Ghana (2008) | Solomon Islands (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | 10 regions; Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, Western | 7 provinces and 1 town*; Central, Guadalcanal, Honiara*, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, Temotu, Western; note - there may be two new provinces of Choiseul (Lauru) and Rennell/Bellona and the administrative unit of Honiara may have been abolished |
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:
43.79% (male 107,229; female 103,162) 15-64 years: 53.15% (male 129,315; female 126,021) 65 years and over: 3.06% (male 7,190; female 7,525) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, corn, shea nuts, bananas; timber | cocoa, beans, coconuts, palm kernels, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs; timber; fish |
Airports | 12 (2007) | 31 (2000 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 (2007) |
total:
2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
total:
29 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 18 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 239,460 sq km
land: 230,940 sq km water: 8,520 sq km |
total:
28,450 sq km land: 27,540 sq km water: 910 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Oregon | slightly smaller than Maryland |
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 UK established a protectorate over the Solomon Islands in the 1890s. Some of the bitterest fighting of World War II occurred on these islands. Self-government was achieved in 1976 and independence two years later. Current issues include government deficits, deforestation, and malaria control. |
Birth rate | 29.85 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 34.05 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $4.347 billion
expenditures: $5.197 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues:
$147 million expenditures: $168 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 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) |
Honiara |
Climate | tropical; warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast; hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north | tropical monsoon; few extremes of temperature and weather |
Coastline | 539 km | 5,313 km |
Constitution | approved 28 April 1992 | 7 July 1978 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Ghana
conventional short form: Ghana former: Gold Coast |
conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Solomon Islands former: British Solomon Islands |
Currency | - | Solomon Islands dollar (SBD) |
Death rate | 9.55 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 4.27 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $3.387 billion (31 December 2007 est.) | $152.4 million (1998) |
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 |
the US does not have an embassy in Solomon Islands (embassy closed July 1993); the ambassador to Papua New Guinea is accredited to the Solomon Islands |
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 ad interim Jeremiah MANELE chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400L, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 599-6192, 6193 FAX: [1] (212) 661-8925 |
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) | $47 million (1999 est.), mainly from Japan, Australia, China, and NZ |
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 bulk of the population depends on agriculture, fishing, and forestry for at least part of their livelihood. Most manufactured goods and petroleum products must be imported. The islands are rich in undeveloped mineral resources such as lead, zinc, nickel, and gold. However, severe ethnic violence, the closing of key business enterprises, and an empty government treasury have led to a continuing economic downslide. Deliveries of crucial fuel supplies (including those for electrical generation) by tankers have become sporadic due to the government's inability to pay and attacks against ships. Telecommunications are threatened by the lack of technical and maintenance staff many of whom have left the country. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.906 billion kWh (2007 est.) | 27.9 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 256 million kWh (2007 est.) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 461 million kWh (2007 est.) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 7.042 billion kWh (2007 est.) | 30 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Afadjato 880 m |
lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Makarakomburu 2,447 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 | deforestation; soil erosion; much of the surrounding coral reefs are dead or dying |
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, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
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 93%, Polynesian 4%, Micronesian 1.5%, European 0.8%, Chinese 0.3%, other 0.4% |
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) | Solomon Islands dollars per US dollar - 5.0968 (November 2000), 5.0864 (2000), 4.8381 (1999), 4.8156 (1998), 3.7169 (1997), 3.5664 (1996) |
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:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Father John LAPLI (since NA 1999) head of government: Prime Minister Mannaseh Damukana SOGAVARE (since 1 July 2000); Assistant Prime Minister Nathaniel WAENA (since 1 July 2000); Deputy Prime Minister Allan KEMAKEZA (since 1 July 2000); note - Prime Minister Bartholomew ULUFA'ALU was forced to resign his position in June 2000 following the armed takeover of the capital by elements supporting the opposition parties; Mannaseh Damukana SOGAVARE, who had been opposition leader, was then elected prime minister at a sitting of National Parliament on 30 June 2000 cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister from among the members of Parliament elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of Parliament for up to five years; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by Parliament; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister from among the members of Parliament |
Exports | 8,041 bbl/day (2004) | $165 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.) |
Exports - commodities | gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore, diamonds, horticulture | timber, fish, palm oil, cocoa, copra |
Exports - partners | Netherlands 11.3%, UK 8.7%, US 6.7%, Spain 5.7%, Belgium 5.2%, France 4.4% (2006) | Japan 35.5%, other Asian countries 47.3% (1999) |
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 | divided diagonally by a thin yellow stripe from the lower hoist-side corner; the upper triangle (hoist side) is blue with five white five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern; the lower triangle is green |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $900 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 37.3%
industry: 25.3% services: 37.5% (2006 est.) |
agriculture:
50% industry: 3.5% services: 46.5% (1995) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $2,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.2% (2007 est.) | 1% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 00 N, 2 00 W | 8 00 S, 159 00 E |
Geography - note | Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake | - |
Highways | - | total:
1,360 km paved: 34 km unpaved: 1,326 km (includes about 800 km of private plantation roads) (1996 est.) |
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) | $152 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.) |
Imports - commodities | capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs | plant and equipment, manufactured goods, food and live animals, fuels, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Nigeria 16.7%, China 13%, UK 5.7%, Belgium 4.7%, US 4.7%, South Africa 4.1%, France 4.1% (2006) | Australia 38.5%, Singapore 15%, Japan 10.6%, NZ 6.2% (1999) |
Independence | 6 March 1957 (from UK) | 7 July 1978 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.4% (2007 est.) | NA% |
Industries | mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food processing, cement, small commercial ship building | fish (tuna), mining, timber |
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.) |
24.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 11% (2007 est.) | 10% (1999 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 | ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), IOC, ITU, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 310 sq km (2003) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Court of Appeal |
Labor force | 11.29 million (2007 est.) | 26,842 |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 56%
industry: 15% services: 29% (2005 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 |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 17.54%
permanent crops: 9.22% other: 73.24% (2005) |
arable land:
1% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 88% other: 9% (1993 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) | Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca, English spoken by 1%-2% of population
note: 120 indigenous languages |
Legal system | based on English common law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | English common law |
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 National Parliament (50 seats; members elected from single member constituencies by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 6 August 1997 (next to be held by August 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - GNUR 21, PAP 7, NAPSI 5, SILP 4, UP 4, independents 6, other 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 59.12 years
male: 58.31 years female: 59.95 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
71.55 years male: 69.12 years female: 74.1 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 57.9% male: 66.4% female: 49.8% (2000 census) |
definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Cote d'Ivoire and Togo | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
continental shelf: 200 NM 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) |
none (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Ghanaian Army, Ghanaian Navy, Ghanaian Air Force (2007) | no regular military forces; Solomon Islands National Reconnaissance and Surveillance Force; Royal Solomon Islands Police (RSIP) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.8% (2006 est.) | NA% |
National holiday | Independence Day, 6 March (1957) | Independence Day, 7 July (1978) |
Nationality | noun: Ghanaian(s)
adjective: Ghanaian |
noun:
Solomon Islander(s) adjective: Solomon Islander |
Natural hazards | dry, dusty, northeastern harmattan winds occur from January to March; droughts | typhoons, but they are rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earth tremors; volcanic activity |
Natural resources | gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish, rubber, hydropower, petroleum, silver, salt, limestone | fish, forests, gold, bauxite, phosphates, lead, zinc, nickel |
Net migration rate | -0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | oil 13 km; refined products 316 km (2007) | - |
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] | there are two main coalitions - Coalition for National Unity, Reconciliation, and Peace or CNURP and Alliance for Change; the CNURP took power on 30 June 2000, it comprises members of the Liberal Party, People's Alliance Party, and the United Party, as well as a number of independents; the Alliance for Change, represents the former government and now is the opposition; in general, Solomon Islands politics is characterized by fluid coalitions; Group for National Unity and Reconciliation or GNUR [leader NA]; Liberal Party [Bartholomew ULUFA'ALU]; National Action Party of Solomon Islands or NAPSI [Francis SAEMALA]; People's Alliance Party or PAP [George LEPPING]; People's Progressive Party [Mannaseh Damukana SOGAVARE]; Solomon Islands Labor Party or SILP [Joses TUHANUKU]; United Party or UP [leader NA] |
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.) |
480,442 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 28.5% (2007 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.972% (2007 est.) | 2.98% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Aola Bay, Honiara, Lofung, Noro, Viru Harbor, Yandina |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 86, shortwave 3 (2007) | AM 3, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 57,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 953 km
narrow gauge: 953 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
0 km |
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) | Anglican 34%, Roman Catholic 19%, Baptist 17%, United (Methodist/Presbyterian) 11%, Seventh-Day Adventist 10%, other Protestant 5%, indigenous beliefs 4% |
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: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 21 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 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:
NA domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 356,400 (2006) | 8,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 5.207 million (2006) | 658 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (2007) | 0 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low plains with dissected plateau in south-central area | mostly rugged mountains with some low coral atolls |
Total fertility rate | 3.89 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 4.65 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 11% (2000 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 (2007) |
none |