Ghana (2008) | Libya (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | 10 regions; Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, Western | 25 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ajdabiya, Al 'Aziziyah, Al Fatih, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jufrah, Al Khums, Al Kufrah, An Nuqat al Khams, Ash Shati', Awbari, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Misratah, Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions |
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: 33.6% (male 1,012,748/female 969,978)
15-64 years: 62.2% (male 1,891,643/female 1,778,621) 65 years and over: 4.2% (male 121,566/female 126,198) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, corn, shea nuts, bananas; timber | wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle |
Airports | 12 (2007) | 141 (2006) |
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: 60
over 3,047 m: 23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 23 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
total: 81
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 41 under 914 m: 18 (2006) |
Area | total: 239,460 sq km
land: 230,940 sq km water: 8,520 sq km |
total: 1,759,540 sq km
land: 1,759,540 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Oregon | slightly larger than Alaska |
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. Ghana endured a long series of coups before Lt. Jerry RAWLINGS took power in 1981 and banned political parties. After approving a new constitution and restoring multiparty politics in 1992, RAWLINGS won presidential elections in 1992 and 1996, but was constitutionally prevented from running for a third term in 2000. John KUFUOR succeeded him and was re-elected in 2004. Kufuor is constitutionally barred from running for a third term in upcoming Presidential elections, which are scheduled for December 2008. | The Italians supplanted the Ottoman Turks from the area around Tripoli in 1911 and did not reliquish their hold until 1943 when defeated in World War II. Libya then passed to UN administration and achieved independence in 1951. Following a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI began to espouse his own political system, the Third Universal Theory. The system is a combination of socialism and Islam derived in part from tribal practices and is supposed to be implemented by the Libyan people themselves in a unique form of "direct democracy." QADHAFI has always seen himself as a revolutionary and visionary leader. He used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya, supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. In addition, beginning in 1973, he engaged in military operations in northern Chad's Aozou Strip - to gain access to minerals and to use as a base of influence in Chadian politics - but was forced to retreat in 1987. UN sanctions in 1992 isolated QADHAFI politically following the downing of Pan AM Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Libyan support for terrorism appeared to have decreased after the imposition of sanctions. During the 1990s, QADHAFI also began to rebuild his relationships with Europe. UN sanctions were suspended in April 1999 and finally lifted in September 2003 after Libya resolved the Lockerbie case. In December 2003, Libya announced that it had agreed to reveal and end its programs to develop weapons of mass destruction, and QADHAFI has made significant strides in normalizing relations with western nations since then. He has received various Western European leaders as well as many working-level and commercial delegations, and made his first trip to Western Europe in 15 years when he traveled to Brussels in April 2004. QADHAFI also finally resolved in 2004 several outstanding cases against his government for terrorist activities in the 1980s by compensating the families of victims of the UTA and La Belle disco bombings. |
Birth rate | 29.85 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 26.49 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $4.347 billion
expenditures: $5.197 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues: $25.34 billion
expenditures: $15.47 billion; including capital expenditures of $5.6 billion (2005 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: Tripoli
geographic coordinates: 32 54 N, 13 11 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 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 | Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior |
Coastline | 539 km | 1,770 km |
Constitution | approved 28 April 1992 | 11 December 1969; amended 2 March 1977 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Ghana
conventional short form: Ghana former: Gold Coast |
conventional long form: Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
conventional short form: Libya local long form: Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma local short form: none |
Death rate | 9.55 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 3.48 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $3.387 billion (31 December 2007 est.) | $4.267 billion (2005 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Pamela E. BRIDGEWATER
embassy: 24 4th Circular Rd. Cantonments, Accra mailing address: P. O. Box 194, Accra telephone: [233] (21) 741-000 FAX: [233] (21) 741-389 |
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad Interim Gregory L. BERRY
embassy: Corinthia Bab Africa Hotel, Souq At-Tlat Al-Qadim, Tripoli mailing address: US Embassy, 8850 Tripoli Place, Washington, DC 20521-8850 telephone: [218] 21-335-1848 |
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 |
chief of mission: ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Ali AUJALI
chancery: 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Suite 705, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 944-9601 FAX: [1] (202) 944-9060 |
Disputes - international | Ghana struggles to accommodate returning nationals who worked in the cocoa plantations and escaped fighting in Cote d'Ivoire | Libya has claimed more than 32,000 sq km in southeastern Algeria and about 25,000 sq km in Niger in currently dormant disputes; various Chadian rebels from the Aozou region reside in southern Libya |
Economic aid - recipient | $1.316 billion in loans and grants (2007) | ODA, $4.4 million (2002) |
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 and cocoa production, and individual remittances, are major sources of foreign exchange. The domestic economy continues to revolve around agriculture, which accounts for about 35% of GDP and employs about 55% of the work force, mainly small landholders. Ghana opted for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) program in 2002, and is also benefiting from the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative that took effect in 2006. Thematic priorities under its current Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy, which also provides the framework for development partner assistance, are: macroeconomic stability; private sector competitiveness; human resource development; and good governance and civic responsibility. Sound macro-economic management along with high prices for gold and cocoa helped sustain GDP growth in 2007. Ghana signed a Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact in 2006, which aims to assist in transforming Ghana's agricultural sector. | The Libyan economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contribute about 95% of export earnings, about one-quarter of GDP, and 60% of public sector wages. Substantial revenues from the energy sector coupled with a small population give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa, but little of this income flows down to the lower orders of society. Libyan officials in the past four years have made progress on economic reforms as part of a broader campaign to reintegrate the country into the international fold. This effort picked up steam after UN sanctions were lifted in September 2003 and as Libya announced that it would abandon programs to build weapons of mass destruction in December 2003. Almost all US unilateral sanctions against Libya were removed in April 2004, helping Libya attract more foreign direct investment, mostly in the energy sector. Libya faces a long road ahead in liberalizing the socialist-oriented economy, but initial steps - including applying for WTO membership, reducing some subsidies, and announcing plans for privatization - are laying the groundwork for a transition to a more market-based economy. The non-oil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP, have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the production of petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.906 billion kWh (2007 est.) | 13.39 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 256 million kWh (2007 est.) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 461 million kWh (2007 est.) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 7.042 billion kWh (2007 est.) | 14.4 billion kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Afadjato 880 m |
lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m
highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 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 | desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, is being built to bring water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities |
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, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
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) | Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians |
Exchange rates | cedis per US dollar - 0.95 (2007), 9,174.8 (2006), 9,072.5 (2005), 9,004.6 (2004), 8,677.4 (2003) | Libyan dinars per US dollar - 1.3084 (2005), 1.305 (2004), 1.2929 (2003), 1.2707 (2002), 0.6051 (2001) |
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 52.4%, John ATTA-MILLS 44.6% |
chief of state: Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969); note - holds no official title, but is de facto chief of state
head of government: Secretary of the General People's Committee (Prime Minister) al-Baghdadi Ali al-MAHMUDI (since 5 March 2006) cabinet: General People's Committee established by the General People's Congress elections: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of people's committees; head of government elected by the General People's Congress; election last held 2 March 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: NA |
Exports | 8,041 bbl/day (2004) | 1.34 million bbl/day NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore, diamonds, horticulture | crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas |
Exports - partners | Netherlands 11.3%, UK 8.7%, US 6.7%, Spain 5.7%, Belgium 5.2%, France 4.4% (2006) | Italy 37.9%, Germany 15.2%, Spain 8.7%, Turkey 6.3%, France 6.2%, US 5.2% (2005) |
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 | plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 37.3%
industry: 25.3% services: 37.5% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 7.6%
industry: 49.9% services: 42.5% (2005 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.2% (2007 est.) | 8.4% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 00 N, 2 00 W | 25 00 N, 17 00 E |
Geography - note | Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake | more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert |
Heliports | - | 2 (2006) |
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 | 45,010 bbl/day (2004) | 0 bbl/day NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs | machinery, transport equipment, semi-finished goods, food, consumer products |
Imports - partners | Nigeria 16.7%, China 13%, UK 5.7%, Belgium 4.7%, US 4.7%, South Africa 4.1%, France 4.1% (2006) | Italy 21.5%, Germany 10.4%, Tunisia 5.6%, Turkey 4.9%, UK 4.9%, France 4.8%, South Korea 4.7%, China 4.6% (2005) |
Independence | 6 March 1957 (from UK) | 24 December 1951 (from UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.4% (2007 est.) | NA% |
Industries | mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food processing, cement, small commercial ship building | petroleum, iron and steel, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement |
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: 23.71 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 25.99 deaths/1,000 live births female: 21.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 11% (2007 est.) | 3.4% (2005 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, OPCW, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, CAEU, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) |
Irrigated land | 310 sq km (2003) | 4,700 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 11.29 million (2007 est.) | 1.64 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 56%
industry: 15% services: 29% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: 17%
industry: 23% services: 59% (2004 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 2,094 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 549 km, Cote d'Ivoire 668 km, Togo 877 km |
total: 4,348 km
border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,115 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km |
Land use | arable land: 17.54%
permanent crops: 9.22% other: 73.24% (2005) |
arable land: 1.03%
permanent crops: 0.19% other: 98.78% (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) | Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities |
Legal system | based on English common law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Italian civil law system and Islamic law; separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 General People's Congress (NA seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 59.12 years
male: 58.31 years female: 59.95 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 76.69 years
male: 74.46 years female: 79.02 years (2006 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: 82.6% male: 92.4% female: 72% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Cote d'Ivoire and Togo | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia |
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
note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north |
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: 18 ships (1000 GRT or over) 86,034 GRT/89,820 DWT
by type: cargo 10, liquefied gas 3, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: 4 (Kuwait 1, Norway 1, Turkey 2) (2006) |
Military branches | Ghanaian Army, Ghanaian Navy, Ghanaian Air Force (2007) | Armed Peoples on Duty (APOD, Army), Libyan Arab Navy, Libyan Arab Air Force (LAAF) (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $1.3 billion (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.8% (2006 est.) | 3.9% (FY99) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 6 March (1957) | Revolution Day, 1 September (1969) |
Nationality | noun: Ghanaian(s)
adjective: Ghanaian |
noun: Libyan(s)
adjective: Libyan |
Natural hazards | dry, dusty, northeastern harmattan winds occur from January to March; droughts | hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms |
Natural resources | gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish, rubber, hydropower, petroleum, silver, salt, limestone | petroleum, natural gas, gypsum |
Net migration rate | -0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | oil 13 km; refined products 316 km (2007) | condensate 882 km; gas 3,481 km; oil 6,916 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | Convention People's Party or CPP [Ladi NYLANDER]; Democratic Freedom Party or DFP [Alhaji Abudu Rahman ISSAKAH]; Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere or EGLE; Great Consolidated Popular Party or GCPP [Dan LARTEY]; National Democratic Congress or NDC [Dr. Kwabena ADJEI]; New Patriotic Party or NPP [Peter MAC-MANU]; People's National Convention or PNC [Alhaji Amed RAMADAN]; Reform Party [Kyeretwie OPUKU]; United Renaissance Party or URP [Charles WAYO] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements; an anti-QADHAFI Libyan exile movement exists, primarily based in London, but has little influence |
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.) |
5,900,754
note: includes 166,510 non-nationals (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 28.5% (2007 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.972% (2007 est.) | 2.3% (2006 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 86, shortwave 3 (2007) | AM 16, FM 3, shortwave 3 (2002) |
Railways | total: 953 km
narrow gauge: 953 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
0 km
note: Libya is working on seven lines totaling 2,757 km of 1.435-m gauge track; it hopes to have trains running by 2008 (2005) |
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) | Sunni Muslim 97% |
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: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment: fixed-line infrastructure outdated and unreliable; competition among multiple mobile-cellular providers has spurred growth with subscribership about 25 per 100 persons and rising
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: telecommunications system is being modernized; mobile cellular telephone system became operational in 1996
domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, cellular, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: country code - 218; satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat, NA Arabsat, and NA Intersputnik; submarine cables to France and Italy; microwave radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt; tropospheric scatter to Greece; participant in Medarabtel (1999) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 356,400 (2006) | 750,000 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 5.207 million (2006) | 234,800 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (2007) | 12 (plus one low-power repeater) (1999) |
Terrain | mostly low plains with dissected plateau in south-central area | mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions |
Total fertility rate | 3.89 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 3.28 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 11% (2000 est.) | 30% (2004 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 (2007) |
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