Ghana Economy 1997

Economy - overview Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has twice the per capitaoutput of the poorer countries in West Africa. Even so, Ghana remains heavilydependent on international financial and technical assistance. Ghana has made steady progress in liberalizing its economy since 1983. Overall growthcontinued at a rate of approximately 5% in 1995 and 1996, due largely to increasedgold, timber, and cocoa production - major sources of foreign exchange. Theeconomy, however, continues to revolve around subsistence agriculture, whichaccounts for almost half of GDP and employs 55% of the work force, mainlysmall landholders. In 1995-96, Ghana has made mixed progress under a three-yearstructural adjustment program in cooperation with the IMF. On the minus side,public sector wage increases, regional peacekeeping commitments, and the containmentof internal unrest in the underdeveloped north have led to continued inflationarydeficit financing, depreciation of the cedi, and rising public discontentwith Ghana's austerity program.

GDP purchasing power parity - $27 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate 5% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $1,530 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture : 46%
industry: 16%
services: 38% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index 36% (1996 est.)

Labor force
total: 3.7 million
by occupation: agriculture and fishing 54.7%, industry 18.7%, sales and clerical 15.2%,professional 3.7%, services, transportation, and communications 7.7%

Unemployment rate 10% (1993 est.)

Budget
revenues: $1.05 billion
expenditures: $1.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $178 million (1993)

Industries mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum, food processing

Industrial production growth rate 3.3% (1995 est.)

Electricity - capacity 1.19 million kW (1994)

Electricity - production 6.1 billion kWh (1994)

Electricity - consumption per capita 304 kWh (1995 est.)

Agriculture - products cocoa, rice, coffee, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, corn, shea nuts, bananas;timber

Exports
total value: $1.43 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
commodities: gold 39%, cocoa 31%, timber 6%, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore,and diamonds (1994 est.)
partners: UK, Germany, US, Togo, Netherlands, Japan

Imports
total value: $1.84 billion (c.i.f., 1995)
commodities: capital equipment, petroleum, consumer goods, foods, intermediate goods
partners : UK, Nigeria, US, Germany, Japan, Netherlands

Debt - external $5.2 billion (1996 est.)

Economic aid
recipient: ODA, $472 million (1993)

Currency 1 new cedi (C) = 100 pesewas

Exchange rates new cedis per US$1 - 1,718.31 (October 1996), 1,200.43 (1995), 956.71(1994), 649.06 (1993), 437.09 (1992)

Fiscal year calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Ghana on this page is re-published from the 1997 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Ghana Economy 1997 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Ghana Economy 1997 should be addressed to the CIA.