Ghana

Geography

Economics

Demographics

Military

Politics

Surface

Surface (in square kilometers)

Surface (in square miles)

Surface (water)

Water Surface (in square kilometers)

Water Surface (in square miles)

Share of water (%)

Temperature

Average temperature (in Celcius)

Average temperature (in Farenheit)

Average high temperature (in Celcius)

Average high temperature (in Farenheit)

Average low temperature (in Celcius)

Average low temperature (in Farenheit)

Rainfall

Average rainfall (mm)

Average rainfall (inch)

Distance to other capitals (kilometers)

Distance to other capitals (miles)

Proximity

Economic organizations

Gross Domestic Product (US$)

Gross Domestic Product per capita

Amount of memberships (economic organizations)

Absolute earnings for every 1$

Relative earnings

GDP in PPP per capita (in US$)

GDP in PPP per capita

Gross Domestic product (in million US$)

GDP per capita (in US$)

Surface GDP

GDP per square kilometer (in US$)

GDP per square mile(in US$)

Relative GDP in PPP

Population

Population density

Emigration

Immigration

Literacy

Health

Population density (in km2)

Population density (in mi2)

Religion

Christianity (share of the total population)

Islam (share of the total population)

Buddhism (share of the total population)

Hinduism (share of the total population)

Judaism (share of the total population)

Other religions (share of the total population)

Non-religious (share of the total population)

Military spending (in % of GDP)

Military spending

The military of Ghana has a total budget of US$233 million which represents 0.35 percent of its GDP and makes Ghana the 118th highest military spender in the world.

The military of Ghana, called the Ghana Armed Forces consists of a Navy an Air force and ground forces and is headed by the president of Ghana. Most of its equipment comes from the cold war era and is being slowly replenished by the equipment from Russia China and Iran.

Military membership

Ghana is a member of five international military organizations which makes it the 69th most militarily interconnected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
International Atomic Energy Agency
Non-Aligned Movement

Military membership

International wars

Ghana has partaken in six international wars. These are:

Ashanti–Fante War 1806-1807
First Anglo-Ashanti War 1813-1831
Second Anglo-Ashanti War 1863-1864
Third Anglo-Ashanti War 1873-1874
Fourth Anglo-Ashanti War 1895-1896
War of the Golden Stool 1900-1900

Number of international wars fought

Military spending (in US$ million)

Membership (international political organizations)

Ghana is a member of 12 international political organizations which makes it the 83rd most connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Member state of the United Nations
International Labour Organization
Asian–African Legal Consultative Organization
African Union
Commonwealth of Nations
International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property
International Criminal Court
Interpol
Association of World Election Bodies

Political Membership

Democracy/dictatorship rating

Because of the political stability as well as free and fair elections, Ghana is considered to be the 52nd most democratic state in the world.

Democracy/Dictatorship

After political reform and a revised constitution in 1993, Ghana has entered a period of political stability. This is largely due to the decentralization of power from the president of Ghana to the parliament, regular elections and the separation of power between its executive and judicial branch.

International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance
South Centre (organization)
World Organization for Animal Health

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If you want to know more about other states, click on the flag on the right to discover Greece.

With its name translating to strong warrior king, Ghana has been inhabited for more than 12,000 years. During the 13th century, the kingdom of Ghana stretched from Senegal to Mali. However, this kingdom was slowly overtaken by the Ashanti people which came in contact with Portuguese merchants in 1470. After frequent contact with traders from other states such as the Netherlands and Sweden, the British took control of the area at the start of the 19th century. During this period, the British as well as other settlers faced fierce resistance from the native population. In 1956, Ghana proclaimed its independence. Since then, several military coups and Junta's have taken place and civil unrest surrounding the elections have ensued. This has negatively affected Ghana's economy which only saw an upturn at the turn of the century. .

The terrain of Ghana consists of a low-lying Valley that is surrounded by low lying mountains and a flat coastal area to the south. Its landscape lightly forested and savanna like landscape to the north where it borders Burkina Faso to a densely forested area to the south where it is connected to the Atlantic Ocean. To the east it borders Togo and to the west it borders Ivory Coast.

Ghana is the 80th largest state in the world with a total surface area of 239,726 square kilometers or 92,558 square miles. This makes Ghana slightly smaller than Uganda and slightly larger than Romania.

With 11,055 square kilometers or 4221 square miles, Ghana is the 45th state with the largest amount of surface water.

Below, a graph is shown which displays the absolute amount of water of each state in square kilometers and square miles.

There are several rivers that go throughout Ghana with the Volta River being the largest. About 4.63 percent of its surface is made up of water which is mainly represented by Lake Volta.

The climate of Ghana is characterized as a tropical climate and only knows one rain season which spans from May to September. The average temperature is 27 degrees Celsius or 80.5 degrees Fahrenheit which makes Ghana the 16th warmest state in the world.

The average high temperature is around 29.1 degrees Celsius or 84.4 degrees Fahrenheit and mainly occurs during the rainy season.

During the dry season, the average temperature drops down to 24.5 degrees Celsius or 76.1 degrees Fahrenheit. This mainly occurs between October to March.

Ghana receives around 118 centimetres or 46 inches of rainfall per year this makes Ghana the 77th highest state in the world.

The capital of Ghana, Accra, is a home to around 2 million people. The capital that is closest located to Accra is Lome Togo with a distance of 161 kilometers or 100 miles. The capital that is furthest removed from Accra is Funafuti Tuvalu with a distance of 19,686 kilometers or 12,232 miles.

A large part of the economy of Ghana is reliant on the export of agricultural products. Because of its warm climate as well as its fertile lands, Ghana is the largest cocoa exporter in the world. Other sources of income are the gold mining industry. A new source of income is the oil industry which started 10 years ago and has slowly started to represent a larger share of Ghana's GDP. Most of its goods are exported to China, India, Switzerland and South Africa which combined make up 55 percent of total exports. A large share of its imports comes from China which is solely responsible for nearly 20 percent of total imports.

Ghana is a member of 14 international economic organizations which makes it the 62nd most economically interconnected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Alliance for Financial Inclusion
African development Bank
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
International Monetary Fund
World Bank Group
World Customs Organization
World Trade Organization
International Bamboo and Rattan Organization
Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States
Economic Community of West African States
International Renewable Energy Agency
International Solar Alliance

Group of 77
Group of 24

The GDP of Ghana is around US$100 billion which makes it the 64th largest in the world representing around 0.121 percent total global GDP.

Its GDP per surface area is the 102nd largest in the world with US$421,738 per square kilometer or US$1,092,297 per square mile.

Its GDP per capita is estimated to be US$2781 which makes it the 137th highest.

The absolute earnings (GDP per capita) reflect the average yearly income. The figure below shows how much, on average, an inhabitant of another state earns for every $1 earned by a citizen of this state.

Its purchasing power is estimated to be US$5320 which makes it the 141st highest.

The relative Gross Domestic Product in Purchasing Power Parity compares the purchasing power of this state with that of the rest of the world. The graph on the left shows how much purchasing power of 1$ compared to the purchasing power of other states

English is the official language within Ghana and is mainly used for intertribal communication. Ashante and Ewe are the largest spoken languages within Ghana, but only represent 30 percent combined. Ghana is ranked as the 46th most populous state with a total population of 29,717,000 people.

It has the 67th highest population density in the world which is 124 people per square kilometer or 320 people per square mile.

Around 3.2 percent of the population, or just over 950,000 people have migrated from Ghana to other states which represents 0.386 percent of total global migration. the main reason for migration was economic which has had a severe impact on the availability of high skilled workers within Ghana, especially the medical sector. The most popular destinations for migration were Nigeria, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Immigration to Ghana has been limited with around 1.31 percent of the population, or just under 400,000 people that have migrated to Ghana, Ghana is the 70th highest state in terms of immigrants. Immigration to Ghana is discouraged and largely tolerated by local officials in return for bribes. Around 99 percent of all immigrants come from West Africa with the largest share originating from Nigeria.

With a literacy rate of 77.1 percent, Ghana is the 149th most literate state in the world. Before colonization, there were no official educational institutions. However, during colonization, the educational system was mainly focused on local elites. Until the end of the 20th century, several educational systems were erected but did not succeed in increasing the literacy rate. This is mainly due to political instability that has ensued throughout Ghana’s history. At the start of the 21st century, the creation of literacy centres throughout Ghana has a positive effect on the literacy rate and it has been increasing ever since.

Since its independence, healthcare has been improved slightly. Currently, the largest causes of death are related to environmental issues such as contaminated water due to a lack of water and wastewater treatment plants as well as the prevalence of malaria. Another health care issue is the prevalence of HIV AIDS which is currently present in three percent of the population. Other communicable diseases are also present in Ghana and play a medium role in the overall health. On average, the life expectancy in Ghana is 65 years with women reaching 66.1 years and men reaching 63.8 years. This ranks Ghana as the 141st highest life expectancy in the world.

The government of Ghana provides freedom of religion to all registered religions. However, there has been a small infringement in this freedom of religion due to a law that was passed at the end of the 20th century. In this law, the government of Ghana reserves the right to inspects religious institutions in order to prevent fraud and abuse of religious people. Presently, there are no religious institutions banned from practicing their religion.

With 74.3 percent of the population adhering to Christianity, Ghana is the 74th most Christian state in the world. The largest denominations are Catholics, Presbyterians, latter-day Saints and Methodists.

On the right, the global share of Christians per state is displayed

Islam is the second largest religion in Ghana and has been present since the 10th century as a result of commercial activities between Arab traders and the local population. The Islamic holidays such as Ramadan and the Odwira Festival are recognized as official holidays by the state. Presently, around 17.2 percent of the population adheres to Islam, mainly the Maliki school. This makes Ghana the 63rd most Islamic state in the world.

Buddhism is practiced by 0.23 percent of the population. This has been a more recent religion in Ghana with the first Temple opened at the end of the 20th century.

Hinduism, which is practiced by 0.05 percent of the population, is considered to be the fastest growing religion in Ghana. Most Hindus came in the form of migrants from India in the second half of the 20th century. During the second half of the 20th century, Hindus were actively converting the local people and has grown ever since.

Judaism is practiced by less than 0.03 percent of the population. There is a small Jewish community living in the south of Ghana that practice Judaism.

Other religions make up 3.41 percent of the population these are mainly traditional African religions which is based on cosmology and the Rastafari movement which believes that the first Ethiopian king is the reincarnation of Jesus Christ.

Irreligion is represented by 2.81 percent of the population. However, this number is estimated to be much higher due to a social pressure to be religious.