Transcript Life in Africa and Ghana by Prof. Emmanuel Boon

Life in Africa and Ghana
By Prof. Dr. Emmanuel Boon
AFRICA

2nd Largest continent (30 million km2)

2nd most populated continent (almost
15% of world population

Large natural resource base
THE AFRICA OF THE PAST
Most undeveloped continent in the world:
Dark Continent

Years of slave trade and colonialism

War and bad governance

Mismanagement of Natural Resources

AIDS

A CONTINENT ON THE RISE
Increasingly democratic

The rate of return on foreign investment
is higher than in any other region.

Telcom, banking, retailing and construction
are flourishing.
• Africa’s collective GDP, at $1.6 trillion in 2008, is roughly
equal to Brazil’s or Russia’s
GHANA

Land size of almost 240,000 km2

Geographically closer to the "centre" of
the world than any other country.
• Trade with Europe (Portuguese) began in the
15th century
• 1874 - British established the Gold Coast Crown colony.

Political independence in 1957

Founding member of the OAU and ECOWAS,
member of UN and other int’l bodies
Political situation

Ghana is divided into 10 administrative regions, subdivided into a total of
170 districts

Constitutional Democracy (4th Republic)


Legal system based on British common law, customary (traditional)
law, and the 1992 constitution
Placed 118 among countries on the 2011 Failed States Index

Two major political parties
1992, 1996 2008
2004, 2008

CULTURAL DYNAMICS
Ghana is an ethnically diverse country comprising over 60 ethnic groups

52 major languages and hundreds of dialects are spoken in Ghana,
official language is English

Major religions are Christianity, Islam and Traditional African Religion

The celebration of festivals in Ghana is an essential part of Ghanaian
culture.

PANAFEST (an international festival held
very summer celebrating African roots)
Education and Human Resource Development

Ghana has a population of about 24 million

Population Growth Rate 2.4% per annum
• The adult literacy rate in Ghana was 65% in 2007
(males-71.7%), (females-58.3%)
Education Level
Number of
Institutions
Primary
21, 530
JHS
8,850
SSS
900
Public Training Colleges
52
Private Training Colleges
5
Polytechnics
10
Non University tertiary
institutions
4
Public Universities
8
Private Tertiary
Institutions
45
• Ghana's spending on education has varied between 28-40% of its annual budget in
the past decade.

With 83% of its children in school, Ghana currently has one of the highest
school enrollment rates in West Africa.
State of the Economy

The World's Fastest Growing Economy in 2011 (Banker
2011; Economy Watch, Aug. 2011)
Magazine, July
• Ghana’s Labour force is 11.5 million people
Source: Ghana Statistical Service, IMF

The FPSO Kwame Nkrumah
Now a lower Middle Income Economy endowed with natural resources
• Major oil discovery off the coast of Ghana in 2007 has led to significant
international commercial interest in Ghana

Oil is expected to account for 6% of the revenue for 2011
Food and Hunger

Agriculture is the backbone of the Ghanaian economy

Principal Agricultural exports Cocoa, Timber, etc

The sector grew at 2.8% in 2011 compared to a target of 5.3%

Country on target to meet MDG 1
AGRICULTURAL SUBSECTORS BY GDP (%)

Agriculture accounts for 33.7% of GDP and provides
employment for 56% of the work force
Trade and Globalization
• Member of WTO since 1 January 1995
Exports
Destination
%
Source of
Imports
%
South Africa
44.0
EU
27.8
EU
26.4
China
11.7
India
5.3
Nigeria
8.7
Malaysia
3.2
United States
7.7
USA
2.8
India
4.3
Source: WTO
Commodity Exports
Commodity Imports


Tema Port is the biggest of the two seaports in Ghana.
Handles 80% of the nation’s import and export cargo
Traffic junction for transit cargo destined for the
landlocked countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali and
Niger
ENVIRONMENTAL
SITUATION

Climate: tropical; warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast;
hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north

There are two main seasons in Ghana: the wet and the dry seasons.

Natural hazards: dry, dusty, northeastern harmattan winds occur from
January to March

Lake Volta, the world's largest artificial lake, extends through large
portions of eastern Ghana and is the main source of many rivers
ENVIRONMENTAL
CHALLENGES

Recurrent drought in the north severely affects agricultural activities

Deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; poaching and habitat
destruction

Water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water

Environmental disasters caused by annual floods
CONCLUSION





Africa is a continent on the rise
Democracy is gaining roots and good governance
taking shape
Ghana faces challenges in consolidating the gains
made over the last two decades
Investor confidence in Ghana has grown significantly
Investment opportunities abound in investor friendly
climates such as Ghana.
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