mparatively dry along southeast coast;
hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north

Terrain: mostly low plains with dissected plateau in south-central
area

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m

highest point: Mount Afadjato 880 m

Natural resources: gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite,
manganese, fish, rubber, hydropower

Land use: arable land: 12%

permanent crops: 7%

permanent pastures: 22%

forests and woodland: 35%

other: 24% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 60 sq km (1993 est.)

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

Environment - current issues: recent drought in north severely
affecting agricultural activities; deforestation; overgrazing; soil
erosion; poaching and habitat destruction threatens wildlife
populations; water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94,
Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation

Geography - note: Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake;
northeasterly harmattan wind (January to March)

Ghana People

Population: 19,894,014

note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the
effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower
life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower
population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of
population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July
2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 41.18% (male 4,123,317; female 4,068,786)

15-64 years: 55.35% (male 5,455,577; female 5,555,278)

65 years and over: 3.47% (male 328,809; female 362,247) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.79% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 28.95 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 10.26 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female

total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 56.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total po