Regions

In Ghana, E-TIC currently focuses on the textil sector.

Informations sur le Pays

Population: 25.241.998 (est. 2012)
Currency: Cedi
Language: English (official), Asante, Ewe, Fante, Boron (Brong), Dagomba, Dangme, Dagarte (Dagaba), Akyem, Ga, Akuapem.
Religions: Christian 68.8%, 15.9% Muslim, tranditionals 8.5%, atheists 6.1%.
Ethnicity: Akan 45.3%, Mole-Dagbon 15.2%, Ewe 11.7%, Ga-Dangme 7.3%, Guan 4%, Gurma 3.6%, Grusi 2.6%, Mande-Busanga 1%, other tribes 1.4%, autres 7.8%.
Capital: Accra, 2.269.000
Web domain:.gh
International dailing code:  +233

Textile

In the decades following the country's independence, the textile sector has dominated the field of the processing industry and has been an important source of income. The textile industry employed about 25,000 people generating a production of 129 million yards, running at 60% of its maximum capacity.

However, since the early 1980s, measures of trade liberalization and globalization have led to a rapid decline of the textile industry in Ghana which could not deal with the competition of imported products. In the early 2000s, textile production did not exceed 65 million yards and only 3,000 people still working in the textile industry in Ghana. In 1995, textile imports have exceeded exports and the trend has never been reversed.

In recent years, the government, aware of the potential growth of the textile industry, has a renewed interest in this sector. Various programs were launched, aiming to restructure and improve the textile and clothing sector. They are designed to help increase employment opportunities in textile for the growing population, expanding and diversifying the economy, promoting domestic and foreign investment and boosting exports of textiles.

The Kente: Kente is a type of African cloth from Ghana and woven by the Akan-Ashanti since the 12th century. It is a royal fabric that is considered sacred, and the notables use it only for ceremonies, draped in the style of Roman togas.

Kente is composed of a colorful woven strips from cotton or silk thread on a traditional weaving loom. The strips are then sewn together. The patterns and colors have specific meanings.

Demography

In July 2012, Ghana's population was estimated at 25,241,998 people, 2,269,000 of which lived in Accra (the capital), and divided by age as follows:

• 0-14 years: 36.5% (male 4,568,273/female 4,468,939)
• 15-64 years: 60% (male 7,435,449/female 7,436,204)
• 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 399,737/female 482,471) (2011 est.)

The population growth rate was estimated in 2011 to 1,787%. 51% of the population lives in urban areas, with an urbanization rate of 3.4% for the period 2010-2015.

Life expectancy at birth is 61.45 years, 60.22 years for men and 62.73 years for women (2011 est.).

Language and culture

The distribution of ethnicity appears as follows: Akan 45.3%, Mole-Dagbon 15.2%, Ewe 11.7%, Ga-Dangme 7.3%, Guan 4%, Gurma 3.6%, Grusi 2.6%, Mande-Busanga 1%, other tribes 1.4%, other 7.8% (2000 census).

The population speaks the following languages: Asante 14.8%, Ewe 12.7%, Fante 9.9%, Boron (Brong) 4.6%, Dagomba 4.3%, Dangme 4.3%, Dagarte (Dagaba) 3.7%, Akyem 3.4%, Ga 3.4%, Akuapem 2.9%, other (includes English (official)) 36.1% (2000 census).

With regard to religion, 68.8% of the population is Christian (Pentecostal/Charismatic 24.1%, Protestant 18.6%, Catholic 15.1%, other 11%), 15.9% is Muslim, 8.5% has traditional beliefs, and 6.1% has no religion (2000 census).

Education

The literacy rate of Ghana's population is 57.9%. But there is a significant disparity between men and women, since the literacy rate for men is 66.4% whereas it is only 49.8% among women. Are considered literate people over 15 years those who can read and write.

Trade and employment

Ghana covers an area of 238.533 sq km (227.533 sq km of land and 11,000 sq km of water). In 2011, the GDP was estimated at $ 74.77 billion, of which 28.3% comes from agriculture, 21%  from industry and 50.7% from services.

In 2011, exports accounted for a turnover of $ 13.13 billion:

• Commodities: gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, manganese, aluminum, ore, diamonds, horticultural products.
• Partners: Netherlands 11.7%, Great Britain 7%, France 5.7%, USA 5.6%, Ukraine 5%, Belgium 4.6% (2009)

As for imports, they totaled $ 14.03 billion for the same year for products and partners following:

• Commodities: capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs
• Partners: China 16.6%, Nigeria 12.7%, USA 8.4%, Cote d'Ivoire 6.2%, UK 4.5%, France 4.2% (2009)

The official currency of Ghana is the cedi since 1965. One cedi is itself divided into 100 pesewas. On 3rd July 2007, Ghana changed currency. The new Ghana cedi is worth 10,000 old cedis. Since this change, it requires 14,000 cedis to buy one euro.

The labor force by sector is as follows: agriculture: 56%, industry: 15%, services 29% (2005 est.). The unemployment rate is estimated at 11% (2000 est.) and 28.5% of the population lives below the poverty line (est 2007).

Communication

In 2009, the country had 277,900 fix lines in use and 17,436,000 mobile phones. With an estimated population of 23,108 million (IMF), there is close to one mobile phone per capita.

Ghana has two state-owned TV stations, as well as two state-owned radio networks. There are also a large number of privately-owned radio stations, the transmission of international radio stations, and several cable and satellite TV subscription services (2007).

There were in 2010, 60,282 Internet hosts and 1’297’000 Internet users.

Administrative organization

Ghana has a democratic government system. With the Local Government Law of 1988 and later the 1992 Constitution, which made decentralization a constitutional obligation, the latter was introduced in Ghana to organize the territorial network in democratic institutions.

The structure of the different levels of government is the following: State> Region> District> Council> Village.

Ghana has a unique system of organization of its territory. The country is divided into ten regions, each represented by a Coordinating Council, composed of unelected officials and an appointed regional minister. The region is a simple decentralized administrative body. The district represents the most complete level of decentralization. The local administrative life is structured around the 138 districts. They were established after independence to serve democratic goals, and then were given a less and less political role in the local management.

If one had to characterize the current situation schematically, one could say that the local  government system in Ghana is much concentrated, with partial or full delegation. Vital sectors such as agriculture, education or health, are areas that are managed by central ministries. Among the delegated services are those related to water supply, street lighting, etc.. Services entirely left up to local decision-making are rare. The regulation cites, for example, the maintenance of roads and cemeteries. However, the power of the district in these areas is small. In fact, their situation depends on their ability to mobilize resources other than those coming from the State and, in some cases, they manage to expand their scope and to play a significant role in development projects.

It is also worth mentioning traditional chefferies that survived the colonial period and that have demonstrated an amazing ability to adapt. They are now active institutions, a significant component of local life, especially for anything related to civil, land and natural resource management.

The two systems, one representative, with a political-administrative focus and serving the citizens, the other customary, hereditary and serving the clan, are now competing to exercise power locally, broaden their social base and capture scarce resources.

History

Formed from the merger of the British colony of the Gold Coast and the Togoland trust territory, Ghana became in 1957 the first sub-Saharan country in colonial Africa to gain its independence. Ghana endured a long series of coups before Lt. Jerry Rawlings took power in 1981 and banned political parties. After approving a new constitution and restoring multiparty politics in 1992, Rawlings won presidential elections in 1992 and 1996 but was constitutionally prevented from running for a third term in 2000. John Kufuor succeeded him and was reelected in 2004. John Atta Mills took over as head of State in early 2009.