Economy - overview:
Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has roughly twice the per capita output of the poorest countries in West Africa. Even so, Ghana remains heavily dependent on international financial and technical assistance. Gold and cocoa production, and individual remittances, are major sources of foreign exchange. The domestic economy continues to revolve around agriculture, which accounts for about 35% of GDP and employs about 55% of the work force, mainly small landholders. Ghana signed a Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact in 2006, which aims to assist in transforming Ghana's agricultural sector. Ghana opted for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) program in 2002, and is also benefiting from the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative that took effect in 2006. Thematic priorities under its current Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy, which also provides the framework for development partner assistance, are: macroeconomic stability; private sector competitiveness; human resource development; and good governance and civic responsibility. Sound macro-economic management along with high prices for gold and cocoa helped sustain GDP growth in 2008.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$34.04 billion (2008 est.)
$32.02 billion (2007)
$30.18 billion (2006)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars

GDP (official exchange rate):
$17.72 billion (2008 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
6.3% (2008 est.)
6.1% (2007 est.)
6.4% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$1,500 (2008 est.)
$1,400 (2007 est.)
$1,300 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 37.3%
industry: 25.3%
services: 37.5% (2006 est.)

Labor force:
11.52 million (2008 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 56%
industry: 15%
services: 29% (2005 est.)

Unemployment rate:
11% (2000 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.2%
highest 10%: 30.1% (1999)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
39.4 (2005-06)

Investment (gross fixed):
31.9% of GDP (2008 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $4.021 billion
expenditures: $5.521 billion (2008 est.)

Public debt:
66.5% of GDP (2008 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
16.4% (2008 est.)

Central bank discount rate:
13.5% (31 December 2007)

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
NA

Stock of money:
$2.179 billion (31 December 2006)

Stock of quasi money:
$2.174 billion (31 December 2006)

Stock of domestic credit:
$4.173 billion (31 December 2006)

Market value of publicly traded shares:
$2.38 billion (31 December 2007)

Agriculture - products:
cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, corn, shea nuts, bananas; timber

Industries:
mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food processing, cement, small commercial ship building

Industrial production growth rate:
6.5% (2008 est.)

Electricity - production:
8.204 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - consumption:
6.76 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - exports:
755 million kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - imports:
629 million kWh (2006 est.)

Oil - production:
7,571 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - consumption:
49,300 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - exports:
5,709 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - imports:
45,520 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - proved reserves:
15 million bbl (1 January 2008 est.)

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
22.65 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)

Current account balance:
-$1.807 billion (2008 est.)

Exports:
$5.439 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)

Exports - commodities:
gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore, diamonds, horticulture

Exports - partners:
Netherlands 11%, UK 9%, France 6.2%, US 5.9%, Germany 4.6%, Belgium 4.4% (2007)

Imports:
$9.816 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)

Imports - commodities:
capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs

Imports - partners:
Nigeria 15.1%, China 14.9%, UK 5.2%, US 5.1% (2007)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$2.301 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

Debt - external:
$5.697 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$NA

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$NA

Exchange rates:
cedis (GHC) per US dollar - 1.1 (2008 est.), 0.95 (2007), 9,174.8 (2006), 9,072.5 (2005), 9,004.6 (2004)
note: in 2007 Ghana revalued its currency with 10,000 old cedis equal to 1 new cedis