REPUBLIC OF GHANA

FIFA 2014 World Cup Ranking: 37th

Star Player:

AC Milan’s Michael Essien is touted as Ghana’s star footballer at the 2014 World Cup. Born and raised in the West African nation, the star midfielder has represented the country in international football competitions since joining the Ghanaian youth team, Liberty Professionals in 1998. He has competed for Ghana in three Africa World Cups, the Youth World Cup and the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Professionally, Essien has played for Real Madrid, Chelsea and Lyon. 

Wikimedia: Ultraslansi

COUNTRY STATS

Gross Domestic Product (GDP): $40.71 billion

GDP per capita (PPP): $1,604 

Government Structure: Constitutional Democracy

Corruption Index: 46 (ranked 63/177)

Religious Demographics: 71.2% Christian , 17.6% Muslim, 5.2% Traditional Religions

Literacy Rate: 81% of population

Health: Access to clean drinking water: 87% 

Use of Improved Sanitation Facilities 13%

HIV prevalence rate: 1.4%

% of Population Under 14: 38.7%

Contraceptive Prevalence: 34%

Wikimedia: TUBS

Development: Home to one of the pre-colonial African Empires, Ghana has a long history as a leader in West Africa. The Empire of Ashanti ruled the region during the 18th and 19th centuries before the arrival of British colonials. Endowed with vast natural resources, most notably gold, the Ashanti create a vast system of roads and infrastructure during their rule. Education and agriculture also thrived under the Ashanti. After centuries of trade with European powers, the area was made a British colony and renamed the Gold Coast. Economic and social development continued during British rule particularly under the rule of Gordon Guggisberg, governor from 1919 to 1927. Guggisberg’s ten-year development plan improved access to clean water, schools, hospitals and strengthened other social institutions. Under the Governor’s leadership the colony employed half of its positions with Africans in one of the most ambitious development plans in modern West Africa.

In 1957 Ghana peacefully transitioned from British rule to independence, sparing much of the country’s infrastructure and businesses from ruin. As the first independent African nation, Ghana received unprecedented aid from the international community which strengthened its post-independence economic and social development. Ghana’s southern, coastal areas have historically had low levels of poverty and better access to potable water, sanitation, education and healthcare than the country’s northern, rural areas. Since the 1980s Ghana has maintained a stable democracy creating a competitive business environment resulting in sustained reductions in poverty levels. In late 2010, Ghana was recategorized as a lower middle-income country and nearly 95% of children now receive a primary education. Ghana is one of the few African nations projected to meet the Millennium Development Goals of halving its poverty rate by 2015. Despite laudable economic growth, Ghanaians still suffer from a high burden of disease, particularly malaria, as well as high rates of maternal and infant mortality. 

Editorial

Demand Equity

World Cup Country Profiles: Ghana