Ghana:
Geography

Click to enlarge

Pages for other countries and territories

Other pages in this profile of Ghana:
People, Government, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.


Background	Formed from the merger of the British colony of the Gold Coast and the Togoland trust territory, Ghana in 1957 became the first sub-Saharan country in colonial Africa to gain its independence. A long series of coups resulted in the suspension of Ghana's third constitution in 1981 and a ban on political parties. A new constitution, restoring multiparty politics, was approved in 1992. Lt. Jerry RAWLINGS, head of state since 1981, won presidential elections in 1992 and 1996, but was constitutionally prevented from running for a third term in 2000. John KUFUOR, who defeated former Vice President John ATTA-MILLS in a free and fair election, succeeded him.

Location	Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Cote d'Ivoire and Togo
Geographic coordinates	8 00 N, 2 00 W
Map references	Africa
Area	total: 239,460 sq km land: 230,940 sq km water: 8,520 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Oregon
Land boundaries	total: 2,094 km border countries: Burkina Faso 549 km, Cote d'Ivoire 668 km, Togo 877 km
Coastline	539 km
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm
Climate	tropical; warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast; hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north
Terrain	mostly low plains with dissected plateau in south-central area
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Afadjato 880 m
Natural resources	gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish, rubber, hydropower, petroleum, silver, salt, limestone
Land use	arable land: 17.54% permanent crops: 9.22% other: 73.24% (2005)
Irrigated land	310 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards	dry, dusty, northeastern harmattan winds occur from January to March; droughts
Environment - current issues	recurrent drought in north severely affects agricultural activities; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; poaching and habitat destruction threatens wildlife populations; water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
Geography - note	Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake