Ghana (2007) | New Caledonia (2008) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 10 regions; Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, Western | none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 3 provinces named Province des Iles, Province Nord, and Province Sud |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 38.2% (male 4,438,308/female 4,329,293)
15-64 years: 58.2% (male 6,661,512/female 6,687,738) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 380,495/female 433,953) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 27.9% (male 31,578/female 30,270)
15-64 years: 65.3% (male 72,821/female 72,109) 65 years and over: 6.8% (male 7,047/female 8,118) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cocoa, rice, coffee, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, corn, shea nuts, bananas; timber | vegetables; beef, deer, other livestock products; fish |
Airports | 12 (2007) | 25 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 7
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2007) |
total: 12
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
total: 13
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 6 (2007) |
Area | total: 239,460 sq km
land: 230,940 sq km water: 8,520 sq km |
total: 19,060 sq km
land: 18,575 sq km water: 485 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Oregon | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
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 Ghana's third 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 John ATTA-MILLS in a free and fair election, succeeded him. | Settled by both Britain and France during the first half of the 19th century, the island was made a French possession in 1853. It served as a penal colony for four decades after 1864. Agitation for independence during the 1980s and early 1990s ended in the 1998 Noumea Accord, which over a period of 15 to 20 years will transfer an increasing amount of governing responsibility from France to New Caledonia. The agreement also commits France to conduct as many as three referenda between 2013 and 2018, to decide whether New Caledonia should assume full sovereignty and independence. |
Birth rate | 29.85 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 17.75 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $3.457 billion
expenditures: $4.323 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $996 million
expenditures: $1.072 billion (2001 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) |
name: Noumea
geographic coordinates: 22 16 S, 166 27 E time difference: UTC+11 (16 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical; warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast; hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds; hot, humid |
Coastline | 539 km | 2,254 km |
Constitution | approved 28 April 1992 | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Ghana
conventional short form: Ghana former: Gold Coast |
conventional long form: Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies
conventional short form: New Caledonia local long form: Territoire des Nouvelle-Caledonie et Dependances local short form: Nouvelle-Caledonie |
Death rate | 9.55 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 5.72 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $3.319 billion (2006 est.) | $79 million (1998 est.) |
Dependency status | - | territorial collectivity of France since 1998 |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Pamela E. BRIDGEWATER
embassy: Ring Road East, Osu, Accra mailing address: P. O. Box 194, Accra telephone: [233] (21) 775-347, 775-348 FAX: [233] (21) 776-008 |
none (overseas territory of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Kwame BAWUAH-EDUSEI
chancery: 1156 15th St. NW #905, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 785-1379 FAX: [1] (202) 785-1430 consulate(s) general: New York |
none (overseas territory of France) |
Disputes - international | Ghana struggles to accommodate returning nationals who worked in the cocoa plantations and escaped fighting in Cote d'Ivoire | Matthew and Hunter Islands east of New Caledonia claimed by France and Vanuatu |
Economic aid - recipient | $1.12 billion (2005) | $524.3 million annual subsidy from France (2004) |
Economy - overview | Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has roughly twice the per capita output of the poorest 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 37% 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 2006 along with record high prices for Ghana's largest cocoa crop to date. Ghana received a Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant in 2006, which aims to assist in transforming Ghana's agricultural export sector. | New Caledonia has about 25% of the world's known nickel resources. Only a small amount of the land is suitable for cultivation, and food accounts for about 20% of imports. In addition to nickel, substantial financial support from France - equal to more than 15% of GDP - and tourism are keys to the health of the economy. Substantial new investment in the nickel industry, combined with the recovery of global nickel prices, brightens the economic outlook for the next several years. |
Electricity - consumption | 5.849 billion kWh (2005) | 1.403 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 639 million kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 815 million kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 6.648 billion kWh (2005) | 1.508 billion kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Afadjato 880 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Panie 1,628 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 | erosion caused by mining exploitation and forest fires |
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 |
- |
Ethnic groups | Akan 45.3%, Mole-Dagbon 15.2%, Ewe 11.7%, Ga-Dangme 7.3%, Guan 4%, Gurma 3.6%, Grusi 2.6%, Mande-Busanga 1%, other tribes 1.4%, other 7.8% (2000 census) | Melanesian 42.5%, European 37.1%, Wallisian 8.4%, Polynesian 3.8%, Indonesian 3.6%, Vietnamese 1.6%, other 3% |
Exchange rates | cedis per US dollar - 9,174.8 (2006), 9,072.5 (2005), 9,004.6 (2004), 8,677.4 (2003), 7,932.7 (2002) | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - NA (2007), 95.025 (2006), 95.89 (2005), 96.04 (2004), 105.66 (2003) |
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) 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 in 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 Nicolas SARKOZY (since 16 May 2007); represented by High Commissioner Yves DASSONVILLE (since 9 November 2007)
head of government: President of the Government Harold MARTIN (since 7 August 2007) cabinet: Cabinet consisting of 11 members elected from and by the Territorial Congress elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; high commissioner appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the government elected by the members of the Territorial Congress for a five-year term (no term limits); note - last election held 7 August 2007 when Harold MARTIN was elected following the resignation of Marie-Noelle THEMEREAU as president on 24 July 2007 (next to be held in 2012) |
Exports | NA bbl/day | 605.7 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore, diamonds | ferronickels, nickel ore, fish |
Exports - partners | Netherlands 11.3%, UK 8.7%, US 6.7%, Spain 5.7%, Belgium 5.2%, France 4.4% (2006) | Japan 17.4%, France 15.9%, Taiwan 14.5%, China 10.8%, Spain 9.4%, Belgium 7.3%, Italy 6%, Australia 4.6% (2006) |
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 | the flag of France is used |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 37.3%
industry: 25.3% services: 37.5% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 15%
industry: 8.8% services: 76.2% (2003) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2006 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 8 00 N, 2 00 W | 21 30 S, 165 30 E |
Geography - note | Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake | consists of the main island of New Caledonia (one of the largest in the Pacific Ocean), the archipelago of Iles Loyaute, and numerous small, sparsely populated islands and atolls |
Heliports | - | 6 (2007) |
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; significant domestic cocaine and cannabis use | - |
Imports | NA bbl/day | 11,980 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs | machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Nigeria 16.7%, China 13%, UK 5.7%, Belgium 4.7%, US 4.7%, South Africa 4.1%, France 4.1% (2006) | France 39.4%, Singapore 15.1%, Australia 11.3%, NZ 4.8% (2006) |
Independence | 6 March 1957 (from UK) | none (overseas territory of France); note - a referendum on independence was held in 1998 but did not pass; a new referendum is scheduled for 2014 |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.8% (2000 est.) | -0.6% (1996) |
Industries | mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food processing, cement, small commercial ship building | nickel mining and smelting |
Infant mortality rate | total: 53.56 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 58 deaths/1,000 live births female: 48.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 7.42 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.12 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10.9% (2006 est.) | 1.4% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OIF, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | ITUC, PIF (associate member), SPC, UPU, WFTU, WMO |
Irrigated land | 310 sq km (2003) | 100 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; County Courts; Joint Commerce Tribunal Court; Children's Court |
Labor force | 11.07 million (2006 est.) | 78,990 (2004) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 60%
industry: 15% services: 25% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 20%
industry: 20% services: 60% (2002) |
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: 17.54%
permanent crops: 9.22% other: 73.24% (2005) |
arable land: 0.32%
permanent crops: 0.22% other: 99.46% (2005) |
Languages | Asante 14.8%, Ewe 12.7%, Fante 9.9%, Boron (Brong) 4.6%, Dagomba 4.3%, Dangme 4.3%, Dagarte (Dagaba) 3.7%, Akyem 3.4%, Ga 3.4%, Akuapem 2.9%, other 36.1% (includes English (official)) (2000 census) | French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects |
Legal system | based on English common law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on French civil law; the 1988 Matignon Accords grant substantial autonomy to the islands |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament (230 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 7 December 2004 (next to be held December in 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NPP 128, NDC 94, PNC 4, CPP 3, independent 1 |
unicameral Territorial Congress or Congres du territoire (54 seats; members belong to the three Provincial Assemblies or Assemblees Provinciales elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 9 May 2004 (next to be held in 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPCR-UMP 16, AE 16, UNI-FLNKS 8, UC 7, FN 4, others 3 note: New Caledonia currently holds one seat in the French Senate; by 2010, New Caledonia will gain a second seat in the French Senate; elections last held 24 September 2001 (next to be held not later than September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 1; New Caledonia also elects two seats to the French National Assembly; elections last held 10 and 17 June 2007 (next to be held on June 2012); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 59.12 years
male: 58.31 years female: 59.95 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 74.5 years
male: 71.52 years female: 77.63 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 57.9% male: 66.4% female: 49.8% (2000 census) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96.2% male: 96.8% female: 95.5% (1996 census) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Cote d'Ivoire and Togo | Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia |
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: 3 ships (1000 GRT or over) 5,032 GRT/7,282 DWT
by type: petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 2 foreign-owned: 1 (Brazil 1) (2007) |
total: 2 ships (1000 GRT or over) 3,566 GRT/2,543 DWT
by type: cargo 1, passenger/cargo 1 (2007) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Ghanaian Army, Ghanaian Navy, Ghanaian Air Force (2007) | no regular indigenous military forces; French Armed Forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie); Police Force |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.8% (2006 est.) | NA |
National holiday | Independence Day, 6 March (1957) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Ghanaian(s)
adjective: Ghanaian |
noun: New Caledonian(s)
adjective: New Caledonian |
Natural hazards | dry, dusty, northeastern harmattan winds occur from January to March; droughts | cyclones, most frequent from November to March |
Natural resources | gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish, rubber, hydropower, petroleum, silver, salt, limestone | nickel, chrome, iron, cobalt, manganese, silver, gold, lead, copper |
Net migration rate | -0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: there has been steady emigration from Wallis and Futuna to New Caledonia (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | oil 13 km; refined products 316 km (2006) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Convention People's Party or CPP [Dr. Edmund DELLE]; Democratic Freedom Party or DFP [Alhaji Abudu Rahman ISSAKAH]; Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere or EGLE [Danny OFORI-ATTA]; Great Consolidated Popular Party or GCPP [Dan LARTY]; National Democratic Congress or NDC [Dr. Kwabena ADJEI]; New Patriotic Party or NPP [Peter MAC-MANU]; People's National Convention or PNC [Alhaji Amed RHAMADAN]; Reform Party [Kyeretwie OPUKU]; United Renaissance Party or URP [Charles Wayo] | Alliance pour la Caledonie or APLC [Didier LE ROUX]; Caledonian Union or UC; Federation des Comites de Coordination des Independantistes or FCCI [Francois BURCK]; Front National or FN [Guy GEORGE]; Front Uni de Liberation Kanak or FULK [Ernest UNE]; Kanak Socialist Front for National Liberation or FLNKS (includes PALIKA, UNI, UC, and UPM); Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA [Paul NEAOUTYINE and Elie POIGOUNE]; Rally for Caledonia in the Republic (anti independence) or RPCR-UMP [Jacques LAFLEUR]; The Future Together or AE [Harold MARTIN]; Union Nationale pour l'Independance or UNI [Paul NEAOUTYINE]; note - may no longer exist, but Paul NEAOUTYINE has since become a president of Parti de Liberation Kanak or PALIKA; Union Progressiste Melanesienne or UPM [Victor TUTUGORO] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 22,931,299
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 2007 est.) |
221,943 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 31.4% (1992 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.972% (2007 est.) | 1.203% (2007 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 49, shortwave 3 (2001) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | total: 953 km
narrow gauge: 953 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
- |
Religions | Christian 68.8% (Pentecostal/Charismatic 24.1%, Protestant 18.6%, Catholic 15.1%, other 11%), Muslim 15.9%, traditional 8.5%, other 0.7%, none 6.1% (2000 census) | Roman Catholic 60%, Protestant 30%, other 10% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.025 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.996 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.877 male(s)/female total population: 1.003 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.043 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.868 male(s)/female total population: 1.009 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: fixed-line infrastructure outdated and unreliable; competition among multiple mobile-cellular providers has spurred growth with subscribership approaching 25 per 100 persons
domestic: primarily microwave radio relay; wireless local loop has been installed international: country code - 233; landing point for the SAT-3/WASC fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and Asia; satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); microwave radio relay link to Panaftel system connects Ghana to its neighbors |
general assessment: NA
domestic: a submarine cable network connection between New Caledonia and Australia, scheduled for completion in 2008, will improve high-speed connectivity and access to international networks international: country code - 687; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 356,400 (2006) | 55,300 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 5.207 million (2006) | 134,300 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 10 (2001) | 6 (plus 25 repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low plains with dissected plateau in south-central area | coastal plains with interior mountains |
Total fertility rate | 3.89 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 2.25 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 20% (1997 est.) | 17.1% (2004) |
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 (2007) |
- |