ernment controls. 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 been boosting government expenditures and
undercutting structural adjustment reforms. Ghana opened a stock exchange in
1990. Much of the economic improvement in 1991 was caused by favorable
weather (following a severe drought the previous year) that led to plentiful
harvests in Ghana's agriculturally based economy.
GDP:
$6.2 billion; per capita $400; real growth rate 5% (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
10% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate:
10% (1991)
Budget:
revenues $821 million; expenditures $782 million, including capital
expenditures of $151 million (1990 est.)
Exports:
$843 million (f.o.b., 1991 est.)
commodities:
cocoa 45%, gold, timber, tuna, bauxite, and aluminum
partners:
US 23%, UK, other EC
Imports:
$1.2 billion (c.i.f., 1991 est.)
commodities:
petroleum 16%, consumer goods, foods, intermediate goods, capital equipment
partners:
US 10%, UK, FRG, France, Japan, South Korea, GDR
External debt:
$3.1 billion (1990 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate 7.4% in manufacturing (1989); accounts for almost 1.5% of GDP
Electricity:
1,180,000 kW capacity; 4,140 million kWh produced, 265 kWh per capita (1991)
Industries:
mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, fishing, aluminum, food processing
Agriculture:
accounts for more than 50% 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
Economic aid:
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:
cedi (plural - cedis); 1 cedi (C) = 100 pesewas
Fiscal year:
calendar year

:Ghana Communications

Railroads:
953 km, all 1.067-meter gauge; 32 km double track; railroads undergoing
major renovation
Highways:
32,250 km total; 6,084 km