Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Ghana
conventional short form:
Ghana
former:
Gold Coast
Government type:
constitutional democracy
Capital:
name: Accra
geographic coordinates:
5 33 N, 0 13 W
time difference:
UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
10 regions; Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, Western
Independence:
6 March 1957 (from the UK)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 6 March (1957)
Constitution:
several previous; latest drafted 31 March 1992, approved and promulgated 28 April 1992, entered into force 7 January 1993; amended 1996 (2012)
Legal system:
mixed system of English common law and customary law
International law organization participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]
Executive branch:
chief of state: President John Dramani MAHAMA (since 24 July 2012); Vice President Kwesi Bekoe AMISSAH-ARTHUR (since 6 August 2012); note - President MAHAMA assumed office due to the death of former president John Atta MILLS and subsequently won the December 2012 presidential election; the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government:
President John Dramani MAHAMA (since 24 July 2012); Vice President Kwesi Bekoe AMISSAH-ARTHUR (since 6 August 2012); note - President MAHAMA assumed office due to the death of former president John Atta MILLS and subsequently won the December 2012 presidential election
cabinet:
Council of Ministers; president nominates members subject to approval by Parliament
elections:
president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held on 7 December 2012 (next to be held in December 2016)
election results:
John Dramani MAHAMA elected president; percent of vote - John Dramani MAHAMA 50.7%, Nana Addo Dankwa AKUFO-ADDO 47.7%, other 1.6%
Legislative branch:
unicameral Parliament (275 seats; members elected by direct, popular vote in single-seat constituencies to serve four-year terms)
elections:
last held on 7 and 8 December 2012 (next to be held in December 2016)
election results:
percent of vote by party - NPP 47.5%, NDC 46.4%, PNC 0.6%, independent 2.5%, other 3.0%; seats by party - NDC 151, NPP 120, PNC 1, independent 3
Judicial branch:
highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of a chief justice and 12 justices)
judge selection and term of office:
chief justice appointed by the president in consultation with the Council of State (a small advisory body of prominent citizens) and with the approval of Parliament; other justices appointed by the president upon the advice of the Judicial Council (an 18-member independent body of judicial, military and police officials, and presidential nominees) and on the advice of the Council of State; justices can retire at age 60, with compulsory retirement at age 70
subordinate courts:
Court of Appeal; High Court; Circuit Court; District Court; regional tribunals
Political parties and leaders:
Convention People's Party or CPP [Samia NKRUMAH]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Christian Aid (water rights)
International organization participation:
ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, EITI (compliant country), FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINURSO, MONUSCO, NAM, OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel Ohene AGYEKUM (since 7 December 2009)
chancery:
3512 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
[1] (202) 686-4520
FAX:
[1] (202) 686-4527
consulate(s) general:
New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Gene A. CRETZ (since 11 September 2012)
embassy:
24 Fourth Circular Rd., Cantonments, Accra
mailing address:
P. O. Box 194, Accra
telephone:
[233] 30-2741-000
FAX:
[233] 30-2741-389
Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green, with a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow band; red symbolizes the blood shed for independence, yellow represents the country's mineral wealth, while green stands for its forests and natural wealth; the black star is said to be the lodestar of African freedom
note:
uses the popular Pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the flag of Bolivia, which has a coat of arms centered in the yellow band
National symbol(s):
black star; golden eagle
National anthem:
name: "God Bless Our Homeland Ghana"
lyrics/music: unknown/Philip GBEHO
note: music adopted 1957, lyrics adopted 1966; the lyrics were changed twice, once when a republic was declared in 1960 and again after a 1966 coup
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Ghana on this page is re-published from the 2014 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Ghana Government 2014 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Ghana Government 2014 should be addressed to the CIA.
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may habe the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assignes counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order
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This page was last modified 06-Nov-14