Ghana Research Paper

Words: 432
Pages: 2

Ghana is a country on the western border of Africa and is known for being a well developed democracy. Ghana gained its independence from colonial rule in 1957 and was one of the first Sub-Saharan African countries to do so. The current president is John Dramani Mahama and he has been the country’s president since 2012. Long before Mahama, Ghana’s government struggled with coups. This stopped when Lt. Jerry Rawlings banned political parties and was then elected as president in 1992 (“The World Factbook,” 2015). Despite all the harsh conflict around Ghana, it is known for being one of the most peaceful states in Africa. Ghana’s current population is roughly 27 million. The current population growth rate is estimated to be about 2.18% (“The World Factbook,” 2015). …show more content…
(“The World Bank,” 2015). About 52% of Ghana’s workforce is part of the agriculture industry and it makes up almost 44% of the GDP there. The food created in this industry accounts for almost 90% of Ghana’s food supply and and yet Ghana still exports about 40% of their total yields. Labor in Ghana’s agricultural industry is made up by about 39% women and 61% men (Oppong-Anane, 2006). Ghana is fortunate to be filled with an abundance of natural resources. While cocoa, wood, cotton, fish, and fruits make up Ghana’s agricultural resources, there are many mineral resources as well. Gold is currently Ghana’s number one export, recently surpassing cocoa. Diamonds and aluminum make the list as well (http://www.ghanaembassy.org). Despite the abundance of natural resources, Ghana has many other issues to face. Ghana’s health care has been improving in recent years. The life expectancy has risen while child mortality rates have fallen in the past few decades (http://www.who.int). Only about 45% of the people in Ghana have access to electricity, of those only 17% of rural living people have access (http://www.beg.utexas.edu). Women in Ghana have a literacy rate of about 65% while men have a literacy rate of about