West Bank (2001) | Ghana (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 10 regions; Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, Western |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
44.61% (male 478,232; female 454,439) 15-64 years: 51.8% (male 552,661; female 530,230) 65 years and over: 3.59% (male 32,629; female 42,522) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 38.9% (male 4,021,570; female 3,938,454)
15-64 years: 57.5% (male 5,859,940; female 5,909,910) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 350,045; female 387,828) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products | cocoa, rice, coffee, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, corn, shea nuts, bananas; timber |
Airports | 3 (2000 est.) | 12 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 7
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Area | total:
5,860 sq km land: 5,640 sq km water: 220 sq km note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967 |
total: 239,460 sq km
land: 230,940 sq km water: 8,520 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Delaware | slightly smaller than Oregon |
Background | The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, which includes the Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as part of interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the transitional period for external security and for internal security and public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Permanent status is to be determined through direct negotiations, which resumed in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus. An intifadah broke out in September 2000; the resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's military response, and instability in the Palestinian Authority are undermining progress toward a permanent settlement. | Formed from the merger of the British colony of the Gold Coast and the Togoland trust territory, Ghana in 1957 became the first country in colonial Africa to gain its independence. A long series of coups resulted in the suspension of the constitution in 1981 and the banning of 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. He was succeeded by John KUFUOR, who defeated former Vice President Atta MILLS in a free and fair election. |
Birth rate | 35.83 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 25.84 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.6 billion expenditures: $1.73 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.) |
revenues: $1.603 billion
expenditures: $1.975 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | - | Accra |
Climate | temperate, temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters | tropical; warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast; hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 539 km |
Constitution | - | approved 28 April 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: West Bank |
conventional long form: Republic of Ghana
conventional short form: Ghana former: Gold Coast |
Currency | new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD) | cedi (GHC) |
Death rate | 4.37 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.53 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $108 million (includes Gaza Strip) (1997 est.) | $7.2 billion (2002 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | chief of mission: Ambassador Mary Carlin YATES
embassy: 6th and 10th Lanes, 798/1 Osu, Accra mailing address: P. O. Box 194, Accra telephone: [233] (21) 775-347, 775-348 FAX: [233] (21) 701-813 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | - | chief of mission: Ambassador Alan J. KYEREMATEN
chancery: 3512 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 686-4520 FAX: [1] (202) 686-4527 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation | Ghana has received many refugees and returning nationals escaping rebel fighting in Cote d'Ivoire |
Economic aid - recipient | $121 million disbursed (includes Gaza Strip) (2000) | $6.9 billion (1999) |
Economy - overview | Economic output in the West Bank is governed by the Paris Economic Protocol of April 1994 between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Real per capita GDP for the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS) declined by 36.1% between 1992 and 1996 owing to the combined effect of falling aggregate incomes and rapid population growth. The downturn in economic activity was largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted established labor and commodity market relationships between Israel and the WBGS. The most serious social effect of this downturn was rising unemployment; unemployment in the WBGS during the 1980s was generally under 5%; by 1995 it had risen to over 20%. Since 1997 Israel's use of comprehensive closures has decreased and, in 1998, Israel implemented new policies to reduce the impact of closures and other security procedures on the movement of Palestinian goods and labor. These changes fueled an almost three-year long economic recovery in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; real GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6% in 1999. Recovery was upended in the last quarter of 2000 with the outbreak of Palestinian violence, which triggered tight Israeli closures of Palestinian self-rule areas and a severe disruption of trade and labor movements. | Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has roughly twice the per capita output of the poorer 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 36% 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. Policy priorities include tighter monetary and fiscal policies, accelerated privatization, and improvement of social services. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 8.835 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | - | 300 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | NA kWh | 950 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; at the same time, some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants | 8.801 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
fossil fuel: 5%
hydro: 95% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Afadjato 880 m |
Environment - current issues | adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment | 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17% | black African 98.5% (major tribes - Akan 44%, Moshi-Dagomba 16%, Ewe 13%, Ga 8%, Gurma 3%, Yoruba 1%), European and other 1.5% (1998) |
Exchange rates | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.0810 (December 2000), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997), 3.1917 (1996); Jordanian dinars per US dollar - fixed rate of 0.7090 (from 1996) | cedis per US dollar - NA (2002), 7,170.76 (2001), 5,455.06 (2000), 2,669.3 (1999), 2,314.15 (1998) |
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); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government 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; election last held 7 and 28 December 2000 (next to be held NA December 2004) election results: John Agyekum KUFUOR elected president in runoff election; percent of vote - John KUFUOR 56.4%, John Atta MILLS 43.6% |
Exports | $682 million (includes Gaza Strip) (f.o.b., 1998 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone | gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore, diamonds |
Exports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip | Netherlands 14.8%, UK 9.9%, US 7%, Germany 6.6%, France 5.8%, Nigeria 4.8%, Belgium 4.4%, Italy 4.2% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year (since 1 January 1992) | 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 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $3.1 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $41.25 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
9% industry: 28% services: 63% note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 36%
industry: 25% services: 39% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,000 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -7.5% (2000 est.) | 4.5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 32 00 N, 35 15 E | 8 00 N, 2 00 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 231 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank and 29 in East Jerusalem (August 1999 est.) | Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake |
Highways | total:
4,500 km paved: 2,700 km unpaved: 1,800 km (1997 est.) note: Israelis have developed many highways to service Jewish settlements |
total: 39,409 km
paved: 11,665 km unpaved: 27,744 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 corruption have made money laundering a problem, but the lack of a well-developed financial infrastructure limits the country's utility as a money-laundering center |
Imports | $2.5 billion (includes Gaza Strip) (c.i.f., 1998 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food, consumer goods, construction materials | capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip | Nigeria 21.3%, UK 7.2%, US 6.6%, China 6.2%, Italy 6.1%, Cote d'Ivoire 6.1%, Germany 4.7%, Netherlands 4% (2002) |
Independence | - | 6 March 1957 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 3.8% (2000 est.) |
Industries | generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers | mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food processing |
Infant mortality rate | 21.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 53.02 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 55.97 deaths/1,000 live births female: 49.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (includes Gaza Strip) (2000 est.) | 14.5% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | - | ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, C, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OAU, OPCW, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 8 (1999) | 12 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 110 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court |
Labor force | NA | 9 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 66%, industry 21%, agriculture 13% (1996) | agriculture 60%, industry 15%, services 25% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
404 km border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km |
total: 2,094 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 549 km, Cote d'Ivoire 668 km, Togo 877 km |
Land use | arable land:
27% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 32% forests and woodland: 1% other: 40% |
arable land: 15.82%
permanent crops: 7.47% other: 76.71% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) | English (official), African languages (including Akan, Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga) |
Legal system | - | based on English common law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | - | unicameral Parliament (200 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 7 December 2000 (next to be held NA December 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NPP 100, NDC 92, PNC 3, CPP 1, independents 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
72.28 years male: 70.58 years female: 74.07 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 56.53 years
male: 55.66 years female: 57.43 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 74.8% male: 82.7% female: 67.1% (2003 est.) |
Location | Middle East, west of Jordan | Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Cote d'Ivoire and Togo |
Map references | Middle East | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total: 9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 20,559 GRT/27,531 DWT
ships by type: petroleum tanker 3, refrigerated cargo 6 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Brazil 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Spain 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | NA | Army, Navy, Air Force, National Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $36.01 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 0.6% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 5,240,557 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 2,911,474 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 239,742 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | - | Independence Day, 6 March (1957) |
Nationality | noun:
NA adjective: NA |
noun: Ghanaian(s)
adjective: Ghanaian |
Natural hazards | droughts | dry, dusty, northeastern harmattan winds occur from January to March; droughts |
Natural resources | arable land | gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish, rubber, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 3.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
People - note | - | there are 9,500 Liberians, 2,000 Sierra Leoneans, and 1,000 Togolese refugees residing in Ghana (2002) |
Pipelines | - | refined products 74 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | - | Convention People's Party or CPP [Nii Noi DOWUONA, general secretary]; Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere or EGLE [Owuraku AMOFA, chairman]; Great Consolidated Popular Party or GCPP [Dan LARTY]; National Convention Party or NCP [Sarpong KUMA-KUMA]; National Democratic Congress or NDC [Dr. Huudu YAHAYA, general secretary]; New Patriotic Party or NPP [Samuel Arthur ODOI-SYKES]; People's Convention Party or PCP [P. K. DONKOH-AYIFI, acting chairman]; People's Heritage Party or PHP [Emmanuel Alexander ERSKINE]; People's National Convention or PNC [Edward MAHAMA]; Reform Party [Kyeretwie OPUKU, general secretary] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | 2,090,713 (July 2001 est.)
note: in addition, there are some 176,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and about 173,000 in East Jerusalem (August 1999 est.) |
20,467,747
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 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 31.4% (1992 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.48% (2001 est.) | 1.45% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Takoradi, Tema |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0
note: the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts from an AM station in Ramallah on 675 kHz; numerous local, private stations are reported to be in operation (2000) |
AM 0, FM 49, shortwave 3 (2001) |
Radios | NA; note - most Palestinian households have radios (1999) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 953 km
narrow gauge: 953 km 1.067-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8% | indigenous beliefs 21%, Muslim 16%, Christian 63% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: NA note: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for communication services in the West Bank |
general assessment: poor to fair system; Internet accessible; many rural communities not yet connected; expansion of services is underway
domestic: primarily microwave radio relay; wireless local loop has been installed international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); microwave radio relay link to Panaftel system connects Ghana to its neighbors |
Telephones - main lines in use | 95,729 (total for West Bank and Gaza Strip) (1997) | 240,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 150,000 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 10 (2001) |
Terrain | mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east | mostly low plains with dissected plateau in south-central area |
Total fertility rate | 4.9 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.32 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 40% (includes Gaza Strip) (yearend 2000) | 20% (1997 est.) |
Waterways | none | 1,293 km
note: Volta, Ankobra, and Tano Rivers provide 168 km of perennial navigation for launches and lighters; Lake Volta provides 1,125 km of arterial and feeder waterways |