Kuwait (2001) | Ghana (2007) | |
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Administrative divisions | 5 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al Farwaniyah, Al 'Asimah, Al Jahra', Hawalli | 10 regions; Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, Western |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
28.76% (male 299,080; female 288,125) 15-64 years: 68.82% (male 897,839; female 507,527) 65 years and over: 2.42% (male 31,843; female 17,547) (2001 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | practically no crops; fish | cocoa, rice, coffee, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, corn, shea nuts, bananas; timber |
Airports | 8 (2000 est.) | 12 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
4 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 7
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
Area | total:
17,820 sq km land: 17,820 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 239,460 sq km
land: 230,940 sq km water: 8,520 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | slightly smaller than Oregon |
Background | Kuwait was attacked and overrun by Iraq on 2 August 1990. Following several weeks of aerial bombardment, a US-led UN coalition began a ground assault on 23 February 1991 that completely liberated Kuwait in four days. Kuwait has spent more than $5 billion to repair oil infrastructure damaged during 1990-91. | 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. |
Birth rate | 21.91 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 29.85 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$11.5 billion expenditures: $17.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY01/02) |
revenues: $3.457 billion
expenditures: $4.323 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | Kuwait | name: Accra
geographic coordinates: 5 33 N, 0 13 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters | tropical; warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast; hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north |
Coastline | 499 km | 539 km |
Constitution | approved and promulgated 11 November 1962 | approved 28 April 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form:
State of Kuwait conventional short form: Kuwait local long form: Dawlat al Kuwayt local short form: Al Kuwayt |
conventional long form: Republic of Ghana
conventional short form: Ghana former: Gold Coast |
Currency | Kuwaiti dinar (KWD) | - |
Death rate | 2.45 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.55 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $6.9 billion (2000 est.) | $3.319 billion (2006 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador James A. LAROCCO embassy: Bayan, near the Bayan palace, Kuwait City mailing address: P. O. Box 77 Safat, 13001 Safat, Kuwait Unit 69000, APO AE 09880-9000 telephone: [965] 539-5307 FAX: [965] 538-0282 |
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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant) chancery: 2940 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-0702 FAX: [1] (202) 966-0517 |
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 |
Disputes - international | in November 1994, Iraq formally accepted the UN-demarcated border with Kuwait which had been spelled out in Security Council Resolutions 687 (1991), 773 (1993), and 883 (1993); this formally ends earlier claims to Kuwait and to Bubiyan and Warbah islands | Ghana struggles to accommodate returning nationals who worked in the cocoa plantations and escaped fighting in Cote d'Ivoire |
Economic aid - recipient | $27.6 million (1995) | $1.12 billion (2005) |
Economy - overview | Kuwait is a small, relatively open economy with proved crude oil reserves of about 94 billion barrels - 10% of world reserves. Petroleum accounts for nearly half of GDP, 90% of export revenues, and 75% of government income. Kuwait's climate limits agricultural development. Consequently, with the exception of fish, it depends almost wholly on food imports. About 75% of potable water must be distilled or imported. Higher oil prices put the FY99/00 budget into a $2 billion surplus. The FY00/01 budget covers only nine months because of a change in the fiscal year. The budget for FY01/02, which begins 1 April, contains higher expenditures for salaries, construction, and other general categories. Kuwait continues its discussions with foreign oil companies to develop fields in the northern part of the country. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 29.357 billion kWh (1999) | 5.849 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 639 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 815 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 31.567 billion kWh (1999) | 6.648 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Persian Gulf 0 m highest point: unnamed location 306 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Afadjato 880 m |
Environment - current issues | limited natural fresh water resources; some of world's largest and most sophisticated desalination facilities provide much of the water; air and water pollution; desertification | 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 |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Marine Dumping |
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 | Kuwaiti 45%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%, Iranian 4%, other 7% | 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) |
Exchange rates | Kuwaiti dinars per US dollar - 0.3057 (January 2001), 0.3067 (2000), 0.3044 (1999), 0.3047 (1998), 0.3033 (1997), 0.2994 (1996) | cedis per US dollar - 9,174.8 (2006), 9,072.5 (2005), 9,004.6 (2004), 8,677.4 (2003), 7,932.7 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Amir JABIR al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah (since 31 December 1977) head of government: Prime Minister and Crown Prince SAAD al-Abdallah al-Salim Al Sabah (since 8 February 1978); First Deputy Prime Minister SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah (since 17 October 1992); Deputy Prime Ministers JABIR MUBARAK al-Hamud Al Sabah (since NA) and MUHAMMAD KHALID al-Hamed Al Sabah (since NA) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister and approved by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the monarch |
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% |
Exports | $23.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | oil and refined products, fertilizers | gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore, diamonds |
Exports - partners | Japan 23%, US 12%, Singapore 8%, Netherlands 7% (1999) | Netherlands 11.3%, UK 8.7%, US 6.7%, Spain 5.7%, Belgium 5.2%, France 4.4% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a black trapezoid based on the hoist side | 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 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $29.3 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
0% industry: 55% services: 45% (1996) |
agriculture: 37.3%
industry: 25.3% services: 37.5% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $15,000 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2000 est.) | 6% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 30 N, 45 45 E | 8 00 N, 2 00 W |
Geography - note | strategic location at head of Persian Gulf | Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake |
Heliports | 3 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
4,450 km paved: 3,590 km unpaved: 860 km (1999 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2.2%
highest 10%: 30.1% (1999) |
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 | $7.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing | capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | US 15%, Japan 10%, UK 7%, Germany 7% (1999) | Nigeria 16.7%, China 13%, UK 5.7%, Belgium 4.7%, US 4.7%, South Africa 4.1%, France 4.1% (2006) |
Independence | 19 June 1961 (from UK) | 6 March 1957 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1% (1997 est.) | 3.8% (2000 est.) |
Industries | petroleum, petrochemicals, desalination, food processing, construction materials | mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food processing, cement, small commercial ship building |
Infant mortality rate | 11.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 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.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (2000) | 10.9% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, BDEAC, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 20 sq km (1993 est.) | 310 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | High Court of Appeal | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 1.3 million (1998 est.)
note: 68% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (July 1998 est.) |
11.07 million (2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture: 60%
industry: 15% services: 25% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
464 km border countries: Iraq 242 km, Saudi Arabia 222 km |
total: 2,094 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 549 km, Cote d'Ivoire 668 km, Togo 877 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 8% forests and woodland: 0% other: 92% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 17.54%
permanent crops: 9.22% other: 73.24% (2005) |
Languages | Arabic (official), English widely spoken | 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) |
Legal system | civil law system with Islamic law significant in personal matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-Umma (50 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 3 July 1999 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 50; note - all cabinet ministers are also ex officio members of the National Assembly |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
76.27 years male: 75.42 years female: 77.15 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 59.12 years
male: 58.31 years female: 59.95 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 78.6% male: 82.2% female: 74.9% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 57.9% male: 66.4% female: 49.8% (2000 census) |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia | Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Cote d'Ivoire and Togo |
Map references | Middle East | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea:
12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
45 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,461,072 GRT/3,966,645 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 6, container 6, liquefied gas 7, livestock carrier 5, petroleum tanker 20 (2000 est.) |
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) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police Force, National Guard, Coast Guard | Ghanaian Army, Ghanaian Navy, Ghanaian Air Force (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.9 billion (FY00/01) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 8.7% (FY00/01) | 0.8% (2006 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
780,559 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
466,521 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
18,309 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | National Day, 25 February (1950) | Independence Day, 6 March (1957) |
Nationality | noun:
Kuwaiti(s) adjective: Kuwaiti |
noun: Ghanaian(s)
adjective: Ghanaian |
Natural hazards | sudden cloudbursts are common from October to April; they bring inordinate amounts of rain which can damage roads and houses; sandstorms and dust storms occur throughout the year, but are most common between March and August | dry, dusty, northeastern harmattan winds occur from January to March; droughts |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas | gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish, rubber, hydropower, petroleum, silver, salt, limestone |
Net migration rate | 14.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 877 km; petroleum products 40 km; natural gas 165 km | oil 13 km; refined products 316 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | none; formation of political parties is illegal | 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] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | several political groups act as de facto parties: Bedouins, merchants, Sunni and Shi'a activists, and secular leftists and nationalists | NA |
Population | 2,041,961
note: includes 1,159,913 non-nationals (July 2001 est.) |
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.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 31.4% (1992 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.38% (2001 est.)
note: this rate reflects a return to pre-Gulf crisis immigration of expatriates |
1.972% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Ash Shu'aybah, Ash Shuwaykh, Kuwait, Mina' 'Abd Allah, Mina' al Ahmadi, Mina' Su'ud | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 11, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 0, FM 49, shortwave 3 (2001) |
Radios | 1.175 million (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 953 km
narrow gauge: 953 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Muslim 85% (Sunni 45%, Shi'a 40%), Christian, Hindu, Parsi, and other 15% | 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) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.77 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.81 male(s)/female total population: 1.51 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
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.) |
Suffrage | adult males who have been naturalized for 30 years or more or have resided in Kuwait since before 1920 and their male descendants at age 21
note: only 10% of all citizens are eligible to vote; in 1996, naturalized citizens who do not meet the pre-1920 qualification but have been naturalized for 30 years were eligible to vote for the first time |
18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
the quality of service is excellent domestic: new telephone exchanges provide a large capacity for new subscribers; trunk traffic is carried by microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, open wire, and fiber-optic cable; a cellular telephone system operates throughout Kuwait, and the country is well supplied with pay telephones international: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; linked to Bahrain, Qatar, UAE via the Fiber-Optic Gulf (FOG) cable; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean, 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean), and 2 Arabsat |
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 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 412,000 (1997) | 356,400 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 210,000 (1997) | 5.207 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 13 (plus several satellite channels) (1997) | 10 (2001) |
Terrain | flat to slightly undulating desert plain | mostly low plains with dissected plateau in south-central area |
Total fertility rate | 3.2 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.89 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 1.8% (official 1996 est.) | 20% (1997 est.) |
Waterways | none | 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) |