Ghana Facts and Figures

• Poverty levels have dropped from 52 percent in 1992 to 28.5 percent in 2005.

• Economic growth has averaged 4.5 percent from 1983 through 2000, but accelerated to 5.6 percent in 2004 and 6.2 percent in 2006.

• Ghanaians’ access to electricity (55 percent) is the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa outside South Africa.

• Some 750,000 people in 2,014 communities have gained access to new or improved water supplies and sanitation systems — with coverage reaching 55 percent of the population and exceeding the original target by 36 percent.

• After Ghana upped its education budget support in 53 deprived districts, the gross enrollment rate in those districts increased to 84.3 percent in 2006 from 70.7 percent in 2002.

• Girls’ access to school also improved from 65.5 percent to 72 percent in the same timeframe.

• Student scores in English and math have improved over the past 10 years across all income levels.

• Over 8,000 classroom blocks (consisting of up to six classrooms or more per block) have been constructed, reaching about one-third of schools across the country.

• 35 million textbooks have been published, raising the number of English and math textbooks to one per child.

• Fifteen years ago, nearly two-thirds of primary school graduates were functionally illiterate. In 2004, the figure was one in five.

• The road network has increased from 25,000 kilometers in 2000 to over 60,000 kilometers in 2005.