Ghana (continued)
Industries: mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, fishing, aluminum, food processing
Agriculture: accounts for more than 50% of GDP (including fishing and forestry); the major cash crop is cocoa; other principal crops—rice, coffee, cassava, peanuts, corn, shea nuts, timber; normally self-sufficient in food
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the international drug trade
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $424 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $1.9 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $78 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $84 million
Currency: cedi (plural—cedis); 1 cedi (C) = 100 pesewas
Exchange rates: cedis (C) per US$—301.68 (December 1989), 270.00 (1989), 202.35 (1988), 153.73 (1987), 89.20 (1986), 54.37 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Railroads: 953 km, all 1.067-meter gauge;
32 km double track; railroads undergoing
major renovation
Highways: 28,300 km total; 6,000 km concrete or bituminous surface, 22,300 km gravel, laterite, and improved earth surfaces
Inland waterways: Volta, Ankobra, and Tano Rivers provide 155 km of perennial navigation for launches and lighters; Lake Volta provides 1,125 km of arterial and feeder waterways Pipelines: none
Ports: Tema, Takoradi
Merchant marine: 4 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 52,016 GRT/66,627 DWT
Civil air: 6 major transport aircraft
Airports: 10 total, 9 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 7 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: poor to fair system of open-wire and cable, radio relay links; 38,000 telephones; stations—6 AM, no FM, 9 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force,
paramilitary Palace Guard, paramilitary
People's Militia
Military manpower: males 15-49, 3,437,300; 1,927,817 fit for military service; 167,778 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: 0.9% of GNP (1987)
Gibraltar
(dependent territory of the UK)
See regional map V
Geography
Total area: 6.5 km²; land area: 6.5 km²
Comparative area: about 11 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 1.2 km with Spain
Coastline: 12 km
Maritime claims:
- Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation
- Exclusive fishing zone: 3 nm
- Territorial sea: 3 nm
Disputes: source of occasional friction between Spain and the UK
Climate: Mediterranean with mild winters and warm summers
Terrain: a narrow coastal lowland borders The Rock
Natural resources: negligible
Land use: 0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures; 0% forest and woodland; 100% other
Environment: natural freshwater sources are meager so large water catchments (concrete or natural rock) collect rain water
Note: strategic location on Strait of Gibraltar that links the North Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea
People
Population: 29,572 (July 1990), growth
rate 0.1% (1990)
Birth rate: 18 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: -8 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 78 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 2.4 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun—Gibraltarian adjective—Gibraltar
Ethnic divisions: mostly Italian, English, Maltese, Portuguese, and Spanish descent
Religion: 75% Roman Catholic, 8% Church of England, 2.25% Jewish
Language: English and Spanish are primary languages; Italian, Portuguese, and Russian also spoken; English used in the schools and for official purposes
Literacy: 99% (est.)
Labor force: about 14,800 (including non-Gibraltar laborers); UK military establishments and civil government employ nearly 50% of the labor force
Organized labor: over 6,000
Government
Long-form name: none
Type: dependent territory of the UK
Capital: Gibraltar
Administrative divisions: none (colony of the UK)
Independence: none (colony of the UK)
Constitution: 30 May 1969
Legal system: English law
National holiday: Commonwealth Day (second Monday of March), 12 March 1990
Executive branch: British monarch, governor, chief minister, Gibraltar Council, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch: unicameral House of Assembly
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, Court of Appeal
Leaders: Chief of State—Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor and Commander in Chief Air Chief Marshal Sir Peter TERRY (since NA 1985);
Head of Government—Chief Minister Joe BOSSANO (since NA March 1988)
Political parties and leaders: Socialist Labor Party (SL), Joe Bossano; Gibraltar Labor Party/Association for the Advancement of Civil Rights (GCL/AACR), Adolfo Canepa; Independent Democratic Party, Joe Pitaluga
Suffrage: universal at age 18, plus other UK subjects resident six months or more
Elections: House of Assembly: last held on 24 March 1988 (next to be held March 1992); results—percent of vote by party NA; seats—(18 total, 15 elected) SL 8, GCL/AACR 7
Communists: negligible
Other political or pressure groups: Housewives Association, Chamber of Commerce, Gibraltar Representatives Organization
Diplomatic representation: none (colony of the UK)
Flag: two horizontal bands of white (top, double-width) and red with a