Ghana Geography - 2024

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

360 sq km (2013)

Major rivers (by length in km)

Volta river mouth (shared with Burkina Faso [s]) - 1,600 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Atlantic Ocean drainage: Volta (410,991 sq km)

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

Natural hazards

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

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