pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water
natural hazards: dry, dusty, harmattan winds occur from January to
March; droughts
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone
Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands;
signed, but not ratified - Climate Change, Desertification, Marine
Life Conservation

Note: Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake; northeasterly
harmattan wind (January to March)

@Ghana:People

Population: 17,763,138 (July 1995 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 46% (female 4,030,154; male 4,069,945)
15-64 years: 51% (female 4,638,451; male 4,494,533)
65 years and over: 3% (female 276,186; male 253,869) (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.06% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 43.57 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 12.02 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 81.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 55.85 years
male: 53.88 years
female: 57.88 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.09 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Ghanaian(s)
adjective: Ghanaian

Ethnic divisions: black African 99.8% (major tribes - Akan 44%,
Moshi-Dagomba 16%, Ewe 13%, Ga 8%), European and other 0.2%

Religions: indigenous beliefs 38%, Muslim 30%, Christian 24%, other 8%

Languages: English (official), African languages (including Akan,
Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population: 60%
male: 70%
female: 51%

Labor force: 3.7 million
by occupation: agriculture and fishing 54.7%, industry 18.7%, sales
and clerical 15.2%, services, transportation, and communications 7.7%,
professional 3.7%

@Ghana:Government

Names:
conventional long form: Republic of Ghana
conventional short form: Ghana
former: Gold Coast

Digraph: GH

Type: constitutional democracy

Capital: Accra

Administrative divisions: 10 regions; Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central,
Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta,
Western

Independence: 6 March 1957 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 6 March (1957)

Constitution: new constitution approved 28 April 1992

Legal system: based on English common l