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
Land use: arable land: 15.82% permanent crops: 7.47% other: 76.71% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
110 sq km (1998 est.)
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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, 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
People Ghana
Population:
20,467,747
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the
effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower
life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower
population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of
population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July
2003 est.)