| ECONOMY |
| Overview |
Well
endowed with natural resources, Ghana has roughly twice the
per capita output of the poorer countries in West Africa.
Even so, Ghana remains heavily dependent on international
financial and technical assistance. Gold, timber, and cocoa
production are major sources of foreign exchange. The domestic
economy continues to revolve around subsistence agriculture,
which accounts for 36% of GDP and employs 60% of the work
force, mainly small landholders. Ghana opted for debt relief
under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) program in
2002. Policy priorities include tighter monetary and fiscal
policies, accelerated privatization, and improvement of social
services. |
| GDP |
purchasing
power parity - $41.25 billion (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate |
4.5% (2002
est.) |
| GDP
- per capita |
purchasing
power parity - $2,000 (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector |
agriculture:
36%
industry: 25%
services: 39% (2000 est.) |
| Population
below poverty line |
31.4% (1992
est.) |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices) |
14.5% (2002
est.) |
| Labor
force |
9 million
(2000 est.) |
| Labor
force - by occupation |
agriculture
60%, industry 15%, services 25% (1999 est.) |
| Unemployment
rate |
20% (1997
est.) |
| Industries |
mining, lumbering,
light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food processing |
| Industrial
production growth rate |
3.8% (2000
est.) |
