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Ghana at a Glance
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Fact Sheets

     

COUNTRY BRIEF

The Country

Republic of Ghana

Capital City

Accra

Commercial Language

English

Currency

The Cedi

Exchange rate

US$1-9,000 cedis (July 2005)

Minimum wage

Cedi, 11,200/day (April 2004)

Population

20M (2006)

Local Time

Local time is the same as Greenwich Mean Time [ GMT ]

Business Hours

Business Hours are as follows: 08:00 to 12:00 hours 13:00 to 17:00 hours

Coastline

540km

Climate

Tropical, Generally 21-32C Rainy Seasons, March-July, Sept-Oct

GOVERNMENT

Type

Constitutional Democracy

Executive

President, Cabinet

President

H.E. John Agyekum Kufuor

Legislature

Unicameral Parliament

Constitution

Approved, 28 th April 1992

Judicial Branch

Supreme Court

Legal System

Based on English common law and customary law

ECONOMY (2003)

GDP Per Capital

US$420

Real GDP Growth

5.2%

Inflation (end of September 2006)

9.2%

Domestic Primary Balance Surplus

Equivalent to 2.5% of GDP

External Debt

 

Total Revenue (Including grants)

 

Total Expenditure

 

Gross Foreign Exchange Reserves

USD1,425 million i.e. 3.9 month of imports

Sovereign Credit Rating (Standard and Poors)

B+

Ghana Stock Exchange

 

TRADE

Exports ( FOB )

US$2,297.2 million

Imports ( FOB )

US$2,969.4 million

Major Exports

Cocoa, Minerals (gold, diamond, manganes, etc) Timber and wood products, aluminium products, pineapples, tuna prepared or preserved fish

Major Imports

Plant, machinery and spare parts petroleum products, raw materials and other intermediate goods

Major Exports Destinations

United Kingdom, Switzerland, Italy, Togo, Netherlands, USA, Germany, Japan and Nigeria

Major Import Origins

Nigeria, United Kingdom, Cote D'Ivoire, USA, Germany, Netherlands, Japan, South Africa and Italy

 

 

FACTS ON GHANA

 

•  Second largest producer of gold in Africa

•  Second largest producer of cocoa in the world

•  Second largest exporter of wood and wood products & third largest producer of timber in Africa

•  Home of some 33 historic forts, castles and monuments

•  First black African colony to achieve political independence from British rule

•  Well managed forests, with 252 permanent reserves in the rain forest zone alone

•  Home of the 8,480 km2 Volta Lake, arguably the largest artificial lake in the world

 

WHY INVEST IN GHANA

 

•  A stable multi-party political environment

•  Economic stability

•  A fully liberalized economy

•  Ongoing divestiture of state enterprises programme which underscores Ghana's commitment to private sector initiatives

•  An abundant and rich natural and minieral resource base

•  Gateway to Economic Community of West African States' [ECOWAS] market of some 240 million people

•  Strategic location in terms of subregional, regional and international trade and commerce with excellent sea and air connections, with daily flights to Europe & USA

•  Existence of one of the best-trained, trainable and stable workforce in Africa

•  Competitive labour cost

•  Operational Capital Market

•  Rated among the top six countries in Africa in terms of progress in improving the business environment in 2000-2003 by UNCTAD/ICC

•  Rated among the top six countries in
Africa in terms of attractiveness for FDI in 2000-2003 by UNCTAD/ICC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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