Economy - overview Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has 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 40% of GDP and employs 60% of the work force, mainly small landholders. In 1995-97, Ghana made mixed progress under a three-year structural adjustment program in cooperation with the IMF. On the minus side, public sector wage increases and regional peacekeeping commitments have led to continued inflationary deficit financing, depreciation of the cedi, and rising public discontent with Ghana's austerity measures. A rebound in gold prices is likely to push growth over 5% in 2000-01.
GDP purchasing power parity - $35.5 billion (1999 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 4.3% (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $1,900 (1999 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture:40%
industry:30%
services:30% (1999 est.)
Population below poverty line 31.4% (1992 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%:3.4%
highest 10%:27.3% (1992)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 12.8% (1999 est.)
Labor force 4 million
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 60%, industry 15%, services 25% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate 20% (1997 est.)
Budget revenues:$1.39 billion
expenditures:$1.47 billion, including capital expenditures of $370 million (1996 est.)
Industries mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food processing
Industrial production growth rate 4.2% (1996 est.)
Electricity - production 6.206 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel:0.1%
hydro:99.9%
nuclear:0%
other:0% (1998)
Electricity - consumption 5.437 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - exports 400 million kWh (1998)
Electricity - imports 65 million kWh (1998)
Agriculture - products cocoa, rice, coffee, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, corn, shea nuts, bananas; timber
Exports $1.7 billion (f.o.b., 1999)
Exports - commodities gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore, diamonds
Exports - partners Togo, UK, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, US, France (1998)
Imports $2.5 billion (f.o.b., 1999)
Imports - commodities capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs
Imports - partners UK, Nigeria, US, Germany, Italy, Spain (1998)
Debt - external $6 billion (1998 est.)
Economic aid - recipient $477.3 million (1995)
Currency 1 new cedi (C) = 100 pesewas
Exchange rates new cedis per US$1 - 3,466.60 (December 1999), 2,647.32 (1999), 2,314.15 (1998), 2,050.17 (1997), 1,637.23 (1996), 1,200.43 (1995) |
