ANU Africa Network

Sound: Part of Ghana’s National Anthem, retrieved from the CIA World Factbook.

Today, we celebrate Ghana, the first African country in Sub-Saharan Africa to gain independence in 1957. The country was previously called the “Gold Coast” by its colonizer, Britain. Ghana has a rich socio-political and economic history that has influenced its current development.

Let’s now dig deeper into the socio-economic and political context of the country.

Politics and History

While diverse, present-day Ghana was largely dominated by the Asante Asante Kingdom until the 19th Century, when the British finally colonized it. However, the brave Asante and other ethnic groups persistently resisted British imperialism and gained independence in 1957 under Kwame Nkrumah.

After Nkrumah, the country went into political turmoil again, with numerous coups. Specifically, after taking power in the early 1980s, Lt. Jerry Rawlings cracked down on freedom and banned political parties and constitutionalism. He only restored multiparty rule in 1992, marking a turning point in the country’s political history. A series of elections have been held in the country since then. President Akufo-Addo is now serving his second term in office after re-election in 2020, and the country is gearing up for another election in 2024.

Ghana is often used as one of Africa’s most stable democracies and an active player in international affairs. According to the World Bank, the country ranks among the top three African countries for freedom of speech and press. But Ghana’s ascent to the international stage is not new. In fact, the country’s founding father, Kwame Nkrumah, was a dedicated pan-Africanist and the founding member of the Organisation of African Unity, now the African Union. Nkrumah’s successors have inherited the same pan-African spirit. Ghana, for instance, is an active player in peacekeeping missions abroad and a prominent member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) bloc. In 1960, for instance, Ghana participated in the peacekeeping operation in the Congo and the Liberian and Sierra Leonean crises in the early 1990s. In June 2021, Ghana was elected to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the 2022–2023 term. 

Ghana is one of the African countries with diplomatic representation in Canberra.

Economy and society

In 2019, Ghana was crowned the world’s fastest-growing economy. However, the country is now battling some of the highest inflation rates it has seen in decades. Measured at 50.3% in 2022, Ghana witnessed a very high inflation rate. However, in January 2024, the annual inflation rate increased to 23.5% from 23.2% in the prior month, staying well above the central bank’s target band of 6% to 10% (Trading Economics, 2024). The World Bank estimated growth in Ghana at as low as 1.5% in 2023, remaining muted in 2024, and will be 2.8%. In 2021, the country’s public debt rose from 79.6% to over 90% of GDP in 2022. The country is not doing very badly in terms of unemployment, as the highest unemployment rate it has registered since the 1990s was 10% in the year 2000. In fact, in 2022, the unemployment rate in Ghana was estimated at just about 3.5%. 

With a GDP of US$77.3 billion in 2022, Ghana is Africa’s 10th largest country by GDP. The country relies on gold, cocoa, and oil exports. Originally known as the “Gold Coast,”  Ghana is Africa’s largest gold producer, with gold accounting for over 40% of its export earnings. The per capita GDP of Ghana was US$2203.6 in 2022 (the 18th highest in Africa). In fact, in 2010, Ghana achieved middle-income status.

About 56% of Ghanaians were under the age of 25 in 2020, and the country achieved an urbanisation rate of 59.2% in 2023 and a literacy rate of 79% (2018 estimate). 

Happy 67th Independence Day, Ghana!

The African Union launched its Second Ten-Year Implementation Plan (STYIP) for Agenda 2063 on February 17, 2024.

The continent is moving forward, and leadership from the African Union is driving the direction of development with the powerful Agenda 2063.
There are rivers still to cross, but we don’t walk alone in Africa; we walk together.

The document for the launch of the STYIP defines 7 aspirations for the continent, 20 accompanying goals, and 10 moonshot interventions to attain the aspirations.

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Africa’s GDP growth trajectory (4%) is much higher than the global average (2.7% – 3.2%).

70% of African countries are already upper or lower-middle-income countries.

60% of Africa’s population is under 25, and by 2030 42% of global youth will be in Africa.

In 37 African countries, less than half the population can afford 1GB of data a month (giving context to improvements needed for the continent).

The STYIP launch notes that Africa has partnerships across the world and that it will “increasingly engage in alliances,” such as its recent membership in the G20.

The STYIP also notes that African countries are increasingly taking common positions on many issues pertaining to the continent’s development, such as the AfCFTA (the Continental Free Trade Agreement), Africa’s Common Position on Food Systems, Environment, and Climate Change Issues, and Collectively Addressing Pandemics such as Ebola and COVID-19.

This all comes at a time of shifting geopolitics, slow recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and slowing global growth in the decade preceding it. Africa is rising as a strong and growing continent.

Taken together, these facts and the language of the STYIP show that the stage is set for Africa to be a partner for countries like Australia for mutual benefit and development.

As Africa advances to a unified position in the world and the African Renaissance occurs, nobody will want to be left out of the chance to be friendly with this majestic and growing continent.

This short piece was written by Estelle Stambolie for the ANU African Studies Network.