Palau (2001) | Ghana (2007) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 18 states; Aimeliik, Airai, Angaur, Hatobohei, Kayangel, Koror, Melekeok, Ngaraard, Ngarchelong, Ngardmau, Ngatpang, Ngchesar, Ngeremlengui, Ngiwal, Palau Island, Peleliu, Sonsoral, Tobi | 10 regions; Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, Western |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
26.88% (male 2,641; female 2,491) 15-64 years: 68.46% (male 7,128; female 5,943) 65 years and over: 4.66% (male 420; female 469) (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 | coconuts, copra, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes | cocoa, rice, coffee, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, corn, shea nuts, bananas; timber |
Airports | 3 (2000 est.) | 12 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (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:
2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
Area | total:
458 sq km land: 458 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 239,460 sq km
land: 230,940 sq km water: 8,520 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Oregon |
Background | After three decades as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific under US administration, this westernmost cluster of the Caroline Islands opted for independent status in 1978 rather than join the Federated States of Micronesia. A Compact of Free Association with the US was approved in 1986, but not ratified until 1993. It entered into force the following year when the islands gained their independence. | 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 | 19.64 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 29.85 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$57.7 million expenditures: $80.8 million, including capital expenditures of $17.1 million (FY98/99 est.) |
revenues: $3.457 billion
expenditures: $4.323 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | Koror; note - a new capital is being built about 20 km northeast of Koror | name: Accra
geographic coordinates: 5 33 N, 0 13 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | wet season May to November; hot and humid | tropical; warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast; hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north |
Coastline | 1,519 km | 539 km |
Constitution | 1 January 1981 | approved 28 April 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Palau conventional short form: Palau local long form: Beluu er a Belau local short form: Belau former: Palau District (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) |
conventional long form: Republic of Ghana
conventional short form: Ghana former: Gold Coast |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | - |
Death rate | 7.23 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.55 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $0 (FY99/00) | $3.319 billion (2006 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
the Ambassador to the Philippines is accredited to Palau; Charge d'Affaires Allen E. NUGENT embassy: address NA, Koror mailing address: P. O. Box 6028, Republic of Palau 96940 telephone: [680] 488-2920, 2990 FAX: [680] 488-2911 |
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 Hersey KYOTA chancery: 1150 18th Street NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 452-6814 FAX: [1] (202) 452-6281 |
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 | none | Ghana struggles to accommodate returning nationals who worked in the cocoa plantations and escaped fighting in Cote d'Ivoire |
Economic aid - recipient | $155.8 million (1995); note - the Compact of Free Association with the US, entered into after the end of the UN trusteeship on 1 October 1994, will provide Palau with up to $700 million in US aid over 15 years in return for furnishing military facilities | $1.12 billion (2005) |
Economy - overview | The economy consists primarily of subsistence agriculture and fishing. The government is the major employer of the work force, relying heavily on financial assistance from the US. The population enjoys a per capita income of twice that of the Philippines and much of Micronesia. Long-run prospects for the tourist sector have been greatly bolstered by the expansion of air travel in the Pacific and the rising prosperity of leading East Asian countries. | 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 | - | 5.849 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | - | 639 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | - | 815 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | - | 6.648 billion kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Ngerchelchauus 242 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Afadjato 880 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate facilities for disposal of solid waste; threats to the marine ecosystem from sand and coral dredging, illegal fishing practices, and overfishing | 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:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Palauan (Micronesian with Malayan and Melanesian admixtures) 70%, Asian (mainly Filipinos, followed by Chinese, Taiwanese, and Vietnamese) 28%, white 2% (2000 est.) | 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 | the US dollar is used | 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:
President Tommy Esang REMENGESAU Jr. (since 19 January 2001) and Vice President Sandra PIERANTOZZI (since 19 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Tommy Esang REMENGESAU Jr. (since 19 January 2001) and Vice President Sandra PIERANTOZZI (since 19 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet elections: president and vice president elected on separate tickets by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: Tommy Esang REMENGESAU Jr. elected president; percent of vote - Tommy Esang REMENGESAU Jr. 53%, Peter SUGIYAMA 46%; Sandra PIERANTOZZI elected vice president; percent of vote - Sandra PIERANTOZZI 52%, Alan SEID 45% |
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 | $14.3 million (f.o.b., 1996) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | trochus (type of shellfish), tuna, copra, handicrafts | gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore, diamonds |
Exports - partners | US, Japan | Netherlands 11.3%, UK 8.7%, US 6.7%, Spain 5.7%, Belgium 5.2%, France 4.4% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
Flag description | light blue with a large yellow disk (representing the moon) shifted slightly to 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 - $129 million (1998 est.)
note: GDP numbers reflect US spending |
- |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 37.3%
industry: 25.3% services: 37.5% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,100 (1998 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | -1.4% (1998 est.) | 6% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 7 30 N, 134 30 E | 8 00 N, 2 00 W |
Geography - note | includes World War II battleground of Beliliou (Peleliu) and world-famous rock islands; archipelago of six island groups totaling over 200 islands in the Caroline chain | Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake |
Highways | total:
61 km paved: 36 km unpaved: 25 km |
- |
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 | $126 million (f.o.b., FY99/00) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, fuels, metals; foodstuffs | capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | US | Nigeria 16.7%, China 13%, UK 5.7%, Belgium 4.7%, US 4.7%, South Africa 4.1%, France 4.1% (2006) |
Independence | 1 October 1994 (from the US-administered UN Trusteeship) | 6 March 1957 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 3.8% (2000 est.) |
Industries | tourism, craft items (from shell, wood, pearls), construction, garment making | mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food processing, cement, small commercial ship building |
Infant mortality rate | 16.67 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) | NA% | 10.9% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, IOC, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO | 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) | NA | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 310 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; National Court; Court of Common Pleas | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 8,300 (1999) | 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 | 0 km | total: 2,094 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 549 km, Cote d'Ivoire 668 km, Togo 877 km |
Land use | arable land:
NA% permanent crops: NA% permanent pastures: NA% forests and woodland: NA% other: NA% |
arable land: 17.54%
permanent crops: 9.22% other: 73.24% (2005) |
Languages | English and Palauan official in all states except Sonsoral (Sonsorolese and English are official), Tobi (Tobi and English are official), and Angaur (Angaur, Japanese, and English are official) | 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 | based on Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws | based on English common law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament or Olbiil Era Kelulau (OEK) consists of the Senate (16 seats; members elected by popular vote on a population basis to serve four-year terms) and the House of Delegates (16 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004); House of Delegates - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; House of Delegates - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA |
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:
68.89 years male: 65.77 years female: 72.19 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: 92% male: 93% female: 90% (1980 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 57.9% male: 66.4% female: 49.8% (2000 census) |
Location | Oceania, group of islands in the North Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Philippines | Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Cote d'Ivoire and Togo |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive fishing zone: 12 NM extended fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 3 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | none (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 - note | defense is the responsibility of the US; under a Compact of Free Association between Palau and the US, the US military is granted access to the islands for 50 years | - |
Military branches | NA | Ghanaian Army, Ghanaian Navy, Ghanaian Air Force (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 0.8% (2006 est.) |
National holiday | Constitution Day, 9 July (1979) | Independence Day, 6 March (1957) |
Nationality | noun:
Palauan(s) adjective: Palauan |
noun: Ghanaian(s)
adjective: Ghanaian |
Natural hazards | typhoons (June to December) | dry, dusty, northeastern harmattan winds occur from January to March; droughts |
Natural resources | forests, minerals (especially gold), marine products, deep-seabed minerals | gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish, rubber, hydropower, petroleum, silver, salt, limestone |
Net migration rate | 4.45 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | oil 13 km; refined products 316 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | Palau Nationalist Party [Johnson TORIBIONG]; Ta Belau Party [Kuniwo NAKAMURA] | 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 | NA | NA |
Population | 19,092 (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 | 1.69% (2001 est.) | 1.972% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Koror | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 0, FM 49, shortwave 3 (2001) |
Radios | 12,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 953 km
narrow gauge: 953 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Christian (Catholics, Seventh-Day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, the Assembly of God, the Liebenzell Mission, and Latter-Day Saints), Modekngei religion (one-third of the population observes this religion which is indigenous to Palau) | 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:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.2 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 1.14 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 | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
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 | 1,500 (1988) | 356,400 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1988) | 5.207 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 10 (2001) |
Terrain | varying geologically from the high, mountainous main island of Babelthuap to low, coral islands usually fringed by large barrier reefs | mostly low plains with dissected plateau in south-central area |
Total fertility rate | 2.47 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.89 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2.3% (2000 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) |