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Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with
Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...
in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Togo in the east.Jackson, John G. (2001) ''Introduction to African Civilizations'', Citadel Press, p. 201, . Ghana covers an area of , spanning diverse biomes that range from coastal savannas to tropical rainforests. With nearly 31 million inhabitants (according to 2021 census), Ghana is the second-most populous country in West Africa, after Nigeria. The capital and largest city is
Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...
; other major cities are Kumasi, Tamale, and Sekondi-Takoradi. The first permanent state in present-day Ghana was the Bono state of the 11th century. Numerous kingdoms and empires emerged over the centuries, of which the most powerful were the Kingdom of Dagbon in the north and the Ashanti Empire in the south. Beginning in the 15th century, the Portuguese Empire, followed by numerous other European powers, contested the area for trading rights, until the British ultimately established control of the coast by the late 19th century. Following over a century of colonisation, Ghana's current borders took shape, encompassing four separate British colonial territories: Gold Coast, Ashanti, the Northern Territories, and British Togoland. These were unified as an independent dominion within the Commonwealth of Nations on 6 March 1957, becoming the first colony in West Africa to achieve sovereignty. Ghana subsequently became influential in decolonisation efforts and the
Pan-African movement Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all Indigenous and diaspora peoples of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the movement exte ...
. Ghana is a multi-ethnic country with a diverse population, linguistic and religious groups; while the Akan are the largest ethnic group, they constitute only a plurality. Most Ghanaians are Christians (71.3%); almost a fifth are Muslims; a tenth practise traditional faiths or report no religion. Ghana is a unitary constitutional democracy led by a president who is both head of state and head of government. Ghana has maintained since 1993 one of the freest and most stable governments on the continent, and it performs relatively well in healthcare, economic growth, and human development, so that it has significant influence in West Africa and is highly integrated in international affairs, being a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, the
African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...
, the Economic Community of West African States, the Group of 24, and the Commonwealth of Nations.


Etymology

''Ghana'' means "strong warrior king" and was the title accorded to the kings of the medieval Ghana Empire in West Africa—not to be confused with today's Ghana, for the empire was further north, in modern-day Mali, Senegal and southern
Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...
, as well as in the region of Guinea. Ghana was known for its large gold usage and hence was named the ''Land of Gold''


History


Medieval kingdoms

Most of what is now Ghana was inhabited in the Middle Ages and the Age of Discovery by different ethnic groups. The earliest known kingdoms to emerge in modern Ghana were the Mole-Dagbani states. The Mole-Dagomba came on horseback from present-day Burkina Faso under a single leader, Naa Gbewaa. With their advanced weapons and based on a central authority, they easily invaded and occupied the lands of the local people ruled by the ''tendamba'' (land god priests), established themselves as the rulers over the locals, and made
Gambaga Gambaga is the capital of the East Mamprusi Municipal Assembly in the North East Region of Ghana. Once a residence of Mamprusi-kings it is still the capital of East Mamprusi Municipal Assembly, a municipality in the North East Region of Ghana. ...
their capital. The death of Naa Gbewaa caused seccession among his children, some of whom broke off and founded separate states including Mamprugu and Nanung. Whiles Gbewaa was still alive, his daughter Yennenga, travelled north and founded the Mossi Kingdoms, who constitute majority of present day Burkina Faso. Other kingdoms that emerged from
Dagbon The Kingdom of Dagbon is one of the oldest and most organised traditional kingdoms in Ghana founded by the Dagomba people (Dagbamba) in the 11th century. During its rise, it comprised, at various points, the Northern Region (Ghana), Northern, Uppe ...
include the Bouna Kingdom of Ivory Coast, and the Dagaaba states of Upper West Region. Although the area of present-day Ghana has experienced many population movements, the Akan-speaking peoples began to move into it toward the end of the 15th century. By the early 16th century, the Akans were firmly established in the Akan state called Bonoman, for which the Brong-Ahafo region was named. From the 17th century, Akans emerged from what is believed to have been the Bonoman area, to create several Akan states, mainly based on gold trading. These states included Bonoman (Brong-Ahafo region), Ashanti ( Ashanti Region), Denkyira (
Western North region The Western North Region is one of the six new regions of Ghana created in 2019. The region is bounded by the Ivory Coast (Comoé District) on the west, the Central region in the southeast, and the Ashanti, Ahafo, Bono East and Bono regions ...
), Mankessim Kingdom ( Central region), and Akwamu (Eastern region). By the 19th century, the territory of the southern part of Ghana was included in the
Kingdom of Ashanti The Asante Empire (Asante Twi: ), today commonly called the Ashanti Empire, was an Akan state that lasted between 1701 to 1901, in what is now modern-day Ghana. It expanded from the Ashanti Region to include most of Ghana as well as parts of Iv ...
, one of the influential states in sub-saharan Africa prior to the onset of colonialism. The government of the Ashanti Empire operated first as a loose network and eventually as a centralised kingdom with an advanced, highly specialised bureaucracy centred in the capital city of Kumasi. Prior to Akan contact with Europeans, the Akan people created an advanced economy based on principally gold and gold bar
commodities In economics, a commodity is an economic good, usually a resource, that has full or substantial fungibility: that is, the market treats instances of the good as equivalent or nearly so with no regard to who produced them. The price of a comm ...
then traded with the states of Africa. The Ga-Dangme and Ewe migrated westward from south-western Nigeria because of pressure from incessant tribal wars. The Ga- Dangme occupy the Greater Accra Region and parts of the Eastern Region while the Ewe are found in the Volta Region as well as the neighboring Togo and Benin.


European contact and colonialism

Akan trade with European states began after contact with the Portuguese in the 15th century. Early European contact by the Portuguese people, who came to the Gold Coast region in the 15th century to trade and then established the Portuguese Gold Coast (Costa do Ouro), focused on the extensive availability of gold. The Portuguese built a trading lodge at a coastal settlement called Anomansah (the perpetual drink) which they renamed São Jorge da Mina. In 1481, King John II of Portugal commissioned
Diogo de Azambuja Diogo de Azambuja or Diego de Azambuja (1432–1518) was a Portuguese noble and explorer. Soldier He was born at Montemor-o-Velho, and became a knight of the Order of Aviz in the service of the Infante Dom Pedro, son of the Regent Infante ...
to build the
Elmina Castle Elmina Castle was erected by the Portugal, Portuguese in 1482 as Castelo de São Jorge da Mina (''St. George of the Mine Castle''), also known as ''Castelo da Mina'' or simply ''Mina'' (or ''Factory (trading post), Feitoria da Mina''), in presen ...
, which was completed in three years. By 1598, the Dutch had joined the Portuguese in the gold trade, establishing the
Dutch Gold Coast The Dutch Gold Coast or Dutch Guinea, officially Dutch possessions on the Coast of Guinea (Dutch: ''Nederlandse Bezittingen ter Kuste van Guinea'') was a portion of contemporary Ghana that was gradually colonized by the Dutch, beginning in 1612. ...
(Nederlandse Bezittingen ter Kuste van Guinea) and building forts at Fort Komenda and Kormantsi. In 1617, the Dutch captured the Olnini Castle from the Portuguese and
Axim Axim is a coastal town and the capital of Nzema East Municipal district, a district in Western Region of South Ghana. Axim lies 64 kilometers west of the port city of Sekondi-Takoradi in the Western Region, west of Cape Three Points. Axim has ...
in 1642 ( Fort St Anthony). Other European traders had joined in gold trading by the mid-17th century, most notably the
Swedes Swedes ( sv, svenskar) are a North Germanic ethnic group native to the Nordic region, primarily their nation state of Sweden, who share a common ancestry, culture, history and language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countr ...
, establishing the Swedish Gold Coast (Svenska Guldkusten), and
Denmark–Norway Denmark–Norway (Danish and Norwegian: ) was an early modern multi-national and multi-lingual real unionFeldbæk 1998:11 consisting of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Norway (including the then Norwegian overseas possessions: the Faroe I ...
, establishing the Danish Gold Coast (Danske Guldkyst ''or'' Dansk Guinea). In addition to the gold trade, European traders participated in the
Atlantic slave trade The Atlantic slave trade, transatlantic slave trade, or Euro-American slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and i ...
in this area. More than 30 forts and castles were built by the merchants. The Germans also established the
Brandenburger Gold Coast The Brandenburger Gold Coast, later Prussian Gold Coast, was a part of the Gold Coast. The Brandenburg colony existed from 1682 to 1721, when King Frederick William I of Prussia sold it for 7200 ducats to the Dutch Republic. Brandenburger Gol ...
''or'' Groß Friedrichsburg). In 1874 Great Britain established control over some parts of the country, assigning these areas the status of British Gold Coast.MacLean, Iain (2001), ''Rational Choice and British Politics: An Analysis of Rhetoric and Manipulation from Peel to Blair'', p. 76, . Many military engagements occurred between the British colonial powers and the various Akan nation-states. The Kingdom of Ashanti defeated the British a few times in the 100-year-long Anglo-Ashanti wars but eventually lost with the War of the Golden Stool in 1900.Chronology of world history: a calendar of principal events from 3000 BC to AD 1973, Part 1973, Rowman & Littlefield, 1975, .


Transition to independence

In 1947, the newly formed United Gold Coast Convention led by "The Big Six" called for "self-government within the shortest possible time" following the
1946 Gold Coast legislative election General elections were held in the Gold Coast in June 1946.
Kwame Nkrumah Kwame Nkrumah (born 21 September 190927 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He was the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana, having led the Gold Coast to independence from Britain in 1957. An in ...
, a Ghanaian nationalist who led Ghana from 1957 to 1966 as the country's first prime minister and president, formed the Convention People's Party in 1949 with the motto "self-government now". The party initiated a "positive action" campaign involving non-violent protests, strikes and non-cooperation with the British authorities. Nkrumah was arrested and sentenced to one year imprisonment during this time. In the Gold Coast's 1951 general election, he was elected to Parliament and released from prison to become leader of government business. He became prime minister in 1952. He improved the infrastructure of the country, and his Africanisation policies created better career opportunities for Ghanaians. On 6 March 1957 at midnight, the Gold Coast, Ashanti, the Northern Territories and British Togoland were unified as one single independent dominion within the British Commonwealth under the name Ghana. This was done under the Ghana Independence Act 1957. The current flag of Ghana, consisting of the colours red, gold, green, and a black star, dates back to this unification. It was designed by Theodosia Okoh; the red represents the blood that was shed towards independence, the gold represents the industrial minerals wealth of Ghana, the green symbolises the rich grasslands of Ghana, and the black star is the symbol of the Ghanaian people and African emancipation. On 1 July 1960, following the Ghanaian constitutional referendum and Ghanaian presidential election, Nkrumah declared Ghana a republic and assumed the presidency. 6 March is the nation's
Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...
, and 1 July is celebrated as Republic Day. At the time of independence Nkrumah declared, "My first objective is to abolish from Ghana poverty, ignorance, and disease. We shall measure our progress by the improvement in the health of our people; by the number of children in school, and by the quality of their education; by the availability of water and electricity in our towns and villages; and by the happiness which our people take in being able to manage their own affairs. The welfare of our people is our chief pride, and it is by this that my government will ask to be judged.". Nkrumah was the first African head of state to promote the concept of Pan-Africanism, which he had been introduced to during his studies at Lincoln University, Pennsylvania in the United States, at the time when Marcus Garvey was popular for his "Back to Africa Movement". Nkrumah merged the teachings of Garvey, Martin Luther King Jr. and the naturalised Ghanaian scholar
W. E. B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American-Ghanaian sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in ...
into the formation of 1960s Ghana. Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, as he became known, played an instrumental part in the founding of the Non-Aligned Movement, and in establishing the
Kwame Nkrumah Ideological Institute The Kwame Nkrumah Ideological Institute (officially known as the Kwame Nkrumah Institute of Economics and Political Science or Winneba ideological Institute) was an educational body in Winneba, founded to promote socialism in Ghana as well as the d ...
to teach his ideologies of communism and socialism. His life achievements were recognised by Ghanaians during his centenary birthday celebration, and the day was instituted as a public holiday in Ghana ( Founders' Day).


Operation Cold Chop and aftermath

The government of Nkrumah was subsequently overthrown by a coup by the Ghana Armed Forces codenamed "Operation Cold Chop". This occurred while Nkrumah was abroad with Zhou Enlai in the People's Republic of China, on a fruitless mission to Hanoi in Vietnam to help end the Vietnam War. The coup took place on 24 February 1966, led by Colonel Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka and Brigadier Akwasi Afrifa. The National Liberation Council was formed, chaired by Lieutenant General Joseph A. Ankrah. A series of alternating military and civilian governments, often affected by economic instabilities, ruled Ghana from 1966 to 1981, ending with the ascension to power of
Flight Lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...
Jerry John Rawlings of the Provisional National Defence Council in 1981. These changes resulted in the suspension of the Constitution of Ghana in 1981 and the banning of
political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or pol ...
. The economy soon declined, so Rawlings negotiated a structural adjustment plan changing many old economic policies, and economic growth recovered during the mid-1980s. A new constitution restoring multi-party system politics was promulgated in the presidential election of 1992; Rawlings was elected as president of Ghana then, and again in the general election of 1996. At least 1,000 and as many as 2,000 people were killed during the conflict between the Konkomba and other ethnic groups such as the Nanumba, Dagomba and Gonja, while 150,000 people were displaced as part of the tribal war in Northern Ghana in 1994.


21st century

Winning the 2000 general election, John Kufuor of the New Patriotic Party was sworn into office as president of Ghana on 7 January 2001 and attained the presidency again in the 2004 election, thus also serving two terms (the term limit) as president of Ghana and thus marking the first time under the fourth republic that power was transferred from one legitimately elected head of state and head of government to another. Nana Akufo-Addo, the ruling party candidate, was defeated in a very close election by John Atta Mills of the National Democratic Congress following the 2008 general election. Mills died of natural causes and was succeeded by Vice President
John Mahama John Dramani Mahama (; born 29 November 1958) is a Ghanaian politician who served as President of Ghana from 24 July 2012 to 7 January 2017. He previously served as Vice President of Ghana from January 2009 to July 2012, and took office as presi ...
on 24 July 2012. Following the 2012 general election, Mahama became president, and Ghana was a stable democracy. As a result of the 2016 general election, Nana Akufo-Addo became president on 7 January 2017. He was re-elected after a tightly contested election in 2020. On 11 June 2021, Ghana inaugurated Green Ghana Day in an aim of planting 5 million trees in a concentrating effort to preserve the country's cover of rainforest to combat deforestation.


Geography

Ghana is located on the Gulf of Guinea, only a few degrees north of the
Equator The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can als ...
, therefore giving it a warm climate. Ghana spans an area of and has an Atlantic coastline that stretches on the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to its south.,
Dodi Island Dodi Island is an island in Ghana, located off the shore of Lake Volta. It is a tourist destination and a land place for the cruise ship, Dodi Princess. Gallery File:Dodi Island and Rocky Shore − Lake Volta.jpg, Rocky Shores of Dodi Isla ...
and
Bobowasi Island Bobowasi Island is an island in Ghana in the Axim Bay of the Atlantic Ocean. It is located from the town of Axim and Axim Castle, north of Watts Rock, east of Egwang Rock, and south of Mensell Hedwig Rock, at the geographic coordinates . There ...
are near the south coast. It lies between latitudes 4°45'N and 11°N, and longitudes 1°15'E and 3°15'W. The prime meridian passes through Ghana, specifically through Tema. Ghana is geographically closer to the "centre" of the Earth than any other country, since the notional centre, (0°, 0°) is located in the Atlantic Ocean approximately off the south-east coast of Ghana. Grasslands mixed with south coastal shrublands and forests dominate Ghana, with forest extending northward from the coast and eastward for a maximum of about with several locations for mining of industrial minerals and timber. Ghana is home to five terrestrial ecoregions: Eastern Guinean forests, Guinean forest–savanna mosaic, West Sudanian savanna, Central African mangroves, and
Guinean mangroves The Guinean mangroves are a coastal ecoregion of mangrove swamps in rivers and estuaries near the ocean of West Africa from Senegal to Sierra Leone. Location and description Guinean mangroves can be found: in the Saloum River and Casamance del ...
. It had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 4.53/10, ranking it 112th globally out of 172 countries. The White Volta River and its tributary
Black Volta The Black Volta or Mouhoun is a river that flows through Burkina Faso for approximately 1,352 km (840 mi) to the White Volta in Dagbon, Ghana, the upper end of Lake Volta. The source of the Black Volta is in the Cascades Region of Burki ...
, flow south through Ghana to
Lake Volta Lake Volta, the largest artificial reservoir in the world based on surface area, is contained behind the Akosombo Dam which generates a substantial amount of Ghana's electricity. It is completely within the country of Ghana and has a surface area ...
, the world's third-largest reservoir by volume and largest by surface area, formed by the hydroelectric Akosombo Dam, completed in 1965. The Volta flows out of Lake Volta into the Gulf of Guinea. The northernmost part of Ghana is Pulmakong and the southernmost part of Ghana is Cape Three Points. Volta Region: Longest mountain range in Ghana-Akwapim Togo ranges Mt Afadja- highest mountain in Ghana Wli waterfall- the highest waterfall in Ghana Amedzofe- Mt Gemi- waterfall and canopy walk. Golden sandy beaches stretching from Anyanui to Aflao Aflao: the eastern gateway to Ghana and bordering Lome, the Togolese capital Keta- Fort Prizenstein, the former Danish slave trading post. Site of proposed Keta Port. The town with the most promising and expanding tourism potential in Ghana


Climate

The
climate of Ghana The climate of Ghana is tropical. The eastern coastal belt is warm and comparatively dry, the south-west corner of Ghana is hot and humid, and the north of Ghana is hot and dry. Ghana is located on the Gulf of Guinea, only a few degrees north o ...
is tropical, and there are two main seasons: the wet season and the dry season. Ghana sits at the intersection of three hydro-climatic zones. Changes in rainfall, weather conditions and sea-level rise affects the salinity of coastal waters. This is expected to negatively affect both farming and fisheries. The national economy stands to suffer from the impacts of climate change because of its dependence on climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture, energy, and forestry. Moreover, access to fresh water is expected to become more challenging, and reduced water supply will have a negative impact on hydropower, which provides 54% of the country's electricity capacity. Additionally, Ghana will likely see more cases of malaria and
cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
, since both are impacted by changes in water conditions. In 2015, the government produced a document titled "Ghana's Intended Nationally Determined Contribution." Following that, Ghana signed the Paris Climate Agreement in 2016.


Politics

Ghana is a unitary
presidential President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...
constitutional democracy with a parliamentary multi-party system that is dominated by two parties—the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP). Ghana alternated between civilian and military governments until January 1993, when the military government gave way to the Fourth Republic of Ghana after
presidential President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...
and
parliamentary elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
in late 1992. The 1992 constitution of Ghana divides powers among a commander-in-chief of the Ghana Armed Forces ( President of Ghana), parliament ( Parliament of Ghana), cabinet (
Cabinet of Ghana The Cabinet of Ghana is the Executive Branch of the Government of Ghana. The Cabinet members are appointed by the President and report to the President. The Cabinet is constituted in conformity with Article 76 (1) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana. ...
), council of state ( Ghanaian Council of State), and an independent judiciary ( Judiciary of Ghana). The government is elected by universal suffrage after every four years."Government and Politics".
A Country Study: Ghana
'' (La Verle Berry, editor). Library of Congress Federal Research Division (November 1994). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain
Lcweb2.loc.gov
Nana Akufo-Addo won the presidency in the general election in 2016, defeating incumbent
John Mahama John Dramani Mahama (; born 29 November 1958) is a Ghanaian politician who served as President of Ghana from 24 July 2012 to 7 January 2017. He previously served as Vice President of Ghana from January 2009 to July 2012, and took office as presi ...
. He also won the
2020 election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: **Cro ...
, after the presidential election results were challenged at the Supreme Court by flagbearer of the NDC, John Mahama. Presidents are limited to two four-year terms in office. The president can serve a second term only upon re-election. The 2012 Fragile States Index indicated that Ghana is ranked the 67th-least fragile state in the world and the fifth-least fragile state in Africa. Ghana ranked 112th out of 177 countries on the index. Ghana ranked as the 64th-least corrupt and politically corrupt country in the world out of all 174 countries ranked and ranked as the fifth-least corrupt and politically corrupt country in Africa out of 53 countries in the 2012 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index. Ghana was ranked 7th in Africa out of 53 countries in the 2012 Ibrahim Index of African Governance. The Ibrahim Index is a comprehensive measure of African government, based on variables which reflect the success with which governments deliver essential political goods to its citizens.


Foreign relations

Since independence, Ghana has been devoted to ideals of nonalignment and is a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement. Ghana favours international and regional political and economic co-operation, and is an active member of the United Nations and the African Union. Ghana has a strong relationship with the United States. Three recent U.S. presidents-- Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama—made diplomatic trips to Ghana. Many Ghanaian diplomats and politicians hold positions in international organisations, including Ghanaian diplomat and former Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan, International Criminal Court Judge Akua Kuenyehia, as well as former President Jerry John Rawlings and former President John Agyekum Kufuor, who both served as diplomats of the United Nations. In September 2010, President John Atta Mills visited China on an official visit. Mills and China's former President
Hu Jintao Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) is a Chinese politician who served as the 16–17th general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, the 6th president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from 2003 to 2013, an ...
marked the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two nations, at the
Great Hall of the People The Great Hall of the People is a state building located at the western edge of Tiananmen Square in Beijing. It is used for legislative and ceremonial activities by the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the ruling Chinese Co ...
. China reciprocated with an official visit in November 2011, by the vice-chairman of the
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which is the highest organ of state po ...
,
Zhou Tienong Zhou Tienong (; born November 1938) is a Chinese politician. He served as Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Chairman of the Revolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang, and Vice-Governor of Heilongjiang Provi ...
who visited Ghana and met with Ghana's President
John Mahama John Dramani Mahama (; born 29 November 1958) is a Ghanaian politician who served as President of Ghana from 24 July 2012 to 7 January 2017. He previously served as Vice President of Ghana from January 2009 to July 2012, and took office as presi ...
. Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( fa, محمود احمدی‌نژاد, Mahmūd Ahmadīnežād ), born Mahmoud Sabbaghian ( fa, محمود صباغیان, Mahmoud Sabbāghyān, 28 October 1956),
met with Mahama in 2013 to hold discussions on strengthening the Non-Aligned Movement and also co–chair a bilateral meeting between Ghana and Iran at the Ghanaian presidential palace Flagstaff House. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) were integrated into Ghana's development agenda and the budget. According to reports, the SDGs were implemented through a decentralized planning approach. This allows stakeholders participations such as UN agencies, traditional leaders, civil society organizations, academia, and others. The 17 SDGs are a global call to action to end poverty among others, and the UN and its partners in the country are working towards achieving them. According to the President Nana Akufo-Addo, Ghana was "the first sub-Saharan African country to achieve the goal of halving poverty, as contained in Goal 1 of the Millennium Development Goals"


Military

In 1957, the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) consisted of its headquarters, support services, three battalions of infantry and a reconnaissance squadron with armoured vehicles.Kilford, Christopher R. (2010)
''The Other Cold War: Canada's Military Assistance to the Developing World 1945–75''
,
Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...
, Ontario: Canadian Defence Academy Press, p. 138, .
President Nkrumah aimed at rapidly expanding the GAF to support the United States of Africa ambitions. Thus in 1961, 4th and 5th Battalions were established, and in 1964 6th Battalion was established, from a
parachute A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, who ...
airborne unit originally raised in 1963. Today, Ghana is a regional power and regional hegemon. In his book ''
Shake Hands with the Devil ''Shake Hands with the Devil'' may refer to: * ''Shake Hands with the Devil'' (1959 film), American drama set in 1921 Ireland * ''Shake Hands with the Devil'' (album), Kris Kristofferson 1979 release on Monument Records * ''Shake Hands with the ...
'', Canadian Forces commander Roméo Dallaire highly rated the GAF soldiers and military personnel. The military operations and
military doctrine Military doctrine is the expression of how military forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements. It is a guide to action, rather than being hard and fast rules. Doctrine provides a common frame of reference across ...
of the GAF are conceptualised in the constitution, Ghana's Law on Armed Force Military Strategy, and Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre agreements to which GAF is attestator. GAF military operations are executed under the auspices and imperium of the
Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
. Although Ghana is relatively peaceful and is often considered to be one of the least violent countries in the region, Ghana has experienced political violence in the past and 2017 has thus far seen an upward trend in incidents motivated by political grievances.


Law enforcement

The Ghana Police Service and the Criminal Investigation Department are the main law enforcement agencies, responsible for the detection of crime, maintenance of law and order and the maintenance of internal peace and security. The Ghana Police Service has eleven specialised police units including a Militarized police Rapid deployment force and Marine Police Unit. The Ghana Police Service operates in 12 divisions: ten covering the regions of Ghana, one assigned specifically to the seaport and industrial hub of Tema, and the twelfth being the Railways, Ports and Harbours Division. The Ghana Police Service's Marine Police Unit and Division handles issues that arise from the country's offshore
oil and gas industry The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry or the oil patch, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transportation (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing of petroleum products. The largest ...
. The Ghana Prisons Service and the sub-division Borstal Institute for Juveniles administers incarceration. Ghana retains and exercises the death penalty for treason, corruption, robbery, piracy, drug trafficking, rape, and homicide. The new sustainable development goals adopted by the United Nations call for the international community to come together to promote the rule of law; support equal access to justice for all; reduce corruption; and develop effective, accountable, and transparent institutions at all levels. Ghana is used as a key narcotics industry transshipment point by traffickers, usually from South America as well as some from other African nations. In 2013, the UN chief of the Office on Drugs and Crime stated that "West Africa is completely weak in terms of border control and the big drug cartels from
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
and Latin America have chosen Africa as a way to reach Europe." There is not a wide or popular knowledge about the narcotics industry and intercepted narcotics within Ghana since it is an underground economy. The social context within which narcotic trafficking, storage, transportation, and repacking systems exist in Ghana and the state's location along the Gulf of Guinea makes Ghana an attractive country for the narcotics business. The
Narcotics Control Board The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "to make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates ...
has impounded container ships at the Sekondi Naval Base in the Takoradi Harbour. These ships were carrying thousands of kilograms of cocaine, with a street value running into billions of Ghana cedis. However, drug seizures saw a decline in 2011. Drug cartels are using new methods in narcotics production and narcotics exportation, to avoid Ghanaian security agencies. Underdeveloped institutions, porous open borders, and the existence of established smuggling organisations contribute to Ghana's position in the narcotics industry. President Mills initiated ongoing efforts to reduce the role of airports in Ghana's drug trade.


Human rights

Homosexual acts Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peo ...
are prohibited by law in Ghana. According to a 2013 survey by the
Pew Research Center The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the w ...
, 96% of Ghanaians believe that homosexuality should not be accepted by society."The Global Divide on Homosexuality."
Pew Research Center The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the w ...
. 4 June 2013.
Sometimes elderly women in Ghana are accused of witchcraft, particularly in rural Ghana. Issues of witchcraft mainly remain as speculations based on superstitions within families. In some parts of northern Ghana, there exist what are called witch camps. This is said to house a total of around 1,000 people accused of witchcraft. The Ghanaian government has announced that it intends to close the camps.


Administrative divisions

Ghana is divided into 16 administrative regions, sub-divided into 275 districts:


Economy


Key sectors

Ghana is an average natural resource enriched country possessing industrial minerals, hydrocarbons and
precious metal Precious metals are rare, naturally occurring metallic chemical elements of high economic value. Chemically, the precious metals tend to be less reactive than most elements (see noble metal). They are usually ductile and have a high lustre. ...
s. It is an emerging designated
digital economy The digital economy is a portmanteau of digital computing and economy, and is an umbrella term that describes how traditional Brick and mortar, brick-and-mortar economic activities (production, distribution, trade) are being transformed by Interne ...
with mixed economy hybridisation and an emerging market. It has an economic plan target known as the "Ghana Vision 2020". This plan envisions Ghana as the first African country to become a
developed country A developed country (or industrialized country, high-income country, more economically developed country (MEDC), advanced country) is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy and advanced technological infrastruct ...
between 2020 and 2029 and a newly industrialised country between 2030 and 2039. This excludes fellow Group of 24 member and
Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...
n country South Africa, which is a newly industrialised country. Ghana's economy has ties to the Chinese yuan renminbi along with Ghana's vast gold reserves. In 2013, the Bank of Ghana began circulating the renminbi throughout Ghanaian state-owned banks and to the Ghana public as hard currency along with the national Ghanaian cedi for second national trade currency. Ghana is the leader in the adoption of digital financial services in Africa and is set to increase financial inclusion to more than 85% until 2024. Between 2012 and 2013, 38% of rural dwellers were experiencing poverty whereas only 11% of urban dwellers were. Urban areas hold greater opportunity for employment, particularly in informal trade, while nearly all (94 percent) of rural poor households participate in the agricultural sector. The Volta River Authority and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, both state-owned, are the two major electricity producers. The Akosombo Dam, built on the Volta River in 1965, along with the Bui Dam, the
Kpong Dam The Kpong Dam, also known as the Akuse Dam, is a hydroelectric power generating dam on the lower Volta River near Akuse in Ghana. It is owned and operated by Volta River Authority. It was constructed between 1977 and 1982. Its power station has a ...
and several other hydroelectric dams, provide hydropower. In addition, the government sought to build the second nuclear power plant in Africa. The Ghana Stock Exchange is the 5th largest on continental Africa and 3rd largest in sub-saharan Africa with a market capitalisation of
GH¢ The cedi ( ) (currency sign: GH₵; currency code: GHS) is the unit of currency of Ghana. It is the fourth historical and only current legal tender in the Republic of Ghana. One cedi is divided into one hundred pesewas (Gp). After independen ...
57.2 billion or CN¥ 180.4 billion in 2012 with the South Africa JSE Limited as first. The Ghana Stock Exchange was the 2nd best performing
stock exchange A stock exchange, securities exchange, or bourse is an exchange where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell securities, such as shares of stock, bonds and other financial instruments. Stock exchanges may also provide facilities for th ...
in sub-saharan Africa in 2013. Ghana produces high-quality
cocoa Cocoa may refer to: Chocolate * Chocolate * ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree * Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao'' * Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...
. It is the 2nd largest producer of cocoa globally. Ghana is classified as a middle income country. Services account for 50% of GDP, followed by manufacturing (24.1%), extractive industries (5%), and taxes (20.9%). Ghana has an increasing primary manufacturing economy and export of digital technology goods along with assembling and exporting automobiles and ships, diverse resource rich exportation of industrial minerals, agricultural products primarily cocoa, petroleum and natural gas, and
industries Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial secto ...
such as information and communications technology primarily via Ghana's state digital technology corporation Rlg Communications which manufactures tablet computers with smartphones and various consumer electronics. Urban
electric car An electric car, battery electric car, or all-electric car is an automobile that is propelled by one or more electric motors, using only energy stored in batteries. Compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, electric cars are quie ...
s have been manufactured in Ghana since 2014. Ghana announced plans to issue government debt by way of social and green bonds in Autumn 2021, making it the first African country to do so. The country, which is planning to borrow up to $5 billion on international markets this year, would use the proceeds from these sustainable bonds to refinance debt used for social and environmental projects and pay for educational or health. Only a few other nations have sold them so far, including Chile and Ecuador. The country will use the proceeds to forge ahead with a free secondary-school initiative started in 2017 among other programs, despite having recorded its lowest economic growth rate in 37 years in 2020.


Petroleum and natural gas production

Ghana produces and exports an abundance of hydrocarbons such as sweet crude oil and natural gas. The 100%-state-owned filling station company of Ghana,
Ghana Oil Company Ghana Oil Company, known as GOIL, is a state-owned Ghanaian oil and gas marketing company, formed on 14 June 1960. Currently it holds the place of Ghana's top oil marketing company, and is the only indigenous owned petroleum marketing company i ...
, is the number 1 petroleum and gas filling station of Ghana, and the 100%-state-owned state oil company Ghana National Petroleum Corporation oversees hydrocarbon exploration and production of Ghana's entire petroleum and natural gas reserves. Ghana aims to further increase output of oil to per day and gas to per day.Clark, Nancy L. "Petroleum Exploration".
A Country Study: Ghana
'' (La Verle Berry, editor). Library of Congress Federal Research Division (November 1994). ''This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.'
Lcweb2.loc.gov
The
Jubilee Oil Field The Jubilee Oil Field is an oil field located off the coast of the Ghana's Western Region in the South Atlantic Ocean under the ownership of the Kosmos Energy, Occidental Petroleum and the Tullow Oil. The Jubilee field is located 60 km o ...
, which contains up to of sweet crude oil, was discovered in 2007. Ghana is believed to have up to to of petroleum in reserves, which is the fifth-largest in Africa and the 21st-to-25th- largest proven reserves in the world. It also has up to of natural gas in reserves, which is the sixth-largest in Africa and the 49th- largest natural gas proven reserves in the world.
Oil and gas exploration Hydrocarbon exploration (or oil and gas exploration) is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for deposits of hydrocarbons, particularly petroleum and natural gas, in the Earth using petroleum geology. Exploration methods Vis ...
off Ghana's eastern coast on the Gulf of Guinea is ongoing, and the amount of both crude oil and natural gas continues to increase. The government has drawn up plans to nationalise Ghana's entire petroleum and natural gas reserves to increase government revenue.


Industrial minerals mining

As of 2019, Ghana was the 7th largest producer of gold in the world, producing ~140 tonnes that year. This record saw Ghana surpass South Africa in output for the first time, making Ghana the largest gold producer in Africa. In addition to gold, Ghana also exports silver, timber, diamonds, bauxite, and manganese, and has numerous other not-yet-fully- exploited mineral deposits. Ghana ranks 9th in the world in both diamond export and reserve size. The government has drawn up plans to nationalize Ghana's mining industry to increase government revenue.


Electricity generation

Severe shortages of electricity in 2015 & 2016 led to dumsor (persistent, irregular and unpredictable electric power outages), increasing the interest in renewables. As of 2019, there is now a surplus of electricity which now presents a new set of financial challenges.


Economic transparency

The judicial system of Ghana deals with corruption, economic malpractice and lack of economic transparency. Despite significant economic progress, obstacles do remain. Particular institutions need reform, and property rights need improvement. The overall
investment Investment is the dedication of money to purchase of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of some present asset, such as time, money, or effort. In finance, the purpose of investing i ...
regime lacks market transparency. Tackling these issues will be necessary if Ghana's rapid economic growth is to be maintained. According to Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index of 2018, out of 180 countries, Ghana was ranked 78th, with a score of 41 on a scale where a 0–9 score means highly corrupt, and a 90–100 score means very clean. This was based on perceived levels of public sector corruption.


Science and technology

Ghana was the first sub-Saharan African country to launch a cellular mobile network (1992). It was one of the first countries in Africa to be connected to the internet and to introduce ADSL broadband services. Ghana was ranked 112nd in the Global Innovation Index in 2021, down from 106th in 2019.


Space and satellite programmes

The
Ghana Space Science and Technology Centre The Ghana Space Science and Technology Institute (GSSTI) was opened officially on 2 May 2012 as Ghana’s first space science, space exploration, astronomy and technology space agency. It is an Institution under the Ghana Atomic Energy Commiss ...
(GSSTC) and Ghana Space Agency (GhsA) oversee the
space exploration Space exploration is the use of astronomy and space technology to explore outer space. While the exploration of space is carried out mainly by astronomers with telescopes, its physical exploration though is conducted both by robotic spacec ...
and space programmes of Ghana. GSSTC and GhsA worked to have a
national security National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military atta ...
observational satellite launched into orbit in 2015. Ghana's annual space exploration expenditure has been 1% of its GDP, to support research in science and technology. In 2012, Ghana was elected to chair the Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (Comsats); Ghana has a joint effort in space exploration with the South African National Space Agency.


Tourism

In 2011, 1,087,000 tourists visited Ghana. Tourist arrivals include South Americans, Asians, Europeans, and North Americans. The attractions and major tourist destinations include a warm, tropical climate year-round, diverse wildlife, waterfalls such as
Kintampo waterfalls Kintampo waterfalls is one of Ghana' highest waterfalls located in Bono East. It was formerly known as ''Sanders Falls'' during the colonial days. It is located on the Pumpum river, a tributary of the Black Volta, about north of the Kintamp ...
and the largest waterfall in west Africa, Wli waterfalls, the coastal palm-lined sandy beaches, caves, mountains, rivers, and reservoirs and lakes such as Lake Bosumtwi and the largest man-made lake in the world by surface area,
Lake Volta Lake Volta, the largest artificial reservoir in the world based on surface area, is contained behind the Akosombo Dam which generates a substantial amount of Ghana's electricity. It is completely within the country of Ghana and has a surface area ...
, dozens of forts and castles, World Heritage Sites, nature reserves and national parks. In addition to the beautiful natural reserves which serve as tourist sites, there are some castles that attract many tourists from all over the world. Some of the notable castles are Cape Coast Castle and the
Elmina Castle Elmina Castle was erected by the Portugal, Portuguese in 1482 as Castelo de São Jorge da Mina (''St. George of the Mine Castle''), also known as ''Castelo da Mina'' or simply ''Mina'' (or ''Factory (trading post), Feitoria da Mina''), in presen ...
. Not only are the castles important for tourism, they also mark where blood was shed in the slave trade and preserve and promote the African heritage stolen and destroyed through the slave trade. As a result of this, the World Heritage Convention of UNESCO named Ghana's castles and forts as World Heritage Monuments. The World Economic Forum statistics in 2010 showed that out of the world's favourite tourist destinations, Ghana was ranked 108th out of 139 countries. The country had moved two places up from the 2009 rankings. In 2011, '' Forbes'' magazine, published that Ghana was ranked the eleventh most friendly country in the world. The assertion was based on a survey in 2010 of a cross-section of travellers. Of all the African countries that were included in the survey, Ghana ranked highest. Tourism is the fourth highest earner of foreign exchange for the country. In 2017, Ghana ranked as the 43rd–most peaceful country in the world. A growing tourist attraction is
surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...
. Up and down the coastline, several spots have been identified and cultivated by locals and internationals alike. Renowned surfers have made trips to the country to sample the waves. Suitable for beginners and seasoned surfers alike, there is a quality and consistency to the waves to suit all levels of skill. It is not unusual now to see surfers carrying their boards amid traditional Ghanaian fishing vessels. Busua,
Kokrobite Kokrobite is a town along the Atlantic coast, to the west of Accra the capital city of Ghana. It is known for traditional sea fishing, its white-sand beaches and its lively nightlife. Kokrobite is a popular destination for tourists, backpackers ...
, and Muuston boast some of the country's best surf in warm, tropical waters. According to Destination Pride – a data-driven search platform used to visualize the world's LGBTQ+ laws, rights and social sentiment – Ghana's Pride score is 22 (out of 100).


Education

Ghana's education system is divided in three parts: basic education, secondary cycle, and tertiary education. "Basic education" lasts 11 years (ages 4‒15). It is divided into kindergarten (2 years), primary school (2 modules of 3 years) and junior high (3 years). Junior high school ends with the
Basic Education Certificate Examination The Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) is the main examination to qualify students for admission into secondary and vocational schools in Ghana, and Nigeria. It is written after three years of junior secondary education. It is administ ...
. Once certified, the pupil can proceed to the secondary cycle. Hence, the pupil has the choice between general education (offered by the senior high school) and vocational education (offered by the technical senior high school or the technical and vocational institutes). Senior high school lasts three years and leads to the
West African Senior School Certificate Examination The West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) is a type of standardized test in West Africa. Students who pass the exam receive a certificate confirming their graduation from secondary education. It is administered by the West A ...
, which is a prerequisite for enrollment in a university bachelor's degree programme. Polytechnics are open to vocational students. A bachelor's degree usually requires four years of study. It can be followed by a one- or two-year master's degree programme, which can be followed by a PhD programme of at least three years. A polytechnic programme lasts two or three years. Ghana possesses numerous colleges of education. Some of the notable universities the University of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, and University of Cape Coast, to mention a few. With over 95% of its children in school, Ghana currently has one of the highest school enrollment rates in all of Africa. The female and male ages 15–24 years literacy rate in Ghana was 81% in 2010, with males at 82%, and females at 80%. Ghana's education system annually attracts a large number of foreign students particularly in the university sector. Ghana has a free education 6-year primary school education system beginning at age six.The government largely funds basic education comprising public primary schools and public junior high schools. Senior high schools were subsidised by the government until September 2017/2018 academic year that senior high education became free. At the higher education level, the government funds more than 80% of resources provided to public universities, polytechnics and teacher training colleges. As part of the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education, Fcube, the government supplies all basic education schools with all their textbooks and other educational supplies like exercise books. Senior high schools are also provided with all their textbook requirement by the government. Private schools acquire their educational material from private suppliers.


Demographics

As of 2019, Ghana has a population of 30,083,000. Around 29% of the population is under the age of 15, while persons aged 15–64 make up 57.8 percent of the population. The 2010 census reported that the largest ethnic groups are the Akan (47.3%), the Mole-Dagbani (16.6%), the Ewe (13.9%), the Ga-Dangme (7.4%), the Gurma (5.7%) and the Guan (3.7%). The median age of Ghanaian citizens is 30 years old and the average household size is 3.6 persons. With recent legal immigration of skilled workers who possess Ghana Cards, there is a small population of Chinese, Malaysian, Indian, Middle Eastern and European nationals. In 2010, the Ghana Immigration Service reported a large number of economic migrants and Illegal immigrants inhabiting Ghana: 14.6% (or 3.1 million) of Ghana's 2010 population (predominantly Nigerians, Burkinabe citizens, Togolese citizens, and Malian citizens). In 1969, under the "Ghana Aliens Compliance Order" enacted by the Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia; The
Border Guard Unit The Border Guard Unit (acronym: BGU) is a national security and paramilitary unit of the Customs Excise and Preventive Service Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority and the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF). Established in October 1964, BGU's primary rol ...
deported over 3,000,000 aliens and illegal immigrants in three months as they made up 20% of the population at the time.In 2013, there was a mass deportation of illegal miners, more than 4,000 of them Chinese nationals.


Languages

English is the official language of Ghana. Additionally, there are eleven languages that have the status of government-sponsored languages: *
Akan language Akan () is a Central Tano language and the principal native language of the Akan people of Ghana, spoken over much of the southern half of Ghana. About 80% of Ghana's population can speak Akan, and about 44% of Ghanaians are native speakers. I ...
s ( Asante Twi,
Akuapem Twi Akuapem, also known as Akuapim, Akwapem Twi, and Akwapi, is one of the principal members of the Akan dialect continuum, along with Bono and Asante, with which it is collectively known as Twi, and Fante, with which it is mutually intelligible. T ...
, Fante which have a high degree of mutual intelligibility, and Nzema, which is less intelligible with the above) *
Dangme The Dangbe language, also ''Dangbe'' or ''Adaŋgbi'', is a Kwa language spoken in south-eastern Ghana by the Dangbe People ''(Dangbeli)''. The Dangbeli are part of the larger Ga-Dangbe ethnic group. Klogbi is a variant, spoken by the Kloli (K ...
* Ewe * Ga * Guan * Kasem * Mole-Dagbani languages ( Dagaare and Dagbanli) Of these, Asante Twi is the most widely spoken. Because Ghana is surrounded by French-speaking countries, French is widely taught in schools and used for commercial and international economic exchanges. Since 2006, Ghana has been an associate member of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, the global organisation that unites French-speaking countries (84 nations on six continents). In 2005, more than 350,000 Ghanaian children studied French in schools. Since then, its status has been progressively updated to a mandatory language in every junior high school, and it is in the process of becoming an official language. Ghanaian Pidgin English, also known as Kru English (or in Akan, ''kroo brofo''), is a variety of West African Pidgin English spoken mainly in Accra and in the southern towns.Magnus Huber, ''Ghanaian Pidgin English in its West African Context'' (1999), page 139 It can be divided into two varieties, referred to as "uneducated" or "non-institutionalized" pidgin and "educated" or "institutionalized" pidgin, the former associated with uneducated or illiterate people and the latter acquired and used in institutions such as universities.Huber (1999), pp. 138–153


Religion

In 2010, the population was 72.2% Christian (24.3% Pentecostal, 18.4% Protestant, 13.1% Catholic and 11.4% other). Approximately 18.6% of the population of Ghana are Muslim, (51%
Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...
, 16% Ahmadiyya, and 8% Shia)., Hinduism in Ghana was popularized by Swami Ghana Nanda ji, who opened several temples in the nation. The temple of Lord Shiva in Accra is one of the largest where there are celebrations to Ganesh Chaturthi, Rath Yatra, and other Hindu observations. The Bahá’í religious community, established in Ghana in 1951, today includes more than 100 communities and over 50 local Bahá’í administrative councils, called Local Spiritual Assemblies.


Universal health care and life expectancy

Ghana has a universal health care system strictly designated for Ghanaian nationals, National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). Health care is variable throughout Ghana and in 2012, over 12 million Ghanaian nationals were covered by the NHIS. Urban centres are well served and contain most of the hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies. There are over 200 hospitals, and Ghana is a destination for medical tourism. In 2010, there were 0.1 physicians per 1,000 people and , 0.9 hospital beds per 1,000 people. 5.2% of Ghana's GDP was spent on health in 2010.Field Listing :: Health expenditures
. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
In 2020, the WHO announced Ghana became the second country in the WHO African Region to attain regulatory system "maturity level 3", the second-highest in the four-tiered WHO classification of
National medicines regulatory systems National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...
. Life expectancy at birth in 2020 was 71 for a female and 65 for a male. In 2013
infant mortality Infant mortality is the death of young children under the age of 1. This death toll is measured by the infant mortality rate (IMR), which is the probability of deaths of children under one year of age per 1000 live births. The under-five morta ...
was to 39 per 1,000 live births. Sources vary on life expectancy at birth; the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated 62 years for men and 64 years for women born in 2016. The fertility rate declined from 3.99 (2000) to 3.28 (2010) with 2.78 in urban region and 3.94 in rural region. The United Nations reports a fertility decline from 6.95 (1970) to 4.82 (2000) to 3.93 live births per woman in 2017. , the HIV/AIDS prevalence was estimated at 1.40% among adults aged 15–49.


Culture


Food and drink

Ghanaian cuisine includes an assortment of soups and stews with varied seafoods; most Ghanaian soups are prepared with vegetables, meat, poultry or fish. Fish is important in the diet with tilapia, roasted and fried whitebait, smoked fish and crayfish all being common components of Ghanaian dishes. Banku (akple) is a common starchy food made from ground corn (maize), and cornmeal based staples kɔmi ( kenkey) and banku (akple) are usually accompanied by some form of fried fish (chinam) or grilled tilapia and a very spicy condiment made from raw red and green chillies, onions and tomatoes (pepper sauce). Banku and tilapia is a combo served in most restaurants. Fufu is the most common exported Ghanaian dish and is a delicacy across the
African diaspora The African diaspora is the worldwide collection of communities descended from native Africans or people from Africa, predominantly in the Americas. The term most commonly refers to the descendants of the West and Central Africans who were e ...
. Rice is an established staple meal across the country, with various rice based dishes serving as breakfast, lunch and dinner, the main variants are waakye, plain rice and stew (eight kontomire or tomato gravy), fried rice and jollof rice.


Literature


Clothing

During the 13th century, Ghanaians developed their unique art of '' adinkra'' printing. Hand-printed and hand-embroidered adinkra clothes were made and used exclusively by royalty for devotional ceremonies. Each of the motifs that make up the corpus of adinkra symbolism has a name and meaning derived from a proverb, a historical event, human attitude, ethology, plant life-form, or shapes of inanimate and man-made objects. These are graphically rendered in stylised geometric shapes. The meanings of the motifs may be categorised into aesthetics, ethics, human relations, and concepts. The Adinkra symbols have a decorative function as tattoos but also represent objects that encapsulate evocative messages that convey traditional wisdom, aspects of life or the environment. There are many different symbols with distinct meanings, often linked with proverbs. In the words of
Anthony Appiah Kwame Akroma-Ampim Kusi Anthony Appiah ( ; born 8 May 1954) is a philosopher, cultural theorist, and novelist whose interests include political and moral theory, the philosophy of language and mind, and African intellectual history. Appiah was ...
, they were one of the means in a pre-literate society for "supporting the transmission of a complex and nuanced body of practice and belief". Along with the ''adinkra cloth,'' Ghanaians use many different cloth fabrics for their traditional attire. The different ethnic groups have their own individual cloth. The most well known is the Kente cloth. Kente is a very important national costume and clothing, and these cloths are used to make traditional and modern Kente attire. Different symbols and different colours mean different things. Kente is the most famous of all the Ghanaian cloths. Kente is a ceremonial cloth hand-woven on a horizontal treadle loom and strips measuring about 4 inches wide are sewn together into larger pieces of cloths. Cloths come in various colours, sizes and designs and are worn during very important social and religious occasions. In a cultural context, kente is more important than just a cloth as it is a visual representation of history and also a form of written language through weaving. The term kente has its roots in the Akan word ''kɛntɛn'' which means a basket and the first kente weavers used raffia fibres to weave cloths that looked like kenten (a basket); and thus were referred to as ''kenten ntoma''; meaning basket cloth. The original Akan name of the cloth was ''nsaduaso'' or ''nwontoma'', meaning "a cloth hand-woven on a loom"; however, "kente" is the most frequently used term today. Contemporary Ghanaian fashion includes traditional and modern styles and fabrics and has made its way into the African and global fashion scene. The cloth known as African print fabric was created out of Dutch wax textiles. It is believed that in the late 19th century, Dutch ships on their way to Asia stocked with machine-made textiles that mimicked Indonesian batik stopped at many West African ports on the way. The fabrics did not do well in Asia. However, in West Africa—mainly Ghana where there was an already established market for cloths and textiles—the client base grew and it was changed to include local and traditional designs, colours and patterns to cater to the taste of the new consumers. Today outside of Africa it is called "Ankara," and it has a client base well beyond Ghana and Africa as a whole. It is popular among Caribbean peoples and African Americans; celebrities such as Solange Knowles and her sister
Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
have been seen wearing African print attire. Many designers from countries in North America and Europe are now using African prints, and they have gained a global interest. British luxury fashion house Burberry created a collection around Ghanaian styles. American musician
Gwen Stefani Gwen Renée Stefani (; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer and actress. She is a co-founder, lead vocalist, and the primary songwriter of the band No Doubt, whose singles include "Just a Girl", "Spiderwebs ...
has repeatedly incorporated African prints into her clothing line and can often be seen wearing it. Internationally acclaimed Ghanaian-British designer
Ozwald Boateng Ozwald Boateng, OBE () (born 28 February 1967) is a British fashion designer, best known for his trademark twist on classic tailoring and bespoke styles. Early life Boateng was born in the Muswell Hill district of London on 28 February 1967, ...
introduced African print suits in his 2012 collection.


Music and dance

The music of Ghana is diverse and varies between different ethnic groups and regions. Ghanaian music incorporates several distinct types of musical instruments such as the talking drum ensembles,
Akan Drum The Akan Drum is a drum that was made in West Africa and was later found in the Colony of Virginia in North America. It is now the oldest African-American object in the British Museum and possibly the oldest surviving anywhere. The drum is a re ...
, goje fiddle and koloko lute, court music, including the Akan Seperewa, the Akan atumpan, the Ga kpanlogo styles, and log xylophones used in asonko music. The most well known genres to have come from Ghana are African jazz, which was created by Kofi Ghanaba, and its earliest form of secular music, called highlife. Highlife originated in the late 19th century and early 20th century and spread throughout West Africa. In the 1990s a new genre of music was created by the youth incorporating the influences of highlife, Afro-reggae,
dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...
and hip hop. This hybrid was called hiplife. Ghanaian artists such as "Afro Roots" singer, activist and songwriter Rocky Dawuni, R&B and soul singer Rhian Benson and Sarkodie have had international success. In 2015, Rocky Dawuni became the first Ghanaian musician to be nominated for a Grammy award in the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album category for his sixth studio album, titled ''Branches of The Same Tree.'' Ghanaian dance is as diverse as its music, and there are traditional dances and different dances for different occasions. The most known dances are those for celebrations. These dances include the Adowa, Kpanlogo, Azonto, Klama, Agbadza,
Borborbor Borborbor is a Ghanaian and Togolese traditional dance performed by the Ewe people from the mid-Volta region of Ghana and Southern Togo including Kpalime and Lomé. The dance is performed especially during the festival A festival is an eve ...
and Bamaya. The Nana Otafrija Pallbearing Services, also known as the Dancing Pallbearers, come from the coastal town of Prampram. The group was featured in a BBC feature story in 2017, and footage from the story became part of an Internet meme in the wake of the COVID-19 world pandemic.


Film

Ghana has a budding and thriving film industry. Ghana's film industry dates as far back as 1948 when the Gold Coast Film Unit was set up in the Information Services Department. Some internationally recognised films have come from Ghana. In 1970, ''I Told You So'' was one of the first Ghanaian films to receive international acknowledgement and received great reviews from '' The New York Times''. It was followed by the 1973 Ghanaian and Italian production ''The African Deal'' also known as "''Contratto carnale''" featuring Bahamian American actor
Calvin Lockhart Calvin Lockhart (born Bert McClossy Cooper; October 18, 1934March 29, 2007) was a Bahamian–American stage and film actor. Lockhart was perhaps best known for his roles as Reverend Deke O'Malley in the 1970 film ''Cotton Comes to Harlem'' and ...
. 1983's ''Kukurantumi: the Road to Accra'', a Ghanaian and German production directed by King Ampaw, was written about by famous American film critic Vincent Canby. In 1987, '' Cobra Verde'', another Ghanaian and German production directed by Werner Herzog, received international acclamation and in 1988, ''Heritage Africa'' won more than 12 film awards. In recent times there have been collaborations between Ghanaian and Nigerian crew and cast and a number of productions turned out. Many Ghanaian films are co-produced with Nollywood, the Nigerian film industry, and some are distributed by Nigerian marketers. Also, Nigerian filmmakers often feature Ghanaian actors and actresses in their movies, and Ghanaian filmmakers feature Nigerian actors and actresses in theirs. Nadia Buari, Yvonne Nelson, Lydia Forson and Jackie Appiah all popular Ghanaian actresses, and Van Vicker and Majid Michel are popular Ghanaian actors, have starred in many Nigerian movies. As a result of these collaborations, Western viewers often confuse Ghanaian movies with Nollywood and count their sales as one; however, they are two independent industries that sometimes share ''Nollywood''. In 2009, Unesco described Nollywood as the second-biggest film industry in the world after Bollywood. Though The film industry had a downtrend for almost a decade mainly because of low input in production this scenario has drastically changed. New and emerging young film makers are adding spice to the already rich Ghana movie scene. Bliz Bazawule, Peter Sedufia, Joseph Clef and many others have shown the world the new age of filming in Ghana.


Media

The media of Ghana are amongst the most free in Africa. Chapter 12 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana guarantees
freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic News media, media, especially publication, published materials, should be conside ...
and independence of the media, while Chapter 2 prohibits censorship., ''Government of Ghana''. Post-independence, the government and media often had a tense relationship, with private outlets closed during the military governments and strict media laws that prevented criticism of government.Anokwa, K. (1997). In ''Press Freedom and Communication in Africa''. Erbio, F. & Jong-Ebot, W. (Eds.) Africa World Press. . Press freedoms were restored in 1992, and after the election in 2000 of Kufuor the tensions between the private media and government decreased. Kufuor supported press freedom and repealed a
libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
law, but maintained that the media had to act responsibly.Basic Data
. pressreference.com
The Ghanaian media has been described as "one of the most unfettered" in Africa, operating with little restriction. The private press often carries criticism of government policy.BBC Country Profile: Ghana
, BBC News.


Sports

Association football is the top spectator sport in Ghana, and the national men's football team is known as the Black Stars, with the under-20 team known as the Black Satellites. Ghana has won the
Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internati ...
four times, the FIFA U-20 World Cup once, and has participated in three consecutive FIFA World Cups in 2006, 2010, and 2014. In the
2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
, Ghana became the third African country to reach the quarter-final stage after Cameroon in 1990 and Senegal in 2002. Ghana is the first and only country on the Africa continent to be crowned FIFA U-20 World Cup Champions, and two-time runners up in
1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
and
2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
. The Ghana national U-17 football team known as the Black Starlets are two-time FIFA U-17 World Cup champions in
1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
and
1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
, two-time runners up in
1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
and
1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
. Ghanaian football teams Asante Kotoko SC and Accra Hearts of Oak SC are the 5th and 9th best football teams on the Africa continent and have won a total of five Africa continental association football and
Confederation of African Football The Confederation of African Football, or CAF for short (french: link=yes, Confédération Africaine de Football, ar, link=yes, الاتحاد الأفريقي لكرة القدم, al-Ittiḥād al-Afrīqī li-Kurat al-Qadam), is the administ ...
trophies; Asante Kotoko SC has been crowned two-time
CAF Champions League The CAF Champions League, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and formerly the African Cup of Champions Clubs, is an annual football club competition organized by the Confederation of African Football and co ...
winners in
1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...
,
1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...
and five-time CAF Champions League runners up. Accra Hearts of Oak SC has been crowned
2000 CAF Champions League The 2000 CAF Champions League was the 36th awarding of Africa's premier club football tournament prize organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and the 4th prize under the CAF Champions League format. Hearts of Oak SC of Ghana d ...
winner and two-time CAF Champions League runners up, 2001
CAF Super Cup The CAF Super Cup (also known as African Super Cup or for sponsorship reasons TotalEnergies CAF Super Cup) is an annual African association football competition contested between the winners of the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation ...
champions and 2004 CAF Confederation Cup champions. The International Federation of Football History and Statistics crowned Asante Kotoko SC as the African club of the 20th century. There are several club football teams that play in the Ghana Premier League and Division One League, both administered by the Ghana Football Association. Ghana competed in the Winter Olympics in 2010 for the first time. Ghana qualified for the 2010 Winter Olympics, scoring 137.5
International Ski Federation The ''Fédération internationale de ski et de snowboard'' (FIS; en, International Ski and Snowboard Federation) is the highest international governing body for skiing and snowboarding. Founded on 2 February 1924 in Chamonix, France during the ...
points, within the qualifying range of 120–140 points. Skier
Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong (born 19 December 1974), nicknamed "The Snow Leopard", is a Ghanaian Skiing, skier and is the first person from Ghana to take part in the Winter Olympics, which he did at the 2010 Winter Olympics Vancouver, British Col ...
became the first Ghanaian to take part in the Winter Olympics, taking part in the
slalom skiing Slalom is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline, involving skiing between poles or gates. These are spaced more closely than those in giant slalom, super-G, super giant slalom and Downhill (ski competition), downhill, necessitating ...
. Ghana finished 47th out of 102 participating nations, of whom 54 finished in the Alpine skiing slalom. Ghana's last medal at the
Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...
dates back to 1992. Ghanaian athletes have won a total of four medals in thirteen appearances at the Summer Olympics, three in boxing, and a bronze medal in association football, and thus became the first country on the Africa continent to win a medal at association football. Ghana competes in the Commonwealth Games, sending athletes in every edition since
1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...
(except for the 1986 games). Ghana has won 57 medals at the Commonwealth Games, including 15 gold, with all but one of their medals coming in athletics and boxing. The country has also produced a number of world class boxers, including Azumah Nelson a three-time world champion and considered as Africa's greatest boxer,
Nana Yaw Konadu Nana, Nanna, Na Na or NANA may refer to: People and fictional characters * Nana (given name), including a list of people and characters with the given name * Nana (surname), including a list of people and characters with the surname * Nana ( ...
also a three-time world champion, Ike Quartey, and Joshua Clottey. Ghana's women's football team won bronze at the Women's Africa Cup of Nations, Africa Women Cup of Nations 2016 edition in Yaoundé, Cameroon. The team beat South Africa 1–0. Ghana featured a men's national team in beach volleyball that competed at the 2018–2020 CAVB Beach Volleyball Continental Cup. Ghana is to host the 2023 African Games in Accra.


Cultural heritage and architecture

There are two types of Ghanaian traditional construction: the series of adjacent buildings in an enclosure around a common, and the traditional round huts with grass roof. The round huts with grass roof architecture are situated in the northern regions, while the series of adjacent buildings are in the southern regions. Ghanaian postmodern architecture and high-tech architecture buildings are predominant in the southern regions, while heritage sites are most evident by the more than thirty forts and castles in the country, such as Fort William, Ghana, Fort William and Fort Amsterdam, Ghana, Fort Amsterdam. Ghana has museums that are situated inside castles, and two are situated inside a fort. The Armed Forces Museum (Ghana), Military Museum and the National Museum of Ghana, National Museum organise temporary exhibitions. Ghana has museums that show a in-depth look at specific regions, there are a number of museums that provide insight into the traditions and history of the geographical areas. The Cape Coast Castle Museum and St. Georges Castle (
Elmina Castle Elmina Castle was erected by the Portugal, Portuguese in 1482 as Castelo de São Jorge da Mina (''St. George of the Mine Castle''), also known as ''Castelo da Mina'' or simply ''Mina'' (or ''Factory (trading post), Feitoria da Mina''), in presen ...
) Museum offer guided tours. The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Museum of Science and Technology provides its visitors with a look into the domain of Ghanaian scientific development, through exhibits of objects of scientific and technological interest.


National symbols

The Coat of arms of Ghana, coat of arms depicts two animals: the tawny eagle and the lion; a ceremonial sword; a heraldic castle on a heraldic sea; a Theobroma cacao, cocoa tree and a mine shaft representing the industrial mineral wealth of Ghana; and a five-pointed black star rimmed with gold, representing the mineral gold wealth of Ghana and the lodestar of the Ghanaian people. It also has the legend ''Freedom and Justice''. The flag of Ghana consists of three horizontal bands (strips) of red (top), gold (middle) and green (bottom); the three bands are the same height and width; the middle band bears a five-pointed black star in the centre of the gold band, the colour red band stands for the blood spilled to achieve the nation's independence: gold stands for Ghana's industrial mineral wealth, and the colour green symbolises the rich tropical rainforests and natural resources of Ghana.


See also

* Index of Ghana-related articles * Outline of Ghana


References


Further reading

* Arhin, Kwame, ''The Life and Work of Kwame Nkrumah'' (Africa Research & Publications, 1995) * Babatope, Ebenezer, ''The Ghana Revolution: From Nkrumah to Jerry Rawlings'' (Fourth Dimension Publishing, 1982) * Birmingham, David, ''Kwame Nkrumah: Father Of African Nationalism'' (Ohio University Press, 1998) * Boafo-Arthur, Kwame, ''Ghana: One Decade of the Liberal State'' (Zed Books, 2007) * Briggs, Philip, ''Ghana (Bradt Travel Guide)'' (Bradt Travel Guides, 2010) * Clark, Gracia, ''African Market Women: Seven Life Stories from Ghana'' (Indiana University Press, 2010) * Basil Davidson, Davidson, Basil, ''Black Star: A View of the Life and Times of Kwame Nkrumah'' (James Currey, 2007) * Toyin Falola, Falola, Toyin, and Salm, Stephen J, ''Culture and Customs of Ghana'' (Greenwood, 2002) * Grant, Richard, ''Globalizing City: The Urban and Economic Transformation of Accra, Ghana'' (Syracuse University Press, 2008) * Hadjor, Kofi Buenor, ''Nkrumah and Ghana'' (Africa Research & Publications, 2003) * Hasty, Jennifer, ''The Press and Political Culture in Ghana'' (Indiana University Press, 2005) * C. L. R. James, James, C.L.R., ''Kwame Nkrumah and the Ghana Revolution'' (Allison & Busby, 1977) * Kuada, John, and Chachah Yao, ''Ghana. Understanding the People and their Culture'' (Woeli Publishing Services, 1999) * Miescher, Stephan F, ''Making Men in Ghana'' (Indiana University Press, 2005) * Milne, June, ''Kwame Nkrumah, A Biography'' (Panaf Books, 2006) * Nkrumah, Kwame, ''Ghana: The Autobiography of Kwame Nkrumah'' (International Publishers, 1971) * Utley, Ian, ''Ghana – Culture Smart!: the essential guide to customs & culture'' (Kuperard, 2009) * Various, ''Ghana: An African Portrait Revisited'' (Peter E. Randall Publisher, 2007) * Younge, Paschal Yao, ''Music and Dance Traditions of Ghana: History, Performance and Teaching'' (Mcfarland & Co Inc., 2011) *


External links


Government


Ghana
official website
The Parliament of Ghana
official site
National Commission on Culture
official site


General information


Country Profile
from BBC News
Ghana
from ''Encyclopædia Britannica''
Ghana
from UCB Libraries GovPubs
Ghana
''The World Factbook''. Central Intelligence Agency.
Ghana
profile from Africa.com * * * Th
African Activist Archive Project
website has photographs of the All Africa People's Conference held in Accra, Ghana, 5–13 December 1958 includin
Kwame Nkrumah, Prime Minister of Ghana
addressing the conference, th
American Committee on Africa delegation
meeting with Nkrumah, and o
Patrick Duncan and Alfred Hutchinson
of South Africa at the conference.
Key Development Forecasts for Ghana
from International Futures


Trade


Ghana 2012 Summary Trade Statistics
{{coord, 7, 49, N, 1, 03, W, display=title Ghana, Republics in the Commonwealth of Nations Economic Community of West African States English-speaking countries and territories Member states of the African Union Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations Member states of the United Nations States and territories established in 1957 West African countries Articles containing video clips 1957 establishments in Ghana Countries in Africa