Ghana’s progress was among those considered “particularly rapid” because of significantly larger than predicted
growth in its HDI between 1990 and 2012. While the causes of this rapid growth are complex, a number of
factors stand out, two of which are worth mentioning. One, Ghana has enjoyed a healthy and stable political
and social environment during the past two decades, attributable to good governance and international support.
Ghana has also maintained a relatively high level of safety and security, unlike the conditions prevailing in
Nigeria and other surrounding nations. The second factor worth mentioning is the substantial improvement
in Ghana’s trade to output ratio between 1990 and 2012. Its share of global exports of goods and services
increased from its average of about 0.03 percent in 1985-1990 to 0.04 percent in 2005-2010 period. This
41 percent increase in Ghana’s share of global exports made it the only African country to be in the “High
Achievers of HDI” category, as reported by the World Bank (2012a).
Ghana has emerged as a middle-income country (World Bank, 2012b) with average Gross National Income
(GNI) per capita of $1,810 in 2011 (measured by the Purchasing Power Parity). Provisional annual estimate
of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in 2012 was 7.1 percent (Ghana Statistical Service, 2012). This
compares with 14.4 percent and 8.0 percent in 2011 and 2010, respectively. The strong economic growth is
a result of public policies that have encouraged private sector development and the export of crude oil since
production officially started in the offshore Jubilee Field in late 2010.