Overview: Supported by substantial international assistance, Ghana has been implementing a steady economic rebuilding program since 1983, including moves toward privatization and relaxation of government controls. The agriculture sector consists largely of small traditional farm holdings, rain-fed for the most part. Heavily dependent on cocoa, gold, and timber exports, economic growth so far has not spread substantially to other areas of the economy. The costs of sending peacekeeping forces to Liberia and preparing for the transition to a democratic government have boosted government expenditures and undercut structural adjustment reforms. Ghana opened a stock exchange in 1990 and plans to float 5% of its stake in Ashanti Goldfields Corporation, which would make the exchange the largest in sub-Saharan Africa outside of South Africa.

National product: GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $25 billion (1993 est.)

National product real growth rate: 3.9% (1992 est.)

National product per capita: $1,500 (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10% (1992)

Unemployment rate: 10% (1991)

Budget:
revenues: $1 billion
expenditures: $905 million, including capital expenditures of $200 million (1991 est.)

Exports: $1 billion (f.o.b., 1992)
commodities: cocoa 40%, gold, timber, tuna, bauxite, and aluminum
partners: Germany 31%, US 12%, UK 11%, Netherlands 6%, Japan 5% (1991)

Imports: $1.5 billion (c.i.f., 1992)
commodities: petroleum 16%, consumer goods, foods, intermediate goods, capital equipment
partners: UK 22%, US 11%, Germany 9%, Japan 6%

External debt: $4.6 billion (1992 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate in manufacturing (1992); accounts for almost 15% of GDP

Electricity:
capacity: 1,180,000 kW
production: 4.49 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 290 kWh (1991)

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

Agriculture: accounts for 43% of GDP (including fishing and forestry); the major cash crop is cocoa; other principal crops - rice, coffee, cassava, peanuts, corn, shea nuts, timber; normally self-sufficient in food

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the international drug trade; transit hub for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin destined for the US and Europe

Economic aid:
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $455 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $2.6 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $78 million; Communist countries (1970-89) $106 million

Currency: 1 new cedi (C) = 100 pesewas
Exchange rates: new cedis per US$1 - 713.00 (October 1993), 437.09 (1992), 367.83 (1991), 326.33 (1990), 270.00 (1989)

Fiscal year: calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Ghana on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Ghana Economy 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Ghana Economy 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.