ABOUT GHANA

Brief History of Ghana

The Republic of Ghana is located in West Africa. It borders Cote d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east and the Gulf of Guinea to the south.

Ghana was inhabited in pre-colonial times by a number of ancient, predominantly Akan Kingdoms, including the Akwamus on the eastern coast, the inland Ashanti Empire and various Fante and non-Akan states like the Ga and Ewe states along the coast. Trade with European states flourished after contact with the Portuguese in the 15th century, and the British established a Crown Colony, the Gold Coast, in 1874.

Ghana became the first sub-Saharan African country to gain its independence in 1957. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, who was responsible for the successful negotiations with the British and declared independence, became the first Prime Minister and then President of Ghana. Recognising the significant role Dr. Kwame Nkrumah played in modern Ghana’s development, the FPSO was named after him by the Jubilee Integrated Project Team.

In 2009, John Evans Atta Mills took office as President with a difference of about 40,000 votes (0.46%) between his party, the National Democratic Congress, and the New Patriotic Party, marking the second time that power had successfully been transferred from one legitimately elected leader to another, and securing Ghana’s status as a stable democracy.

Overview

Ghana’s economy has been strengthened by a quarter century of relatively sound management, a competitive business environment, and sustained reductions in poverty levels. Ghana is well endowed with natural resources and agriculture accounts for roughly one-quarter of GDP and employs more than half of the workforce, mainly small landholders. The services sector accounts for 50% of GDP.

According to the 2018 Budget Statement and Economic Policy, the summary of Ghana’s Macroeconomic performance, under the theme “Putting Ghana Back to Work”, is as follows:

Overall real GDP grew at an estimated 7.8 percent in the first half of 2017 (6.6% in quarter one and 9.0% in quarter two) against 2.7 percent in same period in 2016. Overall GDP growth is provisionally estimated at 7.9 percent at the end of 2017, up from the original forecast of 6.3 percent; ?
Non-Oil real GDP grew at an estimated 4.0 percent in the first half year of 2017 (4.0% in quarter one and 3.9% in quarter two) compared to 5.9 percent in the same period in 2016. Non-oil GDP growth is provisionally estimated at 4.8 percent at the end of 2017; ?
End-period inflation was 11.6 percent in October, 2017 compared to 15.8 percent at the same period in 2016; ?
The overall budget deficit on cash basis was 4.5 percent of GDP in September, 2017 against a target of 4.8 percent of GDP and an outturn of 6.4 percent in the same period in 2016; ?
The primary balance posted a surplus of 0.3 percent of GDP in September, 2017, as targeted and is a significant improvement over a deficit of 1.6 percent realized during the same period in 2016; ?
The current account balance registered a deficit estimated at 0.2 percent of GDP in August, 2017 compared with 2.6 percent in August, 2016; and ?
The country’s Gross International Reserves (including petroleum funds and encumbered assets), which stood at US$6.9 billion by end-September 2017, could cover 3.9 months of imports compared to the US$4.8 billion or 2.5 months import cover recorded in the same period of 2016.