Ghana (2008) | Mexico (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 10 regions; Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, Western | 31 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Colima, Distrito Federal*, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro de Arteaga, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz-Llave, Yucatan, Zacatecas |
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: 32.8% (male 17,310,230; female 16,630,935)
15-64 years: 62.7% (male 31,552,877; female 33,246,668) 65 years and over: 4.5% (male 2,069,826; female 2,589,629) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, corn, shea nuts, bananas; timber | corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; beef, poultry, dairy products; wood products |
Airports | 12 (2007) | 1,852 (2001) |
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: 231
over 3,047 m: 11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 28 1,524 to 2,437 m: 83 914 to 1,523 m: 82 under 914 m: 27 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
total: 1,592 1,617
over 3,047 m: 1 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 69 69 914 to 1,523 m: 454 461 under 914 m: 1,067 1,085 (2002) |
Area | total: 239,460 sq km
land: 230,940 sq km water: 8,520 sq km |
total: 1,972,550 sq km
land: 1,923,040 sq km water: 49,510 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Oregon | slightly less than three times the size of Texas |
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 site of advanced Amerindian civilizations, Mexico came under Spanish rule for three centuries before achieving independence early in the 19th century. A devaluation of the peso in late 1994 threw Mexico into economic turmoil, triggering the worst recession in over half a century. The nation continues to make an impressive recovery. Ongoing economic and social concerns include low real wages, underemployment for a large segment of the population, inequitable income distribution, and few advancement opportunities for the largely Amerindian population in the impoverished southern states. Elections held in July 2000 marked the first time since the 1910 Mexican Revolution that the opposition defeated the party in government, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Vicente FOX of the National Action Party (PAN) was sworn in on 1 December 2000 as the first chief executive elected in free and fair elections. |
Birth rate | 29.85 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 22.36 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $4.347 billion
expenditures: $5.197 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues: $136 billion
expenditures: $140 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) (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) |
Mexico (Distrito Federal) |
Climate | tropical; warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast; hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north | varies from tropical to desert |
Coastline | 539 km | 9,330 km |
Constitution | approved 28 April 1992 | 5 February 1917 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Ghana
conventional short form: Ghana former: Gold Coast |
conventional long form: United Mexican States
conventional short form: Mexico local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos local short form: Mexico |
Currency | - | Mexican peso (MXN) |
Death rate | 9.55 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 4.99 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $3.387 billion (31 December 2007 est.) | $191 billion (2001) (2001) |
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 Antonio O. GARZA
embassy: Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, 06500 Mexico, Distrito Federal mailing address: P. O. Box 9000, Brownsville, TX 520-9000 telephone: [52] 55 5080-2000 FAX: [52] 55 5511-9980 consulate(s) general: Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana consulate(s): Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Nuevo Laredo, Nogales |
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 Juan Jose BREMER Martino
chancery: 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: [1] (202) 728-1600 FAX: [1] (202) 728-1698 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, El Paso, Houston, Laredo (Texas), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Nogales (Arizona), Phoenix, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Juan (Puerto Rico) consulate(s): Albuquerque, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California), Corpus Christi, Del Rio (Texas), Detroit, Douglas (Arizona), Eagle Pass (Texas), Fresno (California), Indianapolis (Indiana), Las Vegas, McAllen (Texas), Midland (Texas), Omaha, Orlando, Oxnard (California), Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), Presidio (Texas), Raleigh, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, Santa Ana (California), Seattle, Tucson, Yuma (Arizona) |
Disputes - international | Ghana struggles to accommodate returning nationals who worked in the cocoa plantations and escaped fighting in Cote d'Ivoire | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $1.316 billion in loans and grants (2007) | $1.166 billion (1995) (1995) |
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. | Mexico has a free market economy with a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the private sector. Recent administrations have expanded competition in seaports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity, natural gas distribution, and airports. Income distribution remains highly unequal. Trade with the US and Canada has tripled since the implementation of NAFTA in 1994. Following 6.9% growth in 2000, real GDP fell 0.3% in 2001, with the US slowdown the principal cause. Positive developments in 2001 included a drop in inflation to 6.5%, a sharp fall in interest rates, and a strong peso that appreciated 5% against the dollar. Mexico City implemented free trade agreements with Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and the European Free Trade Area in 2001, putting more than 90% of trade under free trade agreements. Foreign direct investment reached $25 billion in 2001, of which $12.5 billion came from the purchase of Mexico's second largest bank, Banamex, by Citigroup. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.906 billion kWh (2007 est.) | 182.83 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 256 million kWh (2007 est.) | 77 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 461 million kWh (2007 est.) | 2.145 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 7.042 billion kWh (2007 est.) | 194.37 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 76%
hydro: 17% nuclear: 4% other: 3% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Afadjato 880 m |
lowest point: Laguna Salada -10 m
highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 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 | scarcity of hazardous waste disposal facilities; rural to urban migration; natural fresh water resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast; raw sewage and industrial effluents polluting rivers in urban areas; deforestation; widespread erosion; desertification; deteriorating agricultural lands; serious air and water pollution in the national capital and urban centers along US-Mexico border; land subsidence in Valley of Mexico caused by groundwater depletion
note: the government considers the lack of clean water and deforestation national security issues |
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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) | mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1% |
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) | Mexican pesos per US dollar - 9.1614 (January 2002), 9.3423 (2001), 9.4556 (2000), 9.5604 (1999), 9.1360 (1998), 7.9185 (1997) |
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: President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; note - appointment of attorney general requires consent of the Senate elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held NA July 2006) election results: Vicente FOX Quesada elected president; percent of vote - Vicente FOX Quesada (PAN) 42.52%, Francisco LABASTIDA Ochoa (PRI) 36.1%, Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano (PRD) 16.64%, other 4.74% |
Exports | 8,041 bbl/day (2004) | $159 billion f.o.b. (2001) |
Exports - commodities | gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore, diamonds, horticulture | manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables, coffee, cotton |
Exports - partners | Netherlands 11.3%, UK 8.7%, US 6.7%, Spain 5.7%, Belgium 5.2%, France 4.4% (2006) | US 88.4%, Canada 2%, Germany 0.9%, Spain 0.8%, Netherlands Antilles 0.6%, Japan 0.4%, UK 0.4%, Venezuela 0.4%, (2001 est.) |
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 vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; the coat of arms (an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its beak) is centered in the white band |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $920 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 37.3%
industry: 25.3% services: 37.5% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 5%
industry: 26% services: 69% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $9,000 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.2% (2007 est.) | -0.3% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 00 N, 2 00 W | 23 00 N, 102 00 W |
Geography - note | Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake | strategic location on southern border of US; corn (maize), one of the world's major grain crops, is thought to have originated in Mexico |
Heliports | - | 2 (2002) |
Highways | - | total: 323,977 km
paved: 96,221 km (including 6,335 km of expressways) unpaved: 227,756 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.2%
highest 10%: 30.1% (1999) |
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 41% (2001) (2001) |
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 | illicit cultivation of opium poppy (cultivation in 2001 - 4,400 hectares; potential heroin production - 7 metric tons) and cannabis cultivation in 2001 - 4,100 hectares; government eradication efforts have been key in keeping illicit crop levels low; major supplier of heroin and largest foreign supplier of marijuana and methamphetamine to the US market; continues as the primary transshipment country for US-bound cocaine from South America; major drug syndicates control majority of drug trafficking throughout the country; growing producer and distributor of ecstasy; significant money-laundering center |
Imports | 45,010 bbl/day (2004) | $168 billion f.o.b. (2001) |
Imports - commodities | capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs | metalworking machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts |
Imports - partners | Nigeria 16.7%, China 13%, UK 5.7%, Belgium 4.7%, US 4.7%, South Africa 4.1%, France 4.1% (2006) | US 68.4%, Japan 4.7%, Germany 3.6%, Canada 2.5%, China 2.2%, South Korea 2.1%, Taiwan 1.6%, Italy 1.3%, Brazil 1.1% (2001 est.) |
Independence | 6 March 1957 (from UK) | 16 September 1810 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.4% (2007 est.) | -3.4% (2001 est.) |
Industries | mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food processing, cement, small commercial ship building | food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism |
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.) |
24.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 11% (2007 est.) | 6.5% (2001 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 | APEC, BCIE, BIS, Caricom (observer), CCC, CDB, CE (observer), EBRD, ECLAC, FAO, G-3, G-6, G-15, G-19, G-24, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer), IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM (observer), NEA, OAS, OECD, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 51 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 310 sq km (2003) | 65,000 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are appointed by the president with consent of the Senate) |
Labor force | 11.29 million (2007 est.) | 39.8 million (2000) (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 56%
industry: 15% services: 29% (2005 est.) |
agriculture 20%, industry 24%, services 56% (1998) (1998) |
Land boundaries | total: 2,094 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 549 km, Cote d'Ivoire 668 km, Togo 877 km |
total: 4,353 km
border countries: Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,141 km |
Land use | arable land: 17.54%
permanent crops: 9.22% other: 73.24% (2005) |
arable land: 13.2%
permanent crops: 1.1% other: 85.7% (1998 est.) |
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) | Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages |
Legal system | based on English common law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
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 |
bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Union consists of the Senate or Camara de Senadores (128 seats; 96 are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms, and 32 are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote) and the Federal Chamber of Deputies or Camara Federal de Diputados (500 seats; 300 members are directly elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; remaining 200 members are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote, also for three-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 2 July 2000 for all of the seats (next to be held NA 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 60, PAN 46, PRD 15, PVEM 5, PT 1, CD 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 211, PAN 207, PRD 50, PVEM 16, PT 8, PSN 3, PAS 2, CD 1, independents 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 59.12 years
male: 58.31 years female: 59.95 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 72.03 years
male: 68.99 years female: 75.21 years (2002 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: 89.6% male: 91.8% female: 87.4% (1995 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Cote d'Ivoire and Togo | Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the US and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the 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 |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 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: 44 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 656,594 GRT/987,822 DWT
ships by type: bulk 3, cargo 1, chemical tanker 4, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 27, roll on/roll off 3, short-sea passenger 3 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Canada 2, Denmark 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Ghanaian Army, Ghanaian Navy, Ghanaian Air Force (2007) | National Defense Secretariat (SEDENA) (including Army and Air Force), Navy Secretariat (including Naval Air and Marines) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $4 billion (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.8% (2006 est.) | 1% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 27,229,581 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 19,761,440 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age
note: starting in 2000, females were allowed to volunteer for military service (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 1,077,536 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 6 March (1957) | Independence Day, 16 September (1810) |
Nationality | noun: Ghanaian(s)
adjective: Ghanaian |
noun: Mexican(s)
adjective: Mexican |
Natural hazards | dry, dusty, northeastern harmattan winds occur from January to March; droughts | tsunamis along the Pacific coast, volcanoes and destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean coasts |
Natural resources | gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish, rubber, hydropower, petroleum, silver, salt, limestone | petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber |
Net migration rate | -0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -2.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | oil 13 km; refined products 316 km (2007) | crude oil 28,200 km; petroleum products 10,150 km; natural gas 13,254 km; petrochemical 1,400 km |
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] | Convergence for Democracy or CD [Dante DELGADO Ranauro]; Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI [Dulce Maria SAURI Riancho]; Mexican Green Ecological Party or PVEM [Jorge Emilio GONZALEZ Martinez]; National Action Party or PAN [Luis Felipe BRAVO Mena]; Party of the Democratic Revolution or PRD [Amalia GARCIA Medina]; Party of the Nationalist Society or PSN [Gustavo RIOJAS Santana]; Social Alliance Party or PAS [Guillermo CALDERON Dominguez]; Workers Party or PT [Alberto ANAYA Gutierrez] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic or COPARMEX; Confederation of Industrial Chambers or CONCAMIN; Confederation of Mexican Workers or CTM; Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce or CONCANACO; Coordinator for Foreign Trade Business Organizations or COECE; Federation of Unions Providing Goods and Services or FESEBES; National Chamber of Transformation Industries or CANACINTRA; National Peasant Confederation or CNC; National Union of Workers or UNT; Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers or CROM; Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants or CROC; Roman Catholic Church |
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.) |
103,400,165 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 28.5% (2007 est.) | 40% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.972% (2007 est.) | 1.47% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Acapulco, Altamira, Coatzacoalcos, Ensenada, Guaymas, La Paz, Lazaro Cardenas, Manzanillo, Mazatlan, Progreso, Salina Cruz, Tampico, Topolobampo, Tuxpan, Veracruz |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 86, shortwave 3 (2007) | AM 851, FM 598, shortwave 16 (2000) |
Radios | - | 31 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 953 km
narrow gauge: 953 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
total: 18,000 km
standard gauge: 18,000 km 1.435-m gauge (2001) |
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) | nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%, other 5% |
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: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced) |
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: low telephone density with about 12 main lines per 100 persons; privatized in December 1990; the opening to competition in January 1997 improved prospects for development
domestic: adequate telephone service for business and government, but the population is poorly served; domestic satellite system with 120 earth stations; extensive microwave radio relay network; considerable use of fiber-optic cable, coaxial cable, and mobile cellular service international: satellite earth stations - 32 Intelsat, 2 Solidaridad (giving Mexico improved access to South America, Central America, and much of the US as well as enhancing domestic communications), numerous Inmarsat mobile earth stations; linked to Central American Microwave System of trunk connections; high capacity Columbus-2 fiber-optic submarine cable with access to the US, Virgin Islands, Canary Islands, Morocco, Spain, and Italy (1997) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 356,400 (2006) | 12.332 million (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 5.207 million (2006) | 2.02 million (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (2007) | 236 (plus repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low plains with dissected plateau in south-central area | high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert |
Total fertility rate | 3.89 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 2.57 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 11% (2000 est.) | urban - 3% plus considerable underemployment (2001) |
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) |
2,900 km
note: navigable rivers and coastal canals |