The economy of Ghana has a diverse and rich resource base, including the manufacturing and exportation of digital technology goods, automotive and ship construction and exportation, and the exportation of diverse and rich resources such as hydrocarbons and industrial minerals.
The Ghanaian domestic economy in 2012 revolved around services, which accounted for 50% of GDP and employed 28% of the work force. Besides the industrialization associated with minerals and oil, industrial development in Ghana remains basic, often associated with plastics (such as chairs, plastic bags, razors, and pens).[26] 53.6% of Ghana's workforce were employed in agriculture in 2013.[27][28][outdated statistic]
Ghana embarked on a currency re-denomination exercise, from the Cedi (₵) to the new currency, the Ghana Cedi (GH₵) in July 2007. The transfer rate is 1 Ghana Cedi for every 10,000 Cedis.
Ghana is Africa's largest gold producer, after overtaking South Africa in 2019, [29] and the second-largest cocoa producer (after Ivory Coast).[30] It is also rich in diamonds, manganese or manganese ore, bauxite, and oil. Most of its debt was canceled in 2005, but government spending was later allowed to balloon. Coupled with a plunge in oil prices, this led to an economic crisis that forced the government to negotiate a $920 million extended credit facility from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in April 2015.[31]
Taxation
Value-added tax is a consumption tax administered in Ghana. The tax regime that started in 1998 had a single rate but since September 2007 entered into a multiple rate regime. In 1998, the rate of tax was 10% and amended in 2000 to 12.5%. The top income tax and corporate tax rates are 25%. Other taxes included with value-added tax (VAT), are the national health insurance levy, and a capital gains tax. The overall tax burden was 12.1% of Ghana's total domestic income in 2013. Ghana's national budget was the equivalent of 39.8% of GDP in 2013.[32] Ghana is implementing the rent tax in 2021.
As of 2012 there were four major companies in the textiles sector: Akosombo Textiles Limited, Tex Style Ghana Limited, Printex Ghana, and Ghana Textile Manufacturing Company.[36]
At the end of January 2022, total number of voice subscription in Ghana stood at 41,380,751.This represents a percentage increase of 1.28% over December 2019 figures of 40,857,007. The total penetration rate stands at 136.79%. Competition among mobile-phone companies in Ghana is an important part of the telecommunications industry growth, Current market leader MTN with voice subscription of 23,150,485 representing 55.95% of the market is followed by Vodafone with voice subscription of 9,075,795 representing 21.93% market share, AirtelTigo voice subscription stands at 8,428,322 representing 20.69%, Glo's current voice subscription stands at 726,149 which represent a market share of 1.75%.[38][39][40]
The mass media of Ghana is among the most liberal in Africa, with Ghana ranking as the third-freest in Africa and 30th-most free in the world on the worldwide press freedom index. Chapter 12 of the Constitution of Ghana guarantees freedom of the Ghanaian press and the independence of the mass media, and Chapter 2 prohibits censorship.[41] Ghanaian press freedom was restored in 1992.[41]
Ghana was one of the first countries in Africa to achieve the connection to the World Wide Web.[42] In 2010, there were 165 licensed internet service providers in Ghana and they were running 29 of the fiber optic, and authorized networks VSAT operators were 176, of which 57 functioned, and 99 internet operators were authorized to the public, and private data and packet-switched network operators were 25.[43]
Data
Change in per capita GDP of Ghana, 1870–2018. Figures are inflation-adjusted to 2011 International dollarsShare of population in extreme poverty over time, 1981 to 2019
The following table shows the main economic indicators in 1980–2023. Inflation below 5% is in green.[44]
Year
GDP (in billion US$ PPP)
GDP per capita (in US$ PPP)
GDP (in billion US$ nominal)
GDP growth (real)
Inflation rate (in Percent)
Government debt (in% of GDP)
1980
12.8
1,202
37.4
0.4%
50.0%
n/a
1981
13.5
1,236
60.7
−3.5%
116.5%
n/a
1982
13.2
1,175
70.4
−6.9%
22.5%
n/a
1983
12.8
1,118
47.3
−4.8%
122.2%
n/a
1984
14.6
1,185
17.1
9.0%
40.0%
n/a
1985
16.0
1,272
15.3
5.1%
10.3%
n/a
1986
17.3
1,347
14.1
5.2%
24.5%
n/a
1987
18.9
1,439
11.8
4.8%
39.8%
n/a
1988
20.9
1,550
12.5
5.6%
31.4%
n/a
1989
22.7
1,646
12.7
5.1%
25.2%
n/a
1990
24.4
1,728
14.7
3.3%
37.2%
19.2%
1991
26.4
1,828
16.5
5.3%
18.1%
18.7%
1992
28.2
1,907
16.3
3.9%
10.0%
23.1%
1993
30.3
1,997
13.3
3.7%
24.9%
37.2%
1994
32.0
2,061
12.3
3.6%
24.9%
55.2%
1995
34.0
2,140
14.6
4.2%
59.3%
51.0%
1996
36.3
2,228
15.5
4.6%
44.5%
46.0%
1997
39.0
2,339
15.8
5.8%
24.8%
48.7%
1998
41.5
2,424
17.2
5.0%
19.2%
40.6%
1999
44.0
2,506
17.8
4.5%
12.5%
55.7%
2000
46.6
2,464
11.5
3.6%
25.1%
80.2%
2001
49.5
2,550
12.2
3.8%
32.9%
61.9%
2002
52.6
2,644
14.2
4.6%
14.8%
58.0%
2003
56.3
2,766
17.5
5.1%
26.6%
52.8%
2004
61.0
2,923
20.3
5.4%
12.7%
41.1%
2005
66.8
3,126
24.6
6.2%
15.1%
34.0%
2006
72.9
3,331
28.9
5.8%
11.7%
18.5%
2007
77.9
3,480
34.0
4.1%
10.7%
22.5%
2008
86.5
3,779
38.7
9.2%
16.5%
24.6%
2009
92.0
3,931
34.6
4.8%
13.1%
26.9%
2010
100.4
4,071
43.3
7.9%
6.7%
34.5%
2011
116.8
4,623
53.8
14.0%
7.7%
31.3%
2012
133.3
5,152
56.9
9.3%
7.1%
35.4%
2013
140.9
5,321
63.7
7.3%
11.7%
42.9%
2014
151.6
5,595
54.3
2.9%
15.5%
50.1%
2015
145.0
5,233
49.4
2.1%
17.2%
53.9%
2016
142.3
5,021
56.1
3.4%
17.5%
55.9%
2017
149.0
5,148
60.4
8.1%
12.4%
57.0%
2018
162.0
5,482
67.3
6.2%
9.3%
62.0%
2019
175.7
5,823
68.4
6.5%
7.1%
58.3%
2020
178.9
5,812
70.0
0.5%
9.9%
72.3%
2021
196.4
6,256
79.6
5.1%
10.0%
79.1%
2022
216.6
6,752
72.1
3.1%
31.9%
92.4%
2023
227.2
6,905
76.6
1.2%
42.2%
84.9%
Imports and Exports
Ghana's top export products in 2016 were crude petroleum ($2.66B), gold ($2.39B), cocoa beans ($2.27B), cocoa paste ($382M) and cocoa butter ($252M). Ghana's top export destinations in 2016 were Switzerland ($1.73B), China ($1.06B), France ($939M), India ($789M) and the Netherlands ($778M).[45]
Ghana's top import categories in 2016 were refined petroleum ($2.18B), crude petroleum ($546M), gold ($428M), rice ($328M) and packaged medicaments ($297M). The nations with the highest value of imports to Ghana in 2016 were China ($4.1B), the Netherlands ($1.58B), the United States ($1.1B), Nigeria ($920M) and India ($668M).[45]
As of 2018, Ghana consumed some 10 MMtoe of primary energy, made mostly of biomass (40%), oil and diesel (40%), followed by hydropower (10%) and natural gas (10%).[47]
Oil & Gas
Ghana discovered significant reserves of oil and natural gas offshore throughout the 2000s and 2010s. The country officially became an oil & gas producer in 2010 with the commissioning of the Jubilee field by Tullow Oil and currently produces from three major offshore hubs: Jubilee, TEN, and OCTP. In 2021, its production stood at some 150,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd).[48] Since production began in 2010 Ghana has rose to be the 34th largest national producer of oil.[49]
In 2021 Ghana exported more than 71mil barrels of oil.[50] China was the largest importer of Ghana oil, receiving over 41% of exports with South Africa, the second largest importer, taking 13.9%.[50]
Solar energy
Ghana has aggressively begun the construction of solar plants across its sun-rich land in an aim to become the first country to get 6% of its energy from solar energy generation. Since construction began in the early 2010s electricity generation from solar has gone from zero KWh in 2014 to over 60 GWh in 2020, accounting for .46% of Ghana's electricity consumption.[51]
Ghana has Class 4–6 wind resources and high-wind locations, such as Nkwanta, the Accra Plains, and Kwahu and Gambaga mountains. The maximum energy that could be tapped from Ghana's available wind resource for electricity is estimated to be about 500–600 GWh/year.[52] To give perspective: in 2011, per the same Energy Commission, the largest Akosombo hydroelectric dam in Ghana alone produced 6,495 GWh of electric power and, counting all Ghana's geothermal energy production in addition, the total energy generated was 11,200 GWh in that year.[52] These assessments do not take into consideration further limiting factors such as land-use restrictions, the existing grid (or how far the wind resource may be from the grid) and accessibility.[52]
Ghana has put in place mechanisms to attract investments into its biomass and bio-energy sectors to stimulate rural development, create jobs and save foreign exchange.[53] Main investments in the bio-energy subsector existed in the areas of production, are transportation, storage, distribution, sale, marketing and exportation.[53]
The goal of Ghana regarding bio-energy, as articulated by its energy sector policy, is to modernize and examine the benefits of bio-energy on a sustainable basis.[53]Biomass is Ghana's dominant energy resource in terms of endowment and consumption, with the two primary bio-fuels consumed being ethanol and biodiesel.[53] To that effect, the Ghana ministry of Energy in 2010 developed its energy sector strategy and development plan.[53] Highlights of the strategy include sustaining the supply and efficient use of wood fuels while ensuring that their utilization does not lead to deforestation.[53]
The plan would support private sector investments in the cultivation of bio-fuel feedstock, the extraction of bio-oil, and refining it into secondary products, thereby creating financial and tax incentives. The Ghana Renewal Energy Act provides the necessary fiscal incentives for renewable energy development by the private sector, and also details the control and management of bio-fuel and wood fuel projects in Ghana.[53] The Ghana National Petroleum Authority (NPA) was tasked by the Renewable Energy Act 2011 to price Ghana's bio-fuel blend in accordance with the prescribed petroleum pricing formula.[53]
The combined effects of climate change and global economic turbulence had triggered a sense of urgency among Ghanaian policymakers, industry and development practitioners to find sustainable and viable solutions in the area of bio-fuels.[53]
Brazil, which makes ethanol from maize and sugarcane, is currently the world's largest bio-fuel market.[53]
Energy consumption
Electricity generation is one of the key factors in achieving the development of the Ghanaian national economy, with aggressive and rapid industrialization; Ghana's national electric energy consumption was 265 kilowatts per capita in 2009.[54][55] Shortages of electricity have led to dumsor (blackouts),[56] increasing the interest in renewables.[57]
Ghanaian mineral resources: bauxite, diamond, timber and manganese
Ghana's increasing oil exports as a percentage of all exports.
Ghana has 5 billion barrels (790×10^6m3) to 7 billion barrels (1.1×10^9m3) of petroleum in reserves. A large oilfield which contains up to 3 billion barrels (480×10^6m3) of sweet crude oil was discovered in 2007.[58] Since these discoveries Ghana increased production steadily, the nations current peak is 200,000 barrels per day in 2019. Current production in 2021 stands at 179,900 barrels per day.[49]
Ghana has vast natural gas reserves, which is used by many foreign multinational companies operating in Ghana.[59] The hydrocarbon industry has had major implications for regional and urban development in Ghana and these are likely to substantially increase in the years to come[60]
Mining has gained importance in the Ghanaian economy since the turn of the 21st century, with a growth of around 30% in 2007.[61] The main mining extractions are bauxite,[62] gold (Ghana is one of the largest gold producers in the world),[63] and the phosphates.[64]
The Ministry of Tourism has placed great emphasis upon further tourism support and development. Tourism contributed to 4.9% of GDP in 2009, attracting around 500,000 visitors. Tourist destinations include Ghana's many castles and forts, national parks, beaches, nature reserves, landscapes and World Heritage buildings and sites.[66][67]
In 2011, Forbes magazine ranked Ghana eleventh-friendliest country in the world. The assertion was based on a survey of a cross-section of travelers in 2010. Of all the countries on the African continent that were included in the survey, Ghana ranked highest.[68]
To enter Ghana, it is necessary to have a visa authorized by the Government of Ghana, except for certain entrepreneurs on business trips.[69]
In 2013 agriculture employed 53.6% of Ghana's total labor force.[27][28]Agribusiness accounts for a small fraction of the gross domestic product.[70] The main harvested crops are corn, plantain, rice, millet, sorghum, cassava and yam.[71] Unlike the agricultural livestock, forestry and fishing sectors, the crop sector is key to the Ghanaian agricultural industry.[72]
Ghana produced in 2018:
20.8 million tons of cassava (4th largest producer in the world, second only to Nigeria, Thailand and Congo);
7.8 million tonnes of yam (2nd largest producer in the world, second only to Nigeria);
4.1 million tons of plantain (2nd largest producer in the world, just behind Congo);
2.6 million tons of palm oil (8th largest producer in the world);
In addition to smaller productions of other agricultural products, like sweet potato (151 thousand tons), natural rubber (23 thousand tons) and tobacco (2.3 thousand tons).[73]
Ghana: Vision 2020 and industrialization
With the economic program "Ghana: Vision 2020", Ghana intends to achieve its goals of accelerated economic growth and improved quality of life for all its citizens, by reducing poverty through private investment, rapid and aggressive industrialization, and direct and aggressive poverty-alleviation efforts.[74] These plans were released in the 1995 government report, Ghana: Vision 2020.[74] Nationalization of state-owned enterprises continues, with about two thirds of 300 parastatal enterprises owned by the government of Ghana.[74] Other reforms adopted under the government's structural adjustment program include increasing exchange rate controls and increasing autarky and increasing restrictions on imports.[74]
The Ghana: Vision 2020 forecast assumes political stability; successful economic stabilization; the implementation of Ghana: Vision 2020 policy agenda on private sector growth; and aggressive public spending on social services, infrastructure and industrialization. It projection states that Ghana's goals of reaching high-income economy status and newly industrialized country status will be easily realized between 2020 and 2039.[74][75]
Sunyani Cocoa House and Theobroma cacao; Ghana is projected to become the largest producer of cocoa in the world. Ghana gold bars; Ghana is the 7th-largest producer of gold in the world.
The distribution of wealth ownership in Ghanaian society in 2013. A majority of wealth is held by 20% of the population.
The judicial system of Ghana deals with corruption, economic malpractice and lack of economic transparency.[32] Despite significant economic progress, obstacles do remain. Particular institutions need reform, and property rights need improvement. The overall investment regime lacks market transparency. Tackling these issues will be necessary if Ghana's rapid economic growth is to be maintained.[32]
The Centre for Scientific Research into Plant Medicine is an agency of the Ministry of Health that was set up in the 1970s for research and development and as a practical resource (product production & distribution/provision) primarily in areas of biotechnology related to medicinal plants. This includes both herbal medicine and work on more advanced applications. It also has a secondary role as an educational resource for foreign students in health, biotechnology and related fields.
The use of computer technology for teaching and learning began to receive government of Ghana's attention from the late 1990s.[83] The information and communications technology in education policy of Ghana requires the use of information and communications technology for teaching and learning at all levels of education.[83] The Ministry of Education supports institutions in teaching of information and communications technology literacy.[83] The majority of secondary, and some basic schools of Ghana have computer laboratories.[83]
Ghana's intention to become the information technology hub of West Africa has led the government of Ghana to enact cyber crime legislation and enhance cyber security practices.[84] Acting on that goal, in 2008 Ghana passed the Electronic Communications Act and the Electronic Transactions Act, which established the legal framework for governing information technology.[84] In November 2011, the Deputy Minister for Communications and Technology announced the development of a national cyber security strategy, aimed at combating cyber crime and securing critical infrastructure.[84]
In June 2012, the National Information Technology Agency announced a national computer emergency response team "strategy" designed to co-ordinate government response to cyber-attacks, both internal and external.[84] The agency also established computer emergency response teams for each municipal, metropolitan, and district assembly to improve co-ordination and information-sharing on cyberspace threats.[84] Ghana is ranked 2nd in Africa and 7th globally in cyber warfare, cyber-terrorism, cyber crime, and internet crime.[85] In 2018, the National Cyber Security Centre was founded. It is the national agency responsible for cybersecurity.[86] In November 2020, Parliament passed the Cybersecurity Act 2020. The Minister for Communications, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, indicated that, "a successful economy is hinged on a secured, safe and resilient national digital ecosystem. Cyber-security is, therefore, very critical to the economic development of the country and essential to the protection of the rights of individuals within the national digital ecosystem".[87]
The real estate and housing market has become an important and strategic economic sector, particularly in the urban centres of south Ghana such as Accra, Kumasi, Sekondi-Takoradi and Tema.[88][89][90] However, many of its citizens particularly those in Accra cannot afford the housing prices which is a trait of most major cities globally particularly in the West. Kumasi is growing at a faster rate than Accra, and there is less competition in its real estate market.[88] The gross rental income tax of Ghana is withheld at 10%, capital gains are taxed at 15% with a 5% gift tax imposed on the transfer of properties and Ghana's real estate market is divided into 3 areas: public sector real estate development, emerging private sector real estate development, and private individuals.[88][89] The activities of these 3 groups are facilitated by the Ghanaian banks and the primary mortgage market which has demonstrated enormous growth potential.[89] Recent developments have given birth to a boom in the construction sector, including the housing and public housing sector generating and injecting billions of dollars annually into the Ghanaian economy.[88][89] The real estate market investment perspective and attraction comes from Ghana's tropical location and robust political stability.[88][89] An increasing number of the Ghanaian populace are investing in properties, and the Ghana government is empowering the private sector in the real estate direction.[88][89]
Trade and exports
In July 2013, International Enterprise Singapore a global office in Accra to develop trade and investment on logistics, oil and gas, aviation, transportation and consumer sectors.[91] Singapore and Ghana also signed four bilateral agreements to promote public sector and private sector collaboration, as Ghana aims to predominantly shift its economic trade partnership to East Asia and Southeast Asia.[91] The economic centre is IE Singapore's second office in Africa.[91] Ghana's labour force in 2008 totalled 11.5million Ghanaian citizens.[92][93]Tema Harbour is Africa's largest manmade harbour, and Takoradi Harbour along with Tema harbour handle goods and exports. They are also traffic junctions where goods are transhipped; the Tema harbour handles the majority of the nation's export cargo and most of the country's chief exports is shipped from Takoradi harbour.[94][95] The Takoradi harbour and Tema harbour are operated by the state-owned Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority.[94][95]
Challenges
Bank of Ghana
Over the years, the country has encountered various economic challenges especially in its bid to become financially sustainable. One of the most prominent has been high public debt.[96][97][98][99] In January 2023, the Bank of Ghana reported that the country's level of debt was up to the tune of GH¢575.7 billion at the end of November 2022.[100]
The 2010 United States Department of Labor estimated over 2.7million child laborers in Ghana, or about 43% of all children aged 5–14. 78.7% of these children work in agriculture, 17.6% in fishing and transportation services, and 3.7% in industry, which includes manufacturing work and mining. In Ghana 64% of children seek work for financial reasons, making it the leading driver for child labor in the region.[101] Most children working in rural areas are working on family farms and often combine schooling with their work. In Urban areas, such as Accra and Ashanti children are often not enrolled in school and are often engaged in artisanal fishing and domestic services.[102] Child porters, locally called kayaye, work in urban areas and some of them are as young as 6 years.
A young 'kayaye' girl engaged in selling palmwineGhana.
Agriculture, fishing and artisan mining were the largest employers.[103]
In southern Volta region, children work in religious servitude for a period ranging between few months to three years. They are known as trokosi (literally: wife of a god), fiashidi , or vudusi. This practice requires young girls to work and serve the religious order, in order to atone for family members’ alleged sins or as an offering for the family's good fortune. This practice is claimed to be also present in neighboring countries, even though it has been outlawed and imposes prison term under the laws of Ghana and neighboring countries.[104]
In 2013, statistics on children's work have not changed much and according to the DOL's Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor in Ghana, the majority of working children engage in hazardous activities like pesticide spraying in the production of cocoa, fishing and gold mining.[105] The Department's 2014 List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor includes fish and tilapia in particular, cocoa and gold as goods produced in such working conditions in Ghana.
The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture and cotton. Cotton accounts for 40% of Benin's GDP and roughly 80% of official export receipts. There is also production of textiles, palm products, and cocoa beans. Maize (corn), beans, rice, peanuts, cashews, pineapples, cassava, yams, and other various tubers are grown for local subsistence. Benin began producing a modest quantity of offshore oil in October 1982. Production ceased in recent years but exploration of new sites is ongoing.
The economy of Cameroon was one of the most prosperous in Africa for a quarter of a century after independence. The drop in commodity prices for its principal exports – petroleum, cocoa, coffee, and cotton – in the mid-1980s, combined with an overvalued currency and economic mismanagement, led to a decade-long recession. Real per capita GDP fell by more than 60% from 1986 to 1994. The current account and fiscal deficits widened, and foreign debt grew. Yet because of its oil reserves and favorable agricultural conditions, Cameroon still has one of the best-endowed primary commodity economies in sub-Saharan Africa.
Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Togo in the east. Ghana covers an area of 239,567 km2 (92,497 sq mi), spanning diverse biomes that range from coastal savannas to tropical rainforests. With over 32 million inhabitants, Ghana is the second-most populous country in West Africa. The capital and largest city is Accra; other significant cities include Kumasi, Tamale, and Sekondi-Takoradi.
The economy of Togo has struggled greatly. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) ranks it as the tenth poorest country in the world, with development undercut by political instability, lowered commodity prices, and external debts. While industry and services play a role, the economy is dependent on subsistence agriculture, with industrialization and regional banking suffering major setbacks.
The economy of Uganda has a great potential and appears poised for rapid growth and development. Uganda is endowed with significant natural resources, including ample fertile land, regular rainfall, and mineral deposits.
The economy of Papua New Guinea (PNG) is largely underdeveloped with the vast majority of the population living below the poverty line. However, according to the Asian Development Bank its GDP is expected to grow 3.4% in 2022 and 4.6% in 2023. It is dominated by the agricultural, forestry, and fishing sector and the minerals and energy extraction sector. The agricultural, forestry, and fishing sector accounts for most of the labour force of PNG while the minerals and energy extraction sector, including gold, copper, oil and natural gas is responsible for most of the export earnings.
John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills was a Ghanaian politician and legal scholar who served as President of Ghana from 2009 until his death in 2012. He was inaugurated on 7 January 2009, having defeated the governing party candidate Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2008 Ghanaian presidential election. He was previously the Vice-President from 1997 to 2001 under President Jerry Rawlings, and he contested unsuccessfully in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections as the candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). He was the first Ghanaian head of state to die in office.
Akim Oda, a town in Ghana's Eastern Region, serves as the administrative and traditional center of the Birim Central Municipal District and Akyem Kotoku, respectively. The town had 60,604 residents as of 2013.
Agriculture is a sector of the Nigerian economy, accounting for up to 35% of total employment in 2020. According to the FAO, agriculture remains the foundation of the Nigerian economy, providing livelihoods for most Nigerians and generating millions of jobs. Along with crude oil, Nigeria relies on the agricultural products it exports to generate most of its national revenue. The agricultural sector in Nigeria comprises four sub-sectors: crop production, livestock, forestry, and fishing.
Augustus "Goosie" Obuadum Tanoh is a Ghanaian politician and businessman. He was the leader of the National Reform Party, a breakaway group from the National Democratic Congress between 1999 and 2007 and represented this party in the 2000 presidential election, where he garnered 1.1% of the national vote. He returned to the National Democratic Congress with his colleagues from the National Reform Party at the behest and upon appeals made by President John Atta Mills in 2007/2008. Tanoh is originally a founding member of the National Democratic Congress.
Agriculture in Ghana consists of a variety of agricultural products and is an established economic sector, providing employment on a formal and informal basis. It is represented by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Ghana produces a variety of crops in various climatic zones which range from dry savanna to wet forest which run in east–west bands across Ghana. Agricultural crops, including yams, grains, cocoa, oil palms, kola nuts, and timber, form the base of agriculture in Ghana's economy. In 2013 agriculture employed 53.6% of the total labor force in Ghana.
The petroleum industry of Ghana is regulated by the state-owned Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and administered by the state-owned Ghana Oil Company (GOIL).
Industry in Ghana accounts for about 24.5% of total GDP. However, Ghana's industrial production is rising at a 7.8% rate, giving it the 38th fastest growing industrial production in the world due to government industrialization policies.
Ghana generates electric power from hydropower, fossil-fuel, and renewable energy sources such as wind and solar energy. Electricity generation is one of the key factors in order to achieve the development of the Ghanaian national economy, with aggressive and rapid industrialization; Ghana's national electric energy consumption was 265 kilowatt hours per each one in 2009.
The economy of Ivory Coast is stable and currently growing, in the aftermath of political instability in recent decades. The Ivory Coast's economy is largely market-based and depends heavily on the agricultural sector. Almost 70% of the Ivorian people are engaged in some form of agricultural activity. GDP per capitaArchived 4 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine grew 82% in the 1960s, reaching a peak growth of 360% in the 1970s, but this proved unsustainable and it shrank by 28% in the 1980s and a further 22% in the 1990s. This decline, coupled with high population growth, resulted in a steady fall in living standards. The Gross national product per capita, now rising again, was about US$727 in 1996. It was substantially higher two decades before.
The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) is a Ghanaian government-controlled institution that fixes the buying price for cocoa in Ghana. Farmers are protected from the volatile prices on the world market through the price-fixing. Besides, the higher quality hybrid seeds are sold by the organization and some research on cocoa plant-related diseases are also carried out.
Ghana is the second-largest exporter of cocoa beans in the world, after Ivory Coast. Ghana's cocoa cultivation, however, is noted within the developing world to be one of the most modeled commodities and valuables.
Ghana has one of the highest rates of cybercrime in the world, ranking 7th in a 2008 Internet Crime Survey. The most popular form of cybercrime in Ghana is cyberfraud and is typically achieved via credit card fraud. However, recent decreases in universal credit card usage has seen the expansion of other cybercrimes such as blackmail and hacking. This growth in crime has warranted a government response, with policies specifically addressing the cyberspace being developed. This has necessitated various studies including a cyber security maturity study which was inaugurated by the Ministry of Communications and conducted by the Global Cyber Security Capacity Center (GCSCC) of the University of Oxford in collaboration with the World Bank.
The presidency of John Atta Mills began on 7 January 2009 and ended on 24 July 2012. John Atta Mills, an NDC candidate, became the 3rd President of the Ghanaian Fourth Republic after he defeated NPP opponent Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2008 Ghanaian general election. After his death on 24 July 2012, John Atta Mills was succeeded by his vice president, John Mahama in accordance to the 1992 Constitution. He was the first Ghanaian Head of State to die in office.
Economic history of Ghana details the economic situation of Ghana since pre-colonial times to date.
1 2 3 4 K. D. MEREKU, I. Yidana, W. H. K. HORDZI, I. Tete-Mensah; Williams, J. B. (2009). Pedagogical Integration of ICT: Ghana Report. Archived 8 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine
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33,346,450 (2023) [3] 
41.2% (2023 est.) [9] 
$22.14 billion (31 December 2017 est.) [8] 
59.3% of GDP (2023 est.) [21] 
