Ghana Geography - 2021


SOURCE: 2021 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES  Spanish Simplified Chinese French German Russian Hindi Arabic Portuguese

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: 238,533 sq km

land: 227,533 sq km

water: 11,000 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than Oregon

Land boundaries

total: 2,420 km

border countries (3): Burkina Faso 602 km, Cote d'Ivoire 720 km, Togo 1098 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

highest point: Mount Afadjato 885 m

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m

mean elevation: 190 m

Natural resources

gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish, rubber, hydropower, petroleum, silver, salt, limestone

Land use

agricultural land: 69.1% (2018 est.)

arable land: 20.7% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 11.9% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 36.5% (2018 est.)

forest: 21.2% (2018 est.)

other: 9.7% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

340 sq km (2012)

Total renewable water resources

56.2 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Population distribution

population is concentrated in the southern half of the country, with the highest concentrations being on or near the Atlantic coast as shown in this population distribution map

Natural hazards

dry, dusty, northeastern harmattan winds from January to March; droughts

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation

Geography - note

Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake (manmade reservoir) by surface area (8,482 sq km; 3,275 sq mi); the lake was created following the completion of the Akosombo Dam in 1965, which holds back the White Volta and Black Volta Rivers

NOTE: The information regarding Ghana on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Ghana 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Ghana 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.

This page was last modified 16 Dec 23, Copyright © 2023 ITA all rights reserved.