous beliefs 21%	Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10%
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 est.)	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2005 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: marginal telephone and telegraph service domestic: the national microwave radio relay trunk system connects Freetown to Bo and Kenema international: country code - 232; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use	321,500 (2005)	24,000 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	2.842 million (2005)	67,000 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	10 (2001)	2 (1999)
Terrain	mostly low plains with dissected plateau in south-central area	coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east
Total fertility rate	3.99 children born/woman (2006 est.)	5.72 children born/woman (2005 est.)
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 (2005)	800 km (2003)

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