introduction to ghana

Ghana is located in Western Africa on the Gulf of Guinea and has a population of more than 23 million people.  Ghana has a total geographic area of 92,000 sq. miles, approximately the size of the U.S. states of Illinois and Indiana combined.

Ghana is a stable, independent constitutional democracy.  Ghana’s political rights, civil liberties and freedom of press are not only among the best in Africa but are comparable
to those in western countries.English is the official and commercial language of Ghana
and is taught in all schools.  Ghana has a literacy rate over 57%.The principal religions
are Christianity, Islam and African traditional.

Today, Ghana is one of the best-performing economies in Africa. Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has roughly twice the per capita output of the poorest countries in West Africa.  Over the last 20 years, economic stability and growth have increasingly taken hold. Real GDP growth averaged 5% over 1983-2006. Inflation and interest rates have declined steadily, particularly over the last decade. Ghana's poverty rate has also come down markedly, from 51.7% in 1991 to 28.5% in 2005/2006. Ghana is on track to meet the Millennium Development goal of halving extreme poverty by 2008, well ahead
of the 2015 target.

Ghana enjoys excellent foreign relations, with particularly close ties to the U.S., European and African nations. The United States is among Ghana's principal trading partners. Major U.S. companies operating in the country include ACS, Coca Cola, S.C. Johnson, Ralston Purina, Star-Kist, Pfizer, IBM, 3M and Motorola.