The project background is an important part of every proposal. It can be very similar to the project rationale or project justification. It shows your donor that you did your homework and that your project is planned well. But where can you get the information and data for your project background? And how does one actually look like?

Here you have an example project background for Ghana. If you are planning or working in Ghana then you are welcome to use this blueprint. Be sure to add more specific information about your own project though, and add other relevant data according to the region and place.

Sample Project Background for Ghana

In the year 1957, Ghana became the first country to gain independence in Sub-Saharan Africa. It lies in the west coast of Africa, sharing borders with Togo to the East, la Cote d’Ivoire to the West, Burkina Faso to the North and the Gulf of Guinea, to the South. Ghana is considered one of the stable countries in Africa with various ethnic, linguistic and religious groups. It is often referred to as Island of Pace in Africa. The country is favored by natural resources which have 7 national parks. Also, 41.0% is covered by forests.

Agriculture, oil, gold, industrial diamonds, petroleum, silver, salt, limestone etc. are some of the major economic sources of Ghana. Moreover, agriculture is considered as an engine of growth and job opportunities to Ghanaian people. More than half of the workforce is employed in the agricultural sector, which is one of the leading fields for enlargement of the economy. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Ghana was worth 47.33 billion US dollars in 2017. The country exports gold, oil, lumber and especially coca in huge amount adding to the GDP.

The country’s expenditure on health sector has been increasing within the past 10 years but still, it is lacking health care infrastructure. The country is not able to address health issues such as malaria, HIV-AIDS, women’s health issues, children’s health issues and issues of water supply, especially outside of urban areas.

Ghana ranks 140 in the Human Development Index and 131 in the Gender inequality index.

More Information

This is an example that you can use in case if it fits your project. The sources of information have plenty of more reliable data that you could use to adjust this sample, as per your needs. Other sources that you could use are the OECD, World Bank or the UN.

Country: Ghana

Source: (HDR-UNDP) (unless stated otherwise)

Demographics

Population- 28,102,471 (CIA The World Factbook)
Density- 126.719 sq./km (The World Bank)
Area (Rural/ Urban)- 43.9% / 56.1% (CIA The World Factbook)

Education

Adult literacy rate- 71.5 %

Health

Life expectancy at birth- 62 (Male) 64.1 (Female)
Infant mortality rate-2 deaths/1,000 live births
Maternal mortality- 319 deaths/100,000 live births
Stunting (% under five years )- 18.8
Total fertility rate- 3.9 births per woman
HIV Prevalence adult ( % ages 15-49)- 1.6

Economy

Most important sectors- Agriculture, Remittance and Oil
GDP- $47.33 billion (Trading Economics)
Unemployment rate- 36 % (Statista)
National poverty line- 24.2%

Ecology

Forested area- 41.0% (World Bank)
Number of National Parks-7

Other

Gender Inequality Index value – 0.538
Child marriage- 21%
Human Development Index value- 0.592
Corruption Rank- 81/180 (Transparency)
Ease of doing business score- 59.22 (World Bank)

The project background is an important part of every proposal. It can be very similar to the project rationale or the project justification. It shows your donor that you did your homework and that your project is planned well. But where can you get the information and data for your project background? And how does one actually look like?

Here you have an example project background for South Sudan. If you are planning or working in South Sudan then you are welcome to use this blueprint. Be sure to add more specific information about your own project though, and add other relevant data according to the region and place.

Project Background of South Sudan

South Sudanese history is one permeated with conflict. Indeed, prior to its 2011 independence, the country was at war with its northern counterpart, Sudan. This resulted from a failed promise that the region would be granted the right to political participation. This discrimination was predominantly based on religious differences. Indeed, there is a distinction between the Muslim-majority north and Christian south. Since 2011, however, bad governance and failed nation-building have plunged the country into turmoil once again, this time resulting in a, still ongoing, civil war. Whatever agreements were reached were quickly upset by the different warring parties roaming the country.

The permanence of this disarray translates into difficult conditions for the 13,026,129 South Sudanese. Indeed, the country’s human development index is 0.388, ranking it 187th in the world. This is explained by 50.6% of the country’s population living under the poverty line, a meager 27% literacy rate and a life expectancy of only 56.3 years.

Similarly, its agriculture-based economy, totaling at $19.75 billion, is one of the worlds lowest, ranking 152nd. This struggling economy is, moreover, plagued by incredibly high corruption, South Sudan being the world’s second most corrupt country.

This translates into high unemployment rates of 13.3%, and poor health conditions. Indeed, only 19.4% of births happen in hospitals. This explains the high child and maternal mortality rates, respectively at 62.8 per 1,000 live births, and 789 per 100,000 live births. Additionally, 27.6% of children under 5 suffer from malnutrition, ranking South Sudan 10th in the category.

The country’s ease of doing business score, however, indicates a difficulty to intervene to better the population’s living conditions. This hinders outside involvement, especially due to its state of civil war, which challenges development projects. High corruption scores further undermine these initiatives. South Sudan, a country in need of much internal change, is, however, one of least open to help in that regard.

If you are looking for more information then there are other sources that you could use like the OECD, World Bank or the UN.

Unless otherwise indicated, the data was retrieved from the CIA World Factbook.

Country: South Sudan

Source: CIA The World Factbook (unless otherwise indicated)

Demographics

Population: 13,026,129
Density: 21 per sq/km (Demography)
Area (Rural/ Urban) – 80.7% / 19.3%
Under the poverty line: 50.6%

Education

Literacy rate – 27%
Average years of schooling- NA
Average years of schooling male vs. female- NA

Health

Average life expectancy- 56.3 years
% of births in hospitals- 19.4%
Child mortality – 62.8 deaths/1,000 live births
Maternal mortality- 789 deaths/100,000 live births
Stunting/Malnourishment in children- 27.6%
Fertility rate – 5.07 children born/woman

Economy

Most important sectors- Agriculture
GDP – $19.75 billion
Unemployment rate- 13.3%

Ecology

% of the forested area- 0%
Number of National Parks- 0

Other:

Rank Gender Inequality Index – NA (http://hdr.undp.org/en/composite/GII)
Human Development Index- 0.388 (http://hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/SSD
Corruption Rank- 179/180 (https://www.transparency.org/country/SSD)
Ease of doing business- 32.86 (http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploreeconomies/south-sudan)

Tag: sample background