Ghana has developed a reputation as a robust and stable democracy, and with a storied legacy of pan-African initiatives it has long punched above its weight diplomatically. While the recent oil boom following the discovery of the offshore Jubilee field in 2007 has helped to fuel GDP growth as much as 14% over recent years, it is now projected to slow to a more modest 4.5% in 2014.
The economy has a history of strong government involvement and a legacy of socialist policies in the 1960s and 1970s, with statist companies involved in both energy and agriculture; yet, the country’s market is now among the more liberalised in the region.
Ghana has a strong export profile, although it is somewhat dependent on commodities. It is the world’s second-largest exporter of cocoa, behind Côte d’Ivoire, and one of the continent’s largest gold producers, while new reserves of oil and gas have helped further expand its resource wealth. The economy saw expansion of 7.1% in 2013, while inflation reached 14.5% in March 2014.
Although inflation and balance of payments remain the country’s biggest economic challenges, measures have been taken to strengthen the cedi and curb inflation.
President John Dramani Mahama on overcoming short-term headwinds
OBG talks to Kadré Désiré Ouédraogo, President, Commission of the Economic Community of West Africa...
OBG talks to Penny Pritzker, US Secretary of Commerce
OBG talks to Donald Kaberuka, President, African Development Bank
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