Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a Governor-General. Prime minister : Peter O'Neill
Population
24,652,402
6,310,129
Life Expectancy
61.450 years
66.460 years
Capital City
Accra
Port Moresby
Largest city
Accra (population: 1,963,260)
Port Moresby (population: 283,733)
Human Development Index
0.533
0.516
GDP per capita
$3,100 US
$2,600 US
Literacy Rate
57.9%
57.3%
Corruption Perception Index
3.9
2
Percentage of Women in Parliament
10.9%
0.9%
Wealthiest Citizens
Unemployment Rate
11.000%
1.900%
Death Penalty
Abolished in practice
Abolished in practice
Political System
constitutional democracy
constitutional parliamentary democracy
Independence date
6 March 1957 (from UK)
16 September 1975 (from the Australian-administered UN trusteeship)
Religions
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)
Roman Catholic 27%, Evangelical Lutheran 19.5%, United Church 11.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 10%, Pentecostal 8.6%, Evangelical Alliance 5.2%, Anglican 3.2%, Baptist 2.5%, other Protestant 8.9%, Bahai 0.3%, indigenous beliefs and other 3.3% (2000 census)
Languages
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)
Melanesian Pidgin serves as the lingua franca, English spoken by 1%-2%, Motu spoken in Papua region note: 820 indigenous languages spoken (over one-tenth of the world's total)
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
kina (PGK) per US dollar - 2.6956 (2008 est.), 3.03 (2007), 3.0643 (2006), 3.08 (2005), 3.2225 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.700%
1.400%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
Location
Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Cote d'Ivoire and Togo
Oceania, group of islands including the eastern half of the island of New Guinea between the Coral Sea and the South Pacific Ocean, east of Indonesia
Area
238,533 km sq
462,840 km sq
Coastline
539 km
5,152 km
Climate
tropical; warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast; hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north
tropical; northwest monsoon (December to March), southeast monsoon (May to October); slight seasonal temperature variation
