Area

Total area: 238,540sq km;  Land area: 230,020sq km;  Coastline:  539 km

Climate:

Tropical; warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast; hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north

Physical description:

Mostly low plains with dissected plateau in south-central area

Physical Infrastructure:

Communication: per 1,000 inhabitants (1997)
		Daily newspapers	- 14
		Radio receivers	- 236
		Television receivers	- 93
		Main telephone lines	- 6

Transportation
		Railways	- 953
		Roads	- 39,409 of which 11,653 km paved. Road transport accounts for 98% of freight moved.
		Ports and harbours	- Sekondi-Takoradi, Tema. Turnaround time for ships is among the quickest in West Africa.
		Waterways	- Volta, Ankobra and Tano rivers provide 168 km of perennial navigation for launches and lighters; Lake Volta provides 1,125 km of arterial and feeder waterways. Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake.
		Airports with paved runways	- 6

Energy provision:

Production 6.1bn kWh; by source - fossil fuel 1%; hydro 99%. Lake Volta and its dam supply the main power station. Reliance on water levels makes power supplies vulnerable, as was the case in 1998 when the country was plunged into a full-scale electricity crisis. In response to the crisis and growing demand from the mining industry, alternative power sources are being developed.

The US$400m West Africa Gas Pipeline, a massive regional project involving Ghana, Nigeria, Benin and Togo, which is expected to be completed by 2003, will provide Nigerian gas to the other countries. Ghana is proposing to extend this pipeline to neighbouring Côte d’Ivoire.