Ghana is a West African country with plains and low plateaus covered in savannah and rainforests. The country has a total landmass of 239,460 square kilometres. From the 2010 national population census, the population of Ghana was estimated at 24,658,823 with a growth rate of 2.3%. The population is currently estimated to be 28,263,513 at the end of 2016. The literacy rate was estimated at 76.6 in 2015 and the poverty rate was estimated at 24.2% in 2013. More than half of the population’s workforce are in farming, mainly small landholders. Due to the differing rainfall patterns, farmers can farm twice a year in the southern and middle belts of the country while farmers in the northern belt can farm only once a year.
Agriculture and the many natural resources of Ghana account for roughly 25% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The services sector accounts for 50% of GDP. Gold and cocoa production and individual remittances are major sources of foreign exchange. Oil production at Ghana’s offshore Jubilee field began in mid-December 2010, and drilling of crude oil in other fields commenced afterwards.