BACKGROUND

• Ghana was formerly a British colony
• In 1957, Ghana became the first sub-Saharan country in colonial Africa to gain its independence
• For many years after independence, Ghana endured a series of coups, until Lt. Jerry Rawlings took power in 1981
• Rawlings was in power from 1981-2000; he was constitutionally prevented from running for a third term in 2000
• John Kufuour succeeded him, and remained  in power until 2008
• John Atta Mills succeeded Kufuour in 2009
• In July 2012, Mills died, and was succeeded by his vice president John Dramani Mahama, who later won a special presidential election in December of 2012

LOCATION

• Ghana is located in Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea
• It has a total area of 238,533 sq km, which is slightly smaller than Oregon

GOVERNMENT

• Government type: constitutional democracy
• Legal system: mixed system of English common law and customary law
• Political parties recognized: 11

POPULATION & SOCIETY

• Population (as of July 2013 estimates): 25,199,609
• Religions: Christian 71.2%, Muslim 17.6%, traditional 5.2%, other 0.8%, none 5.2%
• Birth rate: 31.7 births/1,000 population
• Death rate: 7.53 deaths/1,000 population
• Child labor: 34%
• Unemployment rate: 11%
• Population below poverty line: 28.5%

HEALTH

• Health expenditures: 4.8% of GDP
• Maternal mortality rate: 350 deaths/100,000 live births
• Infant mortality rate: 39.7/1,000 live births
• Life expectancy at birth: 65.32 years
• Physicians density: 0.085 physicians/1,000 population
• Hospital bed density: 0.9 beds/1,000 population
• HIV/AIDS (adult prevalence rate): 1.8%
• HIV/AIDS (people living with HIV/AIDS): 260,000
• HIV/AIDS (deaths): 18,000
• Food or waterborne disease: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, & typhoid fever
• Vectorborne diseases: malaria, dengue fever, and yellow fever
• Water contact disease: schistosomiasis
• Respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis
• Animal contact disease: rabies
• Children under the age of 5 underweight: 14.3%

ECONOMY

• Agriculture products: cocoa, rice, cassava, peanuts, corn, bananas, timber
• Industries: mining, lumbering ,light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food processing, cement, small commercial ship building

CURRENT ISSUES

• Disputed maritime border between Ghana and Cote d’lvoire
• Refugees and internally displaced persons: 5,156 (Liberia); 8,532 (Cote d’lvoire)

*References: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gh.html