Ghana Economic Characteristics

The global population of the world has increased over the years. Today, the world’s population is more than 7 billion people (UN Population Division, 2015). Ghana’s population in 2014 was estimated to be 26,442,178 representing 0.38% of the world’s population in 2014 (Worldmeters, 2015). Nigeria, Togo and Cote D’voire had an estimated population of 178,516,904, 6,993,244 and 20,804,774 in 2014 respectively (Worldmeters, 2015). As population keeps increasing, it is expedient for governments and other stakeholders to pay close attention to the economic characteristics of their countries. This essay discusses the economic characteristics of Ghana, in relation to other neighbouring countries within the sub region and analyses the implications of economic characteristics for socio-economic development.

An economic activity can simply be defined as any productive action within a space over time. Economic activity are actions that involve the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services at all levels within a society (Canagarajah & Mazumdar, 1999). Production is a key factor in economic activities. It involves the processes and the

Economic activities in Ghana can be broadly categorized as primary, secondary and/or tertiary. All these types of economic activities are crucial to development of the country. The primary economic activities are those concern with the production of goods. The agricultural sector is one of the dominate sectors in Ghana. Most people especially those in the rural areas are involved in farming, fishing, animal husbandry among others. Likewise, the secondary sector which deals with manufacturing and processing of produce from the primary sector is an important economic activities in Ghana. The service providing activities like banking, health care, teaching etc. is an essential economic activity in