President: Francois Hollande Prime minister: Jean-Marc Ayrault
Interim President: John Dramani Mahama
Population
65,630,692
24,652,402
Life Expectancy
81.460 years
61.450 years
Capital City
Paris
Accra
Largest city
Paris (population: 2,138,550)
Accra (population: 1,963,260)
Human Development Index
0.955
0.533
GDP per capita
$35,600 US
$3,100 US
Literacy Rate
99%
57.9%
Corruption Perception Index
6.9
3.9
Percentage of Women in Parliament
19.6%
10.9%
Wealthiest Citizens
Bernard Arnault ($16.5bn US)
NA
Unemployment Rate
9.300%
11.000%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Abolished in practice
Political System
republic
constitutional democracy
Independence date
486 (Frankish tribes unified); 843 (Western Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire)
6 March 1957 (from UK)
Religions
Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4% overseas departments: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, pagan
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)
Languages
French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish) overseas departments: French, Creole patois
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)
Exports
machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6799 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
cedis (GHC) per US dollar - 1.1 (2008 est.), 0.95 (2007), 9,174.8 (2006), 9,072.5 (2005), 9,004.6 (2004) note: in 2007 Ghana revalued its currency with 10,000 old cedis equal to 1 new cedis
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
2.600%
1.700%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
40
0
Location
Western Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay and English Channel, between Belgium and Spain, southeast of the UK; bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Italy and Spain
Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Cote d'Ivoire and Togo
Area
643,801 km sq
238,533 km sq
Coastline
0 km
539 km
Climate
tropical; warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast; hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north
