The Ghanaian Economy
Although Ghana is a poor country in Western Africa, it still has twice the per capital output of the poorer countries. Almost one third of the population in Ghana lives below the international poverty line, which is set at $1.25 a day. Most of those living under these impoverished conditions are women who are from the politically outcast northern regions of Ghana. The World Bank reports that the per capital income of the people from this region of Ghana has barely doubled in the past 45 years.
Ghana is one of the world’s most important producers of gold, for which it was known during colonial times. There are many other exports produced in Ghana, including cocoa, timber, electricity, bauxite, manganese and diamonds, which are major sources of foreign exchange for Ghana.
In 1965 the Akosombo Dam was built along the Volta River. The dam supplies electricity for neighboring countries as well as Ghana. In 2008 the labor force in Ghana totaled 11.5 million people, with the economy dependent heavily on agriculture which makes up over 37% of GDP and employs about 56% of the workers. Manufacturing does not comprise a large percentage of the Ghana economy, coming to about 7.9% of the Gross National Product.