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Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has roughly twice the per capita
output of the poorest countries in West Africa. Even so, Ghana remains heavily
dependent on international financial and technical assistance.
• Gold and cocoa production and individual remittances are major sources of
foreign exchange. The domestic economy continues to revolve around
agriculture, which accounts for about 43 percent of GDP and employs about 55
percent of the work force, mainly small landholders.
• With the 2007 confirmed discovery of commercially viable offshore oil reserves in
Ghana (Jubilee Field) and predicted production set for late 2010 or 2011, there
has been increased international interest in the Ghanaian market on the part of
both oil and gas and auxiliary services sectors – as well as companies from
unrelated sectors anticipating future economic growth in the country. Further oil
and gas exploration continues and optimism is high for further discoveries.
• Real GDP growth over the past ten years has averaged 5.1 percent with the
most recent GDP figure (2007) at 5.5 percent (1997-2007) with the most recent
GDP figure (2008 estimated) at 6.3 percent.
• The inflation rate throughout 2008 ballooned to 18 percent and is reported to
have grown unexpectedly further to almost 20 percent in January 2009, almost
double the 2007 figure. Public debt rose to a figure of almost 52 percent of
national income at the end of 2008.
• Ghana’s main export partners (2007) were the Netherlands (11 percent), the
United Kingdom (9 percent), France (6.2 percent), the United States (5.9
percent), Germany (4.6 percent) and Belgium (4.4 percent).
• Ghana’s main import partners (2007) were Nigeria (15.1 percent), China (14.9
percent), the United Kingdom (5.2 percent) and the United States (5.1 percent).
Source buyusa.gov
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