There has been growing skepticism in recent years about the use of doing cross-section regressions
for all nations in the world to see what explains disparities in growth rates. It is suggested that
there are too many differences for such macro comparisons to be useful. In contrast, there is an
older tradition of comparing countries that are similar in some ways but highly different
in others. Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire are two countries that appear to be particularly useful
for comparison. Despite being located on the same West African coast and having similar economic
systems at the time of independence, they have pursued dramatically divergent economic agendas.
Ghana became the first Sub-Saharan country in colonial Africa to win
independence in 1957, when the British colony of the Gold Coast and the Togoland trust territory
merged. Ghana, formally the Republic of Ghana, is a West African country. It shares borders
with the Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Togo in the east, as well as the
Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. Ghana has a total area of 238,535
km2 (92,099 sq mi), encompassing a wide range of biomes from coastal savannas
to tropical rain forests. Ghana is the second-most populated country in West Africa,
after Nigeria, with about 31 million inhabitants. Accra is the country’s capital and largest city;
other notable cities include Kumasi, Tamale, and Sekondi-Takoradi.
Côte d’Ivoire on the other hand is a West African country known for its beaches,
rainforests, and French colonial history. Abidjan, on the country’s Atlantic coast,
is the country’s most populous city. The ziggurat-like concrete La Pyramide and St.
Paul’s Cathedral, a swooping building tied to a gigantic cross, are among the city’s modern icons.
Banco National Park, located north of the city’s central business sector, is a rainforest preserve
with hiking routes. Between the 15th and 19th centuries, when European explorers arrived and
began to establish their influence, various minor kingdoms dominated the area of Cote d’Ivoire.
Hello there. Welcome to Africa Reloaded and thanks for joining us. In today’s video,
we will be doing a comparison between Ghana and Cóte d’Ivoire to find out which country is better.
This comparison is going to be based on the Geography and topology,
economy, infrastructure including contributions from sectors like manufacturing, tourism etc. Stay
connected as we work on comparing both countries to find out who is better.
Geography and Topography. Ghana.
Ghana is a West African country in Africa, located near the Gulf of Guinea and slightly
north of the equator. On the south Atlantic Ocean coast of Ghana, there are lowlands,
low hills, rivers, Lake Volta, the world’s largest artificial lake, Dodi Island, and Bobowasi Island.
Ghana is classified into four ecoregions based on geography. The shoreline is largely a low,
sandy beach surrounded by plains and shrub, with various rivers and streams running through it.
High plains can be found in Ghana’s northern region. The Ashanti uplands and the Kwahu
Plateau make up a forested plateau region in south-west and south-central Ghana. Along
Ghana’s eastern international border are the steep Akwapim-Togo hills. The Volta Basin encompasses
most of south-central Ghana, and Mount Afadja, at 885 meters (2,904 feet), is located in the
Akwapim-Togo mountains. The climate is tropical, with the eastern coastal strip being hot and dry,
the south-west region of Ghana being hot and humid, and the north being warm and wet.
Many tributary rivers, such as the Oti and Afram rivers, drain into Lake Volta,
the world’s largest artificial lake, which extends through minor areas of south-eastern Ghana.
Pulmakong lies in the northwestern portion of Ghana, and Cape Three Points in Axim is in
the south. Ghana is located between 4° and 12° north latitude. South Ghana has evergreen and
semi-deciduous forests with trees like mahogany, odum, and ebony, as well as much of Ghana’s oil
palms and mangroves, whereas the northern section of Ghana has shea trees, baobabs, and acacias.
Côte d’Ivoire. The Ivory Coast is a country in western
Africa’s sub-Saharan region. It is bordered on the west by Liberia and Guinea, on the north by Mali
and Burkina Faso, on the east by Ghana, and on the south by the Gulf of Guinea (Atlantic Ocean).
The country is located between 4° and 11° north latitude and 2° and 9° west longitude. A total of
64.8 percent of the land is used for agriculture, with arable land accounting for 9.1 percent,
permanent pasture accounting for 41.5 percent, and permanent crops accounting for 14.2 percent.
Water contamination is one of the country’s most serious problems right now. Since 2011, Ivory
Coast has been divided into 12 districts and two independent cities at the district level.
The districts are organized into 31 regions, which are further divided into 108 departments,
which are further divided into 510 sub-prefectures.
Multiple villages may be organized into communes in some cases. Departments, sub-prefectures, and
communes make up the autonomous districts, which are not separated into regions. Governors for
the 12 non-autonomous districts have been vacant since 2011. As a result,
these districts have yet to establish themselves as governmental institutions.
Economy of both countries. Ghana.
Ghana is a country with a fair amount of natural resources, including industrial minerals,
hydrocarbons, and precious metals. It’s a digital economy in the making,
with mixed economy hybridization and an expanding market. The “Ghana Vision 2020”
is the country’s economic plan’s goal. Ghana would become the first African country to become
developed between 2020 and 2029, and a newly industrialised country between 2030 and 2039,
according to this proposal. South Africa, a member of the Group of 24 and a country in Sub-Saharan
Africa, is not included because it is a freshly industrialized country. The Ghanaian economy
is also linked to the Chinese yuan renminbi, as well as the country’s huge gold reserves.
The Bank of Ghana began circulating the renminbi as hard money in Ghanaian state-owned institutions
and to the general public in 2013, alongside the Ghana cedi as the second national trade currency.
Between 2012 and 2013, 37.9% of rural residents were poor, compared to only 10.6% of urban
residents. While nearly all (94 percent) of rural poor households work in agriculture,
urban regions provide more opportunities for employment, notably in informal trade.
Côte d’Ivoire. Ivory Coast has a relatively
high per capita income (US$1,662 in 2017) for the region and is an important transit country for
neighboring landlocked countries. The country’s economy is the largest in the West African
Economic and Monetary Union, accounting for 40% of the monetary union’s overall GDP. The country
exports the most cocoa beans in the world and is the fourth-largest exporter of general products
in Sub-Saharan Africa (following South Africa, Nigeria, and Angola). Cocoa bean producers earned
$2.53 billion in 2009 from cocoa exports, with 630,000 metric tons expected in 2013. In 2012,
100,000 rubber farmers in Ivory Coast received a total of $105 million. The Ivory Coast’s economic
growth has been aided by close relations with France since independence in 1960, diversification
of agricultural exports, and encouragement of foreign investment. In recent years, Ivory Coast’s
principal crops, coffee and cocoa, have seen increased competition and dropping pricing on the
worldwide market. This, combined with high levels of internal corruption, makes life difficult for
growers, exporters, and workers; indentured labor has been reported in the country’s cocoa
and coffee production in every edition of the United States Department of Labor’s List
of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor since 2009. Since independence, the Ivory Coast’s
economy has risen faster than that of most other African countries. Taxes on exported agriculture
could be one cause for this. The Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and Kenya were outliers since their
monarchs were big cash-crop producers themselves, and the newly independent countries did not impose
punishing tax rates on exported agricultural. As a result, their economies prospered.
Infrastructural Development. Ghana.
During the 2000s, infrastructure contributed just over one percentage point to Ghana’s yearly per
capita GDP growth. Raising the country’s infrastructure to that of the region’s
middle-income countries may enhance annual growth by almost 2.7 percentage points. When compared
to other African low-income countries, Ghana has a well-developed infrastructure platform.
The country’s rural water, electricity, and GSM signal coverage levels are excellent.
The road network is in good or average condition for the most part. In the ICT,
ports, roadways, and water supply sectors, institutional reforms have been implemented.
Ghana’s most serious problems are in the power sector, where outdated transmission and
distribution infrastructure, rapid demand growth, and frequent hydrological shocks have forced the
country to rely on high-cost oil-based generating. Water distribution losses are unusually large,
leaving little to reach end consumers, who are consequently subjected to intermittent supply.
To address Ghana’s infrastructure problems, annual expenditures will need to be increased
to $2.3 billion. Infrastructure spending in the country is currently around $1.2 billion per year,
or roughly 7.5 percent of GDP. Inefficiencies, such as underpricing of power, cost another $1.1
billion each year. Ghana’s yearly infrastructure budget gap is estimated to be at $0.4 billion,
with the majority of the cash coming from power and water. Ghana can raise additional public
money via greater tax receipts as a result of its recent oil finds. The country has several good
areas to build on, as well as a strong economic foundation on which to fund incremental efforts.
Côte d’Ivoire. Between the mid-2000s
and the mid-2010s, infrastructure contributed 1.8 percentage points to Cote d’Ivoire’s yearly per
capita GDP growth before conflict obliterated the country’s infrastructure and its growth
benefits. Raising the country’s infrastructure to that of the region’s middle-income countries
might enhance growth by another two percentage points. In the 1990s, private sector contracts
resulted in increased operational performance and finance for investments in the water,
power, transportation, and information technology sectors. Those contracts miraculously survived the
crisis and continued to provide uninterrupted service. However, since the mid-2000s,
private investment flows have dropped. The most important infrastructural challenge for Cote
d’Ivoire will be regaining the financial stability required to restore a reliable energy supply.
Investments in terminal capacity, as well as road and rail infrastructure enhancements on hinterland
linkages, will be required to reestablish Abidjan’s port’s significance. Additional issues
include a lack of financing for road repair and poor sanitation. In the mid-2000s, Cote d’Ivoire
spent $750 million on infrastructure, with the majority of that going to power sector operations
and maintenance. If power underpricing and other inefficiencies (worth $200 million per year) were
eliminated, the country’s yearly infrastructure funding shortfall would be $1 billion,
and infrastructure targets could be met in 20 years. By increasing public investment from its
current low level, employing more efficient technologies, and attracting extra private
investment for infrastructure, Cote d’Ivoire has a high chance of closing its funding deficit.
Manufacturing sector. Ghana.
Ghana’s economy is evolving into a digital-based mixed economy hybrid, with an increasing primary
manufacturing and export of digital technology goods, as well as assembling
and exporting automobiles and ships, diverse resource rich exportation of industrial minerals,
agricultural products primarily cocoa, petroleum and natural gas, and industries
such as information and communications technology, primarily via Ghana’s state digital technology
corporation Rlg Communications. Since 2014, Ghana has been producing urban electric vehicles.
Cote d’Ivoire. Côte d’Ivoire was one of the world’s
fastest-growing economies in the half-decade following the return of political stability in
2011. Due to its domestic political instability, the country missed out on much of the developing
and emerging markets boom that characterized the global economy from 2000 to 2010, but its current
era of outperformance has allowed it to recover. Strong investment has been a key driver of this,
particularly as the public and private sectors worked to replace or restore the stock of
infrastructure and capital that had deteriorated or been destroyed between 2002 and 2011.
Because Côte d’Ivoire is a significant cocoa producer, accounting for around 40% of the
global market, strong cocoa prices aided the country’s main cash crop in 2014 and 2015,
a period that also witnessed increasing oil and
gas output and expanded exploration at recently discovered reserves.
Tourism Sector. Ghana.
Ghana’s Ministry of Tourism is in charge of tourism regulation. This ministry is in charge
of promoting and developing tourism-related activities in Ghana. Ghana’s tourism business
brought in $2.19 billion ($2,019,000,000) in 2011, thanks to an anticipated 1.1 million overseas
visitors. Ghana’s tourism industry brought approximately $1.7 billion in 2012 from 993,600
international visitors, employing 359,000 people. On the back of an expected 4.3 million
international tourist arrivals, Ghana’s tourism sector would generate US$8.3 billion per year by
2027. Except for specific business incubators and business magnates on business travels,
all visitors to Ghana must acquire a visa issued by the Ghanaian government.
Côte d’Ivoire. Since the early 1970s,
the tourism business in Ivory Coast has grown dramatically. In 1997, the country had
11,374 beds in 7,786 hotel rooms, with a 70% occupancy rate. In 1998, 301,039 tourists arrived,
with more over 73,000 from Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. Some of the main attractions
include beaches, tourist settlements, and picture safaris through nature preserves.
Travel to Ivory Coast necessitates the use of a passport.
Visas are not required for stays of less than 91 days,[citation needed], but all foreign tourists
must have a yellow fever vaccination certificate. The average cost of lodging in Abidjan was $160
per day in 2002, according to the US Department of State, compared to $98 in Yamoussoukro.
Standards of Living. Ghana.
A Family of four in Ghana has an estimated monthly cost of 1,628$ (12,874₵) without
rent. A single person has an estimated monthly cost of about 457$ (3,612₵)
without rent. Cost of living in Ghana is, on average, 56.46%
lower than in United States. Rent in Ghana is, on average, 59.57% lower than in United States.
Cote d’Ivoire. A Family of four in Cote d’Ivoire have
an estimated monthly cost of about 1,287,116CFA (1,287,116CFA) without rent. A single person's
estimated monthly cost is 374,184CFA (374,184CFA) without rent. Abidjan is 58.54% less expensive
than New York (without rent). Rent in Abidjan is, on average, 82.23% lower than in New York.
Thanks for watching this video. I will let you make a choice at this point on which country
is better. Both countries have many things in common and are amazing African countries.
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