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)