Life in Africa and Ghana

By Prof. Dr. Emmanuel Boon

AFRICA 2nd Largest continent (30 million km2)

2nd most populated continent (almost 15% of world population

Large natural resource base

Most undeveloped continent in the world:

Years of slave trade and colonialism

War and bad governance

Mismanagement of Natural Resources

AIDS

Dark Continent

THE AFRICA OF THE PAST

Increasingly democratic

The rate of return on foreign investment

is higher than in any other region.

Telcom, banking, retailing and construction are flourishing.

A CONTINENT ON THE RISE

• Africa’s collective GDP, at $1.6 trillion in 2008, is roughly equal to Brazil’s or Russia’s

GHANA

Political independence in 1957

Founding member of the OAU and ECOWAS,

member of UN and other int’l bodies

Land size of almost 240,000 km2

Geographically closer to the "centre" of the world than any other country.

• 1874 - British established the Gold Coast Crown colony.

• Trade with Europe (Portuguese) began in the 15th century

Political situation

Ghana is divided into 10 administrative regions, subdivided into a total of 170 districts

Legal system based on British common law, customary (traditional) law, and the 1992 constitution

Placed 118 among countries on the 2011 Failed States Index

Two major political parties

1992, 1996 2008 2004, 2008

Constitutional Democracy (4th Republic)

Ghana is an ethnically diverse country comprising over 60 ethnic groups

52 major languages and hundreds of dialects are spoken in Ghana, official language is English

Major religions are Christianity, Islam and Traditional African Religion

The celebration of festivals in Ghana is an essential part of Ghanaian culture.

CULTURAL DYNAMICS

PANAFEST (an international festival held very summer celebrating African roots)

Education and Human Resource Development

Ghana has a population of about 24 million

Population Growth Rate 2.4% per annum

Education Level Number of Institutions

Primary 21, 530

JHS 8,850

SSS 900

Public Training Colleges 52

Private Training Colleges

5

Polytechnics 10

Non University tertiary institutions

4

Public Universities 8

Private Tertiary Institutions

45

• The adult literacy rate in Ghana was 65% in 2007 (males-71.7%), (females-58.3%)

With 83% of its children in school, Ghana currently has one of the highest school enrollment rates in West Africa.

• Ghana's spending on education has varied between 28-40% of its annual budget in the past decade.

State of the Economy The World's Fastest Growing Economy in 2011 (Banker Magazine, July 2011; Economy Watch,

Aug. 2011)

Source: Ghana Statistical Service, IMF The FPSO Kwame Nkrumah

• Major oil discovery off the coast of Ghana in 2007 has led to significant international commercial interest in Ghana

Now a lower Middle Income Economy endowed with natural resources

Oil is expected to account for 6% of the revenue for 2011

• Ghana’s Labour force is 11.5 million people

Food and Hunger Agriculture is the backbone of the Ghanaian economy

Principal Agricultural exports Cocoa, Timber, etc     

The sector grew at 2.8% in 2011 compared to a target of 5.3%

Country on target to meet MDG 1

Agriculture accounts for 33.7% of GDP and provides employment for 56% of the work force

AGRICULTURAL SUBSECTORS BY GDP (%)

Exports Destination

% Source of Imports

%

South Africa 44.0 EU 27.8

EU 26.4 China 11.7

India 5.3 Nigeria 8.7

Malaysia 3.2 United States 7.7

USA 2.8 India 4.3

• Member of WTO since 1 January 1995

Trade and Globalization

Commodity Exports Commodity Imports

Source: WTO

Tema Port is the biggest of the two seaports in Ghana. Handles 80% of the nation’s import and export cargo

Traffic junction for transit cargo destined for the landlocked countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger

ENVIRONMENTAL SITUATION

Climate: tropical; warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast; hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north

There are two main seasons in Ghana: the wet and the dry seasons.

Natural hazards: dry, dusty, northeastern harmattan winds occur from January to March

Lake Volta, the world's largest artificial lake, extends through large portions of eastern Ghana and is the main source of many rivers

ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES

Recurrent drought in the north severely affects agricultural activities

Deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; poaching and habitat destruction

Water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water

Environmental disasters caused by annual floods

CONCLUSION

Africa is a continent on the rise

Democracy is gaining roots and good governance taking shape

Ghana faces challenges in consolidating the gains made over the last two decades

Investor confidence in Ghana has grown significantly

Investment opportunities abound in investor friendly climates such as Ghana.

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