Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a unitary country in

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mau ...

. It lies adjacent to the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude) is in the ...

and the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...

to the south, sharing a

border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political bo ...

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 ''In the West'' is the second full-length album by indie rock band Silkworm, released in 1994. It was the band's first full-length album to be produced by their long-time friend Steve Albini; the first official recording that the band recorded wi ...

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

in the north, and

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its ...

in the east. Ghana covers an area of , spanning diverse ecologies, from

coast The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

s to

tropical rainforest Tropical rainforests are rainforests that occur in areas of tropical rainforest climate in which there is no dry season – all months have an average precipitation of at least 60 mm – and may also be referred to as ''lowland equatori ...

s. With nearly 35 million inhabitants, Ghana is the second-most populous country in

. The

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...

and

largest city The United Nations uses three definitions for what constitutes a city, as not all cities in all jurisdictions are classified using the same criteria. Cities may be defined as the cities proper, the extent of their urban area, or their metropo ...

is Accra; other significant

cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

include

Kumasi Kumasi (historically spelled Comassie or Coomassie, usually spelled Kumase in Twi) is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is t ...

Tamale A tamale, in Spanish tamal, is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of masa, a dough made from nixtamalized corn, which is steamed in a corn husk or banana leaf. The wrapping can either be discarded prior to eating or used as a plate. Tam ...

, and

Sekondi-Takoradi Sekondi-Takoradi is a city in Ghana comprising the twin cities of Sekondi and Takoradi. It is the capital of Sekondi – Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly and the Western Region of Ghana. Sekondi-Takoradi is the region's largest city and an ind ...

. In 1957 Ghana became the first colony in Sub-Saharan Africa to achieve

sovereignty Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...

, under the leadership of

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. ...

. The earliest kingdoms to emerge in Ghana were

Bonoman Bono State (or Bonoman) was a trading state created by the Bono people, located in what is now southern Ghana. Bonoman was a medieval Akan kingdom in what is now Bono, Bono East and Ahafo region respectively named after the (Bono and Ahafo) an ...

in the south and the

Kingdom of 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, Upper West, Upper East and ...

in the north, with Bonoman existing in the area during the 11th century. The

Ashanti Empire 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 ...

and other Akan kingdoms in the south emerged over the centuries. Beginning in the 15th century, the

Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the ...

, followed by other

European powers A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power inf ...

, contested the area for trading rights, until the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

ultimately established control of the coast by the 19th

century A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial ...

. Following more than a century of colonial resistance, the current borders of the country took shape, encompassing four separate British colonial territories: Gold Coast, Ashanti, the Northern Territories, and

British Togoland British Togoland, officially the Mandate Territory of Togoland and later officially the Trust Territory of Togoland, was a territory in West Africa, under the administration of the United Kingdom, which subsequently entered into union with Ghana ...

. These were unified as an independent dominion within the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the ...

. On 6 March 1957 Ghana became the first colony in Sub-Saharan Africa to achieve sovereignty - that is, gain independence. Under President

, it 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 Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-eth ...

country with diverse linguistic and religious groups; while the

Akan Akan may refer to: People and languages *Akan people, an ethnic group in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire *Akan language Akan () is a Central Tano languages, Central Tano language and the principal native language of the Akan people of Ghana, spoken ...

are the largest ethnic group, they constitute a plurality. Most

Ghanaians The Ghanaian people are a nation originating in the Ghanaian Gold Coast. Ghanaians predominantly inhabit the Republic of Ghana and are the predominant cultural group and residents of Ghana, numbering 30 million people as of 2020, making up 85% ...

are

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

(71.3%); almost a fifth are

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abra ...

; a tenth practice traditional faiths or report no religion. Ghana is a

unitary Unitary may refer to: Mathematics * Unitary divisor * Unitary element * Unitary group * Unitary matrix * Unitary morphism * Unitary operator * Unitary transformation * Unitary representation * Unitarity (physics) * ''E''-unitary inverse semigroup ...

constitutional democracy Liberal democracy is the combination of a liberal political ideology that operates under an indirect democratic form of government. It is characterized by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into di ...

led by a

president 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 f ...

who is

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state (polity), state#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' i ...

being an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international p ...

and

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, ...

. For political stability in Africa, Ghana ranked seventh in the 2012

Ibrahim Index of African Governance The Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG), established in 2007, provides an annual assessment of the quality of governance in African countries. Compiled by combining over 100 variables from more than 30 independent African and global instit ...

and fifth in the 2012

Fragile States Index The Fragile States Index (FSI; formerly the Failed States Index) is an annual report published by the United States think tank the Fund for Peace and the American magazine ''Foreign Policy'' from 2005 to 2018, then by The New Humanitarian since 2 ...

. It has maintained since 1993 one of the freest and most stable governments on the continent, and it performs relatively well in healthcare,

economic An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with t ...

growth, and human development, so that it has a significant influence in West Africa and Africa as a whole. Ghana is highly integrated in international affairs, being a founding member of the

Non-Aligned Movement The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 120 countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide. The movement originated in the aftermath ...

and the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of member states of the African Union, 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 fo ...

, and a member of the

Economic Community of West African States The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as in French and Portuguese) is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an area of , and in ...

, the

Group of 24 The Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four on International Monetary Affairs and Development, or The Group of 24 (G-24) was established in 1971 as a chapter of the Group of 77 in order to help coordinate the positions of developing countries on ...

and the

Etymology

The name ''Ghana'' comes from

Wagadu The Ghana Empire, also known as Wagadou ( ar, غانا) or Awkar, was a West African empire based in the modern-day southeast of Mauritania and western Mali that existed from c. 300 until 1100. The Empire was founded by the Soninke people, an ...

, a vast empire in west Africa from the 3rd to 12th centuries; Wagadu was termed ''Ghana'' by Arab traders involved in the

trans-Saharan trade Trans-Saharan trade requires travel across the Sahara between sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa. While existing from prehistoric times, the peak of trade extended from the 8th century until the early 17th century. The Sahara once had a very ...

. ''Ghana'' is thought to originate from the title ''Kaya Maghan'' of the rulers of Wagadu, which translates as ''ruler of gold''. As the

Gold Coast colony The Gold Coast was a British Crown colony on the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa from 1821 until its independence in 1957 as Ghana. The term Gold Coast is also often used to describe all of the four separate jurisdictions that were under the ad ...

prepared for independence, the nation's leader and first prime minister later first president

the one who led Ghana to independence, settled on ''Ghana'', aiming to evoke a sense of unity and liberation among the

Ghanaian people The Ghanaian people are a nation originating in the Gold Coast (region), Ghanaian Gold Coast. Ghanaians predominantly inhabit the Republic of Ghana and are the predominant cultural group and residents of Ghana, numbering 30 million people as of ...

. The name was a powerful reminder of their shared heritage and the legacy of the ancient empire that once thrived in the wider region. It encapsulated the aspirations of the Ghanaian people for self-governance, progress, and a future marked by dignity and resilience.

History

Medieval kingdoms

The earliest kingdoms to emerge in Ghana were

in the south and the

in the north, with Bonoman existing in the area during the 11th century. From the 17th century, different Akan states begun to emerge from what is believed to have been the Bonoman area, mainly based on gold trading. These states included Bonoman (Brong-Ahafo region), Ashanti (

Ashanti Region The Ashanti Region is located in southern part of Ghana and it is the third largest of 16 administrative regions, occupying a total land surface of or 10.2 percent of the total land area of Ghana. In terms of population, however, it is the mo ...

Denkyira Denkyira was a powerful nation of Akan people that existed before the 1620s, in what is now modern-day Ghana. Like all Akans, they originated from Bono state. Before 1620, Denkyira was called Agona. The ruler of the Denkyira was called Denkyir ...

(

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 The Mankessim Kingdom (1252–1844) was a pre-colonial African state in modern-day Ghana. It is regarded as the heartland of the Fante people, and operated as capital of the Fante Confederacy in the 19th century. The town of Mankessim still exist ...

( Central region), and

Akwamu Akwamu was a state set up by the Akwamu people in present-day Ghana. After migrating from Bono state, the Akan founders of Akwamu settled in Twifo-Heman. The Akwamu led an expansionist empire in the 17th and 18th centuries. At the peak of their ...

(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 I ...

. The government of the Ashanti Empire operated first as a loose network and eventually as a centralised kingdom with a specialised bureaucracy centred in the capital city of

. Prior to Akan contact with Europeans, the Akan people created an economy based on principally gold and

gold bar A gold bar, also called gold bullion or gold ingot, is a quantity of refined metallic gold of any shape that is made by a bar producer meeting standard conditions of manufacture, labeling, and record keeping. Larger gold bars that are produce ...

precious metals, which were traded with other states in Africa. The Ga-Dangme and Ewe migrated westward from south-western Nigeria. The Ewe – formerly known as Dogbo- migrated from Oyo area with their Gbe-speaking kinsmen (Adja, Fon, Phla/Phera and Ogun/Gun) and in transition, settled at Ketou in Benin Republic, Tado in Togo, Dogbo Nyigbo in Benin Republic and with Nortsie (a walled town in present-day Togo) as their final dispersal point. Their dispersal from Nortsie was necessitated by the high-handed rule of King Agorkorli (Agɔ Akɔli) who was the reigning monarch of the tribe at that time. The Ewe in Ghana speak three principal dialects: Anlo(along the coast),Tongu(along the Volta river) and Ewedome (in the hill country side).The Ga-Dangme occupy the Greater Accra Region and parts of the Eastern Region, while the Ewe are found in the

Volta Region Volta Region (or Volta) is one of Ghana's sixteen administrative regions, with Ho designated as its capital. It is located west of Republic of Togo and to the east of Lake Volta. Divided into 25 administrative districts, the region is multi-e ...

as well as the neighbouring Togo, Benin Republic and Nigeria (around Badagry area).

European contact and colonialism

Akan trade with European states began after contact with the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Port ...

in the 15th century. European contact was by the

Portuguese people The Portuguese people () are a Romance nation and ethnic group indigenous to Portugal who share a common culture, ancestry and language. The Portuguese people's heritage largely derives from the pre-Celts, Proto-Celts ( Lusitanians, Coni ...

, who came to the Gold Coast region in the 15th century to trade. The Portuguese then established the

Portuguese Gold Coast The Portuguese Gold Coast was a Portuguese colony on the West African Gold Coast (present-day Ghana) along the Gulf of Guinea. Established in 1482, the colony was officially incorporated into Dutch territory in 1642 following Portugal’s def ...

(Costa do Ouro), focused on the 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 Elmina Castle was erected by the 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 ''Feitoria da Mina''), in present-day Elmina, Ghana (formerly t ...

. In 1481, King

John II of Portugal John II ( pt, João II; ; 3 March 1455 – 25 October 1495), called the Perfect Prince ( pt, o Príncipe Perfeito, link=no), was King of Portugal from 1481 until his death in 1495, and also for a brief time in 1477. He is known for re-establishi ...

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 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 ''Feitoria da Mina''), in present-day Elmina, Ghana (formerly th ...

, which was completed in three years. By 1598, the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

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 161 ...

(''Nederlandse Bezittingen ter Kuste van Guinea'' – 'Dutch properties at the Guinea coast') and building forts at

Fort Komenda Fort Komenda was a British fort on the Gold Coast, currently preserved as a ruin. Because of its testimony to the Atlantic slave trade and European economic and colonial influence in West Africa, the fort was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heri ...

and Kormantsi. In 1617, the Dutch captured the Elmina 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 h ...

in 1642 ( Fort St Anthony). European traders had joined in gold trading by the 17th century, including the Swedes, establishing the

Swedish Gold Coast The Swedish Gold Coast ( sv, Svenska Guldkusten) was a colony of the Swedish Africa Company founded in 1650 by Hendrik Carloff on the Gulf of Guinea in present-day Ghana in Africa. Under foreign occupation for much of its existence, it disappe ...

(''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 ...

, establishing the

Danish Gold Coast The Danish Gold Coast ( da, Danske Guldkyst or ''Dansk Guinea'') comprised the colonies that Denmark–Norway controlled in Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At a ...

(''Danske Guldkyst'' or ''Dansk Guinea''). 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 ...

in this area. More than 30 forts and castles were built by the merchants. The Germans 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 Go ...

or Groß Friedrichsburg. In 1874, Great Britain established control over some parts of the country, assigning these areas the status of the

British Gold Coast The Gold Coast was a British Crown colony on the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa from 1821 until its independence in 1957 as Ghana. The term Gold Coast is also often used to describe all of the four separate jurisdictions that were under the ad ...

.MacLean, Iain (2001), ''Rational Choice and British Politics: An Analysis of Rhetoric and Manipulation from Peel to Blair'', p. 76, . Military engagements occurred between British colonial powers and Akan nation-states. The Kingdom of Ashanti defeated the British some times in the 100-year-long

Anglo-Ashanti wars The Anglo-Ashanti wars were a series of five conflicts that took place between 1824 and 1900 between the Ashanti Empire—in the Akan interior of the Gold Coast—and the British Empire and its African allies. Though the Ashanti emerged victor ...

and eventually lost with the

War of the Golden Stool The War of the Golden Stool, also known as the Yaa Asantewaa War, the Third Ashanti Expedition, the Ashanti Uprising, or variations thereof, was a campaign in 1900 during the series of conflicts between the United Kingdom and the Ashanti Empire ...

in 1900.Freeman-Grenville, G. S. P. (1975), ''Chronology of World History: A Calendar of Principal Events from 3000 BC to AD 1973'', Part 1973, Rowman & Littlefield, .

Transition to independence

In 1947, the newly formed

United Gold Coast Convention The United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) was a political party founded in 1947 whose aim was to bring about Ghanaian independence from their British colonial masters after the Second World War. The United Gold Coast Convention appointed its l ...

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.

, a Ghanaian nationalist who led Ghana from 1957 to 1966 as the country's first

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

and

, formed the

Convention People's Party The Convention People's Party (CPP) is a socialist political party in Ghana based on the ideas of the first President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah. The CPP was formed in June 1949 after Nkrumah broke away from the United Gold Coast Convention (UG ...

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 was released from prison. He became prime minister in 1952 and began a policy of Africanization. At midnight of March 6, 1957, the Gold Coast, Ashanti, the Northern Territories, and

were unified as one single independent dominion within the

British Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the C ...

under the name Ghana. This was done under the

Ghana Independence Act 1957 The Ghana Independence Act 1957 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that granted the Gold Coast fully responsible government within the British Commonwealth of Nations under the name of Ghana. The Act received the Royal Assent on ...

. The current

flag of Ghana The national flag, national flag of Ghana consists of a horizontal triband of Red, Gold, and Green. It was designed in replacement of the British Gold Coast's Blue Ensign#Defaced Blue Ensign, Blue Ensign. The flag was adopted upon the independe ...

, consisting of the colours red, gold, green, and a black star, dates back to this unification. 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 Republic Day is the name of a holiday in several countries to commemorate the day when they became republics. List January 1 January in Slovak Republic The day of creation of Slovak republic. A national holiday since 1993. Officially ca ...

. Nkrumah led an

authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic votin ...

regime in Ghana, as he repressed political opposition and conducted elections that were not free and fair. In 1964, a

constitutional amendment A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text. Conversely, t ...

made Ghana a

one-party state A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...

, with Nkrumah as president for life of both the nation and its party. Nkrumah was the first African head of state to promote the concept of

Pan-Africanism 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 Atlantic ...

, which he had been introduced to during his studies at Lincoln University, Pennsylvania in the United States, at the time when

Marcus Garvey Marcus Mosiah Garvey Sr. (17 August 188710 June 1940) was a Jamaican political activist, publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator. He was the founder and first President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African ...

was known for his "Back to Africa Movement". He merged the teachings of Garvey,

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

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

, 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 Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society ...

and

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

. 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 in a coup by the

Ghana Armed Forces The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) is the unified armed force of Ghana, consisting of the Army (GA), Navy (GN), and Ghana Air Force. The Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces is the president of Ghana, who is also the supreme military com ...

, codenamed "Operation Cold Chop". This occurred while Nkrumah was abroad with

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 January 1976. Zhou served under Chairman Ma ...

in the People's Republic of China, on a mission to

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi i ...

, Vietnam, to help end the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. The coup took place on 24 February 1966, led by Colonel

Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka Lieutenant-General Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka Born (26 September 1926 – 17 April 1967) was a Ghanaian military officer who was a member of the ruling National Liberation Council which came to power in Ghana in a military coup d'état on 24 February ...

and Brigadier Akwasi Afrifa. The

National Liberation Council The National Liberation Council (NLC) led the Ghanaian government from 24 February 1966 to 1 October 1969. The body emerged from a ''coup d'état'' against the Nkrumah government carried out jointly by the Ghana Police Service and Ghana Armed F ...

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, ending with the ascent 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 Indi ...

Jerry John Rawlings Jerry John Rawlings (22 June 194712 November 2020) was a Ghanaian military officer and politician who led the country for a brief period in 1979, and then from 1981 to 2001. He led a military junta until 1992, and then served two terms as the de ...

of the

Provisional National Defence Council The Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) was the name of the Ghanaian government after the People's National Party's elected government was overthrown by Jerry Rawlings, the former head of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council, in a cou ...

in 1981. These changes resulted in the suspension of the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princip ...

in 1981 and the banning of political parties. The economy soon declined, so Rawlings negotiated a structural adjustment plan, changing many old economic policies, and growth recovered during the mid-1980s. A new constitution restoring

multi-party system In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in co ...

politics was promulgated in the presidential election of 1992, in which Rawlings was elected, and again in the general election of 1996. In a

tribal war __NOTOC__ Ritual warfare (sometimes called endemic warfare) is a state of continual or frequent warfare, such as is found in some tribal societies (but is not limited to tribal societies). Description Ritual fighting (or ritual battle or ritua ...

Northern Ghana The Northern Region is one of the sixteen regions of Ghana. It is located in the north of the country and was the largest of the sixteen regions, covering an area of 70,384 square kilometres or 31 percent of Ghana's area until December 2018 when ...

in 1994, between the Konkomba and other ethnic groups, including the Nanumba, Dagomba and Gonja, between 1,000 and 2,000 people were killed and 150,000 people were displaced. Kpetoee

After the 2000 general election,

John Kufuor John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor (born 8 December 1938) is a Ghanaian politician who served as the President of Ghana from 7 January 2001 to 7 January 2009. He was also Chairperson of the African Union from 2007 to 2008. Kufuor's career has been sp ...

of the

New Patriotic Party , logo = , colorcode = #132f7a , founder = , founded = 28 July 1992 , dissolved = , leader = Nana Akufo-Addo , chairman = Stephen Ayensu Ntim Stephen Ntim elected NPP National Chairman on fifth attempt http://www.gna.org.gh/1.2152672 ...

became president of Ghana on 7 January 2001 and was re-elected in 2004, thus also serving two terms (the term limit) as president of Ghana and 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 Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo ( ; born 29 March 1944) is a Ghanaian politician who has served as the president of Ghana since 7 January 2017. In 2020, he was re-elected for his second term, which will end on 6 January 2025. Akufo-Addo previously ...

, the ruling party candidate, was defeated in a very close 2008 general election by

John Atta Mills John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills (21 July 1944 – 24 July 2012) was a Ghanaian politician and legal scholar who served as President of Ghana from 2009 until his death in 2012. He was inaugurated on 7 January 2009, having defeated the governing party ...

of the National Democratic Congress. 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 pres ...

on 24 July 2012. Following the 2012 general election, Mahama became president in his own right, and Ghana was described as a "stable democracy". As a result of the 2016 general election,

became president on 7 January 2017. He was re-elected after a tightly contested election in 2020. To combat deforestation, on 11 June 2021 Ghana inaugurated Green Ghana Day, with the aim of planting five million trees in a concentrated effort to preserve the country's rainforest cover.

Geography

Ghana is located on the

, 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 al ...

. It 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 Island. ...

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 Axim is a coastal town and the capital of Nzema East Municipal district, a district in Western Region of South Ghana. Axim li ...

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 A prime meridian is an arbitrary meridian (a line of longitude) in a geographic coordinate system at which longitude is defined to be 0°. Together, a prime meridian and its anti-meridian (the 180th meridian in a 360°-system) form a great ...

passes through Ghana, specifically through

Tema Tema is a city on the Bight of Benin and Atlantic coast of Ghana. It is located east of the capital city; Accra, in the region of Greater Accra, and is the capital of the Tema Metropolitan District. As of 2013, Tema is the eleventh most po ...

. Ghana is geographically closer to the intersection of the Prime Meridian and the Equator than any other country, since this point, (0°, 0°), is located in the Atlantic Ocean approximately 614 km (382 mi) 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 locations for mining of industrial minerals and timber. Ghana is home to five terrestrial ecoregions:

Eastern Guinean forests The Eastern Guinean forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of West Africa. Geography The ecoregion includes the lowland forests extending from the Gulf of Guinea a few hundred kilometres inland, from western Côte d'Ivoire to ...

Guinean forest–savanna mosaic The Guinean forest-savanna mosaic is an ecoregion of West Africa, a band of interlaced forest, savanna, and grassland running east to west and dividing the tropical moist forests near the coast from the West Sudanian savanna of the interio ...

West Sudanian savanna The West Sudanian savanna is a tropical savanna ecoregion that extends across West Africa. Geography The ecoregion stretches east and west across West Africa, from the Atlantic coast of Senegal to the Mandara Mountains on Nigeria's eastern bor ...

Central African mangroves The Central African mangroves ecoregion consists of the largest area of mangrove swamp in Africa, located on the coasts of West Africa, mainly in Nigeria. Location and description These mangroves are found in fertile rivermouths and lagoons ...

, 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 Casaman ...

. The

White Volta The White Volta or Nakambé is the headstream of the Volta River, Ghana's main waterway. The White Volta emerges in northern Burkina Faso, flows through North Ghana and empties into Lake Volta in Ghana. The White Volta's main tributaries are t ...

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 Bur ...

, 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 The Akosombo Dam, also known as the Volta Dam, is a hydroelectric dam on the Volta River in southeastern Ghana in the Akosombo gorge and part of the Volta River Authority. The construction of the dam flooded part of the Volta River Basin and l ...

, completed in 1965. The Volta flows out of Lake Volta into the

. The northernmost part of Ghana is Pulmakong and the southernmost part of Ghana is

Cape Three Points Cape Three Points is a small peninsula in the Western Region of Ghana on the Atlantic Ocean. It forms the southernmost tip of Ghana. Location Cape Three Points is located between the coastal village of Dixcove and town of Princes Town, Ghana. ...

. 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 of ...

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

, and there is

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the Rainy season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. It is the time of year where the majority of a country's or region's annual precipitation occurs. Generally, the se ...

and

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The ...

. Ghana sits at the intersection of three hydro-climatic zones. Changes in rainfall, weather conditions and sea-level rise affect the salinity of coastal waters. This is expected to negatively affect both farming and fisheries. 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 Parliament House – Ghana Supreme Court – Osu Castle

Presidents of Ghana and of the 4th Republic of Ghana

Ghana is a

presidential

with a parliamentary

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 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 The Constitution of Ghana is the supreme law of the Republic of Ghana. It was approved on 28 April 1992 through a national referendum after 92% support. It defines the fundamental political principles, establishing the structure, procedures, powe ...

divides powers among a commander-in-chief of the

(

President of Ghana The president of the Republic of Ghana is the elected head of state and head of government of Ghana, as well as commander-in-chief of the Ghana Armed Forces. The current president of Ghana is Nana Akufo-Addo, who won the 2020 presidential ele ...

), parliament (

Parliament of Ghana The Parliament of Ghana is the legislative body of the Government of Ghana. History Legislative representation in Ghana dates back to 1850, when the country was a British colony known as Gold Coast. The body, called the Legislative Council ...

), 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 Judiciary of Ghana comprises the Superior Courts of Judicature, established under the 1992 Constitution, and the Inferior Courts, established by Parliament. The hierarchy of courts derives largely from British juridical forms. The courts hav ...

). The government is elected by

universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political sta ...

after every four years."Government and Politics".
A Country Study: Ghana
'' (La Verle Berry, editor).

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The librar ...

Federal Research Division The Federal Research Division (FRD) is the research and analysis unit of the United States Library of Congress. The Federal Research Division provides directed research and analysis on domestic and international subjects to agencies of the Un ...

(November 1994). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

Lcweb2.loc.gov

won the presidency in the general election in 2016, defeating incumbent

. 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 2012

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 seventh in Africa out of 53 countries in the 2012

. 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. According to 2023 V-Dem Democracy indices Ghana is ranked 67th electoral democracy worldwide and 10th electoral democracy in Africa.

Foreign relations

Since independence, Ghana has been devoted to ideals of nonalignment and is a founding member of the

. Ghana favours international and regional political and economic co-operation, and is an active member of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

and the

. Ghana has a strong relationship with the United States. Three recent U.S. presidents—

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (Birth name, né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 ...

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

, and

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

—and a Vice President—

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who is the 49th vice president of the United States. She is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well ...

—have 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 The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of the Un ...

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the found ...

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individua ...

Judge

Akua Kuenyehia Akua Kuenyehia (born 1947) is a Ghanaian academic and lawyer who served as judge of the International Criminal Court (ICC) from 2003 to 2015. She also served as First Vice-president of the Court. She was one of the three female African judges at ...

, as well as former President

and former President

John Agyekum Kufuor John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor (born 8 December 1938) is a Ghanaian politician who served as the President of Ghana from 7 January 2001 to 7 January 2009. He was also Chairperson of the African Union from 2007 to 2008. Kufuor's career has been spe ...

, who both served as diplomats of the United Nations. In September 2010, President

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

. China recently became one of the top investing countries of Ghana, which predominantly focus on infrastructure, natural resources, and manufacturing sectors, have promoted economic growth, job creation, and technology transfer in Ghana. However, concerns regarding the sustainability of Chinese-financed projects, environmental impacts, and the lack of transparency in their investments call for a careful assessment of these collaborations. 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

and also co–chair a bilateral meeting between Ghana and Iran at the Ghanaian presidential palace

Flagstaff House Flagstaff House, built in 1846, is the oldest example of Western-style architecture remaining in Hong Kong.Antiquities and Monuments OfficeDeclared Monuments in Hong Kong: Flagstaff House It is located at 10 Cotton Tree Drive, Central – w ...

. 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 for stakeholders' participation, such as in 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

, 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 The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were eight international development goals for the year 2015 that had been established following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000, following the adoption of the United Nations Millenn ...

Military

In 1957, the

(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 The United States of Africa is a hypothetical concept of a federation of some or all of the 54 sovereign states and two disputed states on the continent of Africa. The concept takes its origin from Marcus Garvey's 1924 poem " Hail, United Sta ...

ambitions. Thus, in 1961, 4th and 5th Battalions were established, and in 1964 6th Battalion was established, from a parachute

airborne unit Airborne forces, airborne troops, or airborne infantry are ground combat units carried by aircraft and airdropped into battle zones, typically by parachute drop or air assault. Parachute-qualified infantry and support personnel serving in ...

originally raised in 1963. Today, Ghana is a

regional power In international relations, since the late 20thcentury, the term "regional power" has been used for a sovereign state that exercises significant power within a given geographical region.Joachim Betz, Ian Taylor"The Rise of (New) Regional Pow ...

and regional hegemon. In his book '' Shake Hands with the Devil'',

Canadian Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Ai ...

commander

Roméo Dallaire Roméo Antonius Dallaire (born June 25, 1946) is a Canadian humanitarian, author, retired senator and Canadian Forces lieutenant-general. Dallaire served as force commander of UNAMIR, the ill-fated United Nations peacekeeping force for Rwanda b ...

highly rated the GAF soldiers and military personnel. The

military operation A military operation is the coordinated military actions of a state, or a non-state actor, in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state or actor's favor. Operations ...

s 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 acros ...

of the GAF are conceptualised in the constitution, Ghana's Law on Armed Force Military Strategy, and

Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre Based in Ghana, the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) provides training and research in peacekeeping and peaceoperations. Established in 1998, headed by Maj-Gen. Clayton Yaache, it formally began operations in 2002. K ...

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 state ...

. Although Ghana is relatively peaceful and is often considered being 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 The Ghana Police Service (GPS) is the main law enforcement agency of Ghana. The service is under the control of the Ghanaian Ministry of the Interior, and employs over 30,000 officers across its 651 stations. Organisational structure The Ghana ...

and the

Criminal Investigation Department The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is the branch of a police force to which most plainclothes detectives belong in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth nations. A force's CID is distinct from its Special Branch (though officers of ...

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 The militarization of police (paramilitarization of police in some media) is the use of military equipment and tactics by law enforcement officers. This includes the use of armored personnel carriers (APCs), assault rifles, submachine guns, f ...

Rapid deployment force A rapid deployment force is a military formation that is capable of fast deployment. Such forces typically consist of elite military units (special forces, paratroopers, marines, etc.) and are usually trained at a higher intensity than the rest ...

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

, 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 The Ghana Prisons Service is responsible for the safe custody of prisoners in Ghana, as well as their welfare, reformation and rehabilitation. It is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior. Administration The prisons service is go ...

and the sub-division

Borstal Institute for Juveniles The Borstal Institute for juveniles now called The Senior Correctional Centre is a juvenile correction institute under the Ghana Prisons Service (GPS). The centre is a correction centre for people who are under 18 years old and have been convict ...

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. Drugtrade

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 and

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...

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 A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is characterized by noncompliance with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the ...

. 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 The Takoradi Harbour is in the Western region of Ghana. It is located in the industrial district of Sekondi-Takoradi and is the oldest harbour in Ghana. The Takoradi harbour and the Tema Harbour are the only harbours in Ghana. History The idea ...

. 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 cartel A drug cartel is any criminal organization with the intention of supplying drug trafficking operations. They range from loosely managed agreements among various drug traffickers to formalized commercial enterprises. The term was applied when th ...

s 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 peop ...

are prohibited by law in Ghana. According to a 2013 survey by the Pew Research Center, 96% of Ghanaians believe that homosexuality should not be accepted by society."The Global Divide on Homosexuality."
Pew Research Center. 4 June 2013. Sometimes elderly

women in Ghana The status of women in Ghana and their roles in Ghanaian society has changed over the past few decades. There has been a slow increase in the political participation of Ghanaian women throughout history. Women are given equal rights under the ...

are accused of

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have u ...

, 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 camp Witch camps are settlements where women in Ghana who have been accused of being witches can flee for safety. Women in such camps have been accused of witchcraft for various reasons, including mental illness. Some camps are thought to have been cr ...

s. These are 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.

Economy

GDP per capita development development of Ghana

Ghana possesses

industrial mineral Industrial resources (minerals) are geological materials which are mined for their commercial value, which are not fuel (fuel minerals or mineral fuels) and are not sources of metals (metallic minerals) but are used in the industries based on t ...

hydrocarbon In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and hydrophobic, and their odors are usually weak or ...

s 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 lu ...

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 economic activities (production, distribution, trade) are being transformed by Internet, World Wide Web, ...

with

mixed economy A mixed economy is variously defined as an economic system blending elements of a market economy with elements of a planned economy, markets with state interventionism, or private enterprise with public enterprise. Common to all mixed econo ...

hybridisation and an

emerging market An emerging market (or an emerging country or an emerging economy) is a market that has some characteristics of a developed market, but does not fully meet its standards. This includes markets that may become developed markets in the future or were ...

. 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 infrastru ...

between 2020 and 2029 and a

newly industrialised country The category of newly industrialized country (NIC), newly industrialized economy (NIE) or middle income country is a socioeconomic classification applied to several countries around the world by political scientists and economists. They represent ...

between 2030 and 2039. This excludes fellow

member and Sub-Saharan African 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 The Bank of Ghana ( BoG) is the central bank of Ghana. It is located in Accra and was formed in 1957. The bank is active in developing financial inclusion policy and is a member of thAlliance for Financial Inclusion History The Central Ba ...

began circulating the renminbi throughout Ghanaian state-owned banks and to the Ghana public as

hard currency In macroeconomics, hard currency, safe-haven currency, or strong currency is any globally traded currency that serves as a reliable and stable store of value. Factors contributing to a currency's ''hard'' status might include the stability and ...

along with the national

Ghanaian cedi 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 independe ...

for second national trade currency. 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 The Volta River Authority (VRA) is the main generator and supplier of electricity in Ghana. They are also the responsible for the maintenance of the hydro power supply plant. Establishment The VRA was established by the Volta River Development ...

and the

Ghana National Petroleum Corporation The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) is the state agency responsible for the exploration, licensing, and distribution of petroleum-related activities in Ghana. History The corporation was established in 1983 to replace the Petroleum ...

, both state-owned, are the two major electricity producers. The

, built on the Volta River in 1965, along with the

Bui Dam The Bui Dam is a hydroelectric project in Ghana. It is built on the Black Volta river at the ''Bui Gorge'', at the southern end of Bui National Park. The project is a collaboration between the government of Ghana and Sino Hydro, a Chinese constr ...

, 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 Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of ...

. In addition, the government sought to build the second nuclear power plant in Africa. The

Ghana Stock Exchange The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) is the principal stock exchange of Ghana. The exchange was incorporated in July 1989 with trading commencing in 1990. It currently lists 42 equities (from 37 companies) and 2 corporate bonds. All types of securit ...

is the fifth largest on continental Africa and 3rd largest in sub-saharan Africa with a

market capitalisation Market capitalization, sometimes referred to as market cap, is the total value of a publicly traded company's outstanding common shares owned by stockholders. Market capitalization is equal to the market price per common share multiplied by ...

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¥ The renminbi (; symbol: ¥; ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB) is the official currency A currency, "in circulation", from la, currens, -entis, literally meaning "running" or "traversing" is a standardization of money in any form, in ...

180.4 billion in 2012 with the South Africa

JSE Limited JSE Limited (previously the JSE Securities Exchange and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange) is the largest stock exchange in Africa. It is located in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, after it moved from downtown Johannesburg in 2000. In 2003 ...

as first. The

was the second 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 second largest producer of cocoa globally and its ICCO membership helps in its international cocoa trade. Ghana is classified as a middle income country.

Services Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a p ...

account for 50% of GDP, followed by

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a ...

(24.1%),

extractive industries Extractivism is the process of extracting natural resources from the Earth to sell on the world market. It exists in an economy that depends primarily on the extraction or removal of natural resources that are considered valuable for exportation w ...

(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

s, agricultural products primarily cocoa, petroleum and natural gas, and industries such as

information and communications technology Information and communications technology (ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications ( telephone lines and wireless signals) and comput ...

primarily via Ghana's state digital technology corporation

Rlg Communications Rlg Communications was a Ghanaian ICT company with headquarters in Dubai-United Arab Emirates. It started with the incorporation of a company called Roagams Link Ghana Ltd now Rlg Communications (Ghana) Limited, as the leading Ghanaian computer a ...

which manufactures

tablet computer A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being comput ...

s with

smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...

s and various

consumer electronics Consumer electronics or home electronics are Electronics, electronic (Analogue electronics, analog or digital electronics, digital) equipment intended for everyday use, typically in private homes. Consumer electronics include devices used for ...

Urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

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 quiet ...

s have been manufactured in Ghana since 2014. It 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 was planning to borrow up to $5 billion in international markets, 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 Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

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. Jubilee Oil Field of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and National Petroleum Authority

Jubilee Oil Field of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and National Petroleum Authority

It produces and exports

s such as sweet crude oil and natural gas. The 100%-state-owned filling station company, Ghana Oil Company, is the number 1 petroleum and gas filling station, and the 100%-state-owned state oil company

oversees hydrocarbon exploration and production of petroleum and natural gas reserves. Ghana aims to further increase the output of oil to per day and gas to per day.Clark, Nancy L. "Petroleum Exploration"
''A Country Study: Ghana''
(La Verle Berry, editor).

(November 1994). ''This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the

.'
Lcweb2.loc.gov
The Jubilee Oil Field, 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-List of countries by proven oil reserves, largest proven reserves in the world. It also has up to of natural gas in reserves. The government has drawn up plans to Nationalization, nationalise petroleum and natural gas reserves to increase government revenue. In 2015, Ghana produced 88 metric tonnes of gold as per the our world in data report. 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 exports silver, timber, diamonds, bauxite, and manganese, and has other mineral deposits. Ghana ranks 9th in the world in diamond export and reserve size. The government has drawn up plans to Nationalization, nationalize mining industry to increase government revenue. "Shortages" of electricity in 2015 and 2016 led to dumsor ("persistent, irregular and unpredictable" electric power outages), increasing the interest in renewables. As of 2019, there is a surplus of electricity. The Judiciary of Ghana, judicial system of Ghana deals with corruption, economic malpractice and lack of economic transparency. According to Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions 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 launched a cellular mobile network in 1992. It was later connected to the Internet and introduced ADSL broadband services. It was ranked 99th in the Global Innovation Index in 2024. The Ghana Space Science and Technology Centre (GSSTC) and Ghana Space Agency (GhsA) oversee space exploration and space programmes. GSSTC and GhsA worked to have a national security Earth observation satellite, 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

Surfers Surfing at Busua Beach in Western region, Ghana

In 2011, tourists visiting Ghana numbered 1,087,000, with arrivals including South Americans, Asians, Europeans, and North Americans. Among the attractions and tourist destinations are waterfalls such as Kintampo waterfalls 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 human-made lake in the world by surface area,

, dozens of List of castles in Ghana, forts and castles, World Heritage Sites, nature reserves and national parks. Notable castles are Cape Coast Castle Museum, Cape Coast Castle and the

. Castles mark where blood was shed in the slave trade and preserve and promote the African heritage stolen and destroyed through the slave trade. The World Heritage Site, World Heritage Convention of UNESCO named Ghana's castles and forts as World Heritage Monuments, based on the criterion: "The Castles and Forts of Ghana shaped not only Ghana’s history but that of the world over four centuries as the focus of first the gold trade and then the slave trade. They are a significant and emotive symbol of European-African encounters and of the starting point of the African Diaspora." 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 11th 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 2024, Ghana ranked as the Global Peace Index, 55th most peaceful country in the world. Up and down the coastline, surfing spots have been identified and cultivated by locals and internationals. Surfers have made trips to the country to sample the waves. Surfers carried their boards amid Traditional fishing boat, traditional fishing vessels. 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).

Demographics

United Nations' reports, Ghana has a population of 34,581,288. , around 29% of the population is under the age of 15, while persons aged 15–64 make up 57.8% of the population. The 2010 census reported that the largest ethnic groups are the Akan (47.3%), the Mole-Dagbani (18.5%), the Ewe (13.9%), the Ga-Dangme (7.4%), the Gurma (5.7%) and the Guan (3.7%). United Nations' reports, the median age of Ghanaian citizens is 21 years old. Ghana contributes 0.42% to the total world population. With Immigration to Ghana, 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 many economic migrants and Illegal immigration to Ghana, 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 then Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia, the Border Guard Unit deported more than 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 whom were Chinese nationals.

Languages

Predominant tribe in the area - (Ghana) LOC 88692692

English is the official language of Ghana. Additionally, there are eleven languages that have the status of government-sponsored languages: *Akan languages (Asante dialect, Asante Twi, Akuapem Twi, Fante dialect, Fante, Bono language, Bono which have a high degree of mutual intelligibility, and Nzema language, Nzema, which is less intelligible with the above) *Dangme language, Dangme *Ewe language, Ewe *Ga language, Ga *Gua language, Guan *Kasena language, Kasem *Mole–Dagbani languages (Dagaare and Dagbani language, Dagbanli) Of these, Asante Twi is the most widely spoken. Because Ghana is surrounded by List of countries and territories where French is an official language, French-speaking countries, French is widely taught in schools and used for commercial and international economic exchanges. Since 2005, Ghana has been an associate member of the , 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 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

Christianity is the largest religion in Ghana, with 71.3% of the population being members of various Christian denominations as of the 2021 census. Islam is practised by 20% of the total population. According to a 2012 report by Pew Research, 51% of Muslims are followers of Sunni Islam, while approximately 16% belong to the Ahmadiyya movement and around 8% identify with Shia Islam, while the remainder are non-denominational Muslims.Owusu-Ansah (1994), "Religion and Society". There is "no significant link between ethnicity and religion in Ghana". Ghana has around 150,000 Jehovah's Witnesses.

Universal health care and life expectancy

Ghana has a universal health care system, National Health Insurance Scheme (Ghana), National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), which is strictly designated for Ghanaian people, Ghanaian nationals. Health care is variable throughout Ghana and in 2012, more than 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 more than 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. In 2010, 5.2% of Ghana's GDP was spent on health.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. Life expectancy at birth in 2021 was 68.6 for a female and 63.7 for a male. In 2013, infant mortality 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.

Education

The education system is divided into three parts: basic education, secondary cycle, and tertiary education. "Basic education" lasts 11 years (ages 4‒15). It is divided into kindergarten (two years), primary school (two modules of three years) and junior high (three years). Junior high school ends with the Basic Education Certificate Examination. 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 3 years and leads to the West African Senior School Certificate Examination, which is a prerequisite for enrollment in a university bachelor's degree programme. Polytechnics are open to vocational students. A bachelor's degree 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 colleges of education. Some of the universities are the University of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, and University of Cape Coast. There are more than 95% of children in school. The female and male ages 15–24 years literacy rate was 81% in 2010, with males at 82%, and females at 80%. An education system annually attracts foreign students particularly in the university sector. Ghana has a free education six-year primary school education system beginning at age 6. 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 provided with all their textbook requirements by the government. Private schools acquire their educational material from private suppliers.

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 (dish), 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. 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 symbols, 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 Text corpus, 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. 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 symbols with distinct meanings, often linked with proverbs. In the words of Kwame Anthony Appiah, Anthony Appiah, 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". Kent wove

Along with the ''adinkra cloth,'' Ghanaians use many 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 clothes are used to make traditional and modern Kente attire. Different symbols and different colours mean different things. Kente cloth, Kente is the most famous of all the Ghanaian clothes. Kente is a ceremonial cloth hand-woven on a horizontal Loom, 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. Kente is also woven by the Ewe people (Ewe Kente) in the Volta Region. The main weaving centres are Agortime area and Agbozume. Agbozume has a vibrant kente market attracting patrons from all over west Africa and the diaspora. 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 wax prints, 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 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 has repeatedly incorporated African prints into her clothing line and can often be seen wearing it. Internationally acclaimed Ghanaian-British designer Ozwald Boateng introduced African print suits in his 2012 collection.

Music and dance

Music incorporates types of musical instruments such as the talking drum ensembles, Akan Drum, 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. African jazz was created by Guy Warren, Kofi Ghanaba. A form of secular music is highlife. Highlife originated in the 19th and 20th centuries and spread throughout West Africa. In the 1990s, a genre of music was created incorporating the influences of highlife, Afro-reggae, dancehall and Hip hop music, hip hop. This hybrid was called hiplife. There are dances for occasions. Dances for celebrations include the Adowa dance, Adowa, Kpanlogo, Azonto, Klama, Agbadza, Borborbor 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 pandemic, COVID-19 world pandemic.

Media

Chapter 12 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana guarantees freedom of the press and independence of the media, while Chapter 2 prohibits censorship., ''Government of Ghana''. Post-independence, private outlets closed during the military governments, and media laws 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 Defamation, libel law, and maintained that the media had to act responsibly.Basic Data
. pressreference.com The media have been described as "one of the most unfettered" in Africa.BBC Country Profile: Ghana
, BBC News. In 1948, the Gold Coast Film Unit was set up in the Information Services Department.

Architecture

There are two types of construction: the series of adjacent buildings in an enclosure around a common, and the 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. Postmodern architecture and high-tech architecture buildings are in the southern regions, while heritage sites are evident in the more than 30 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 allow an in-depth look at specific regions, with a number of museums providing insight into the traditions and history of the geographical areas. The Cape Coast Castle Museum and St. Georges Castle (

) 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 scientific development, through exhibits of objects of scientific and technological interest.

Sports

Association football is the top spectator sport in Ghana. Ghana has won the Africa Cup of Nations four times, the FIFA U-20 World Cup once, and has participated in four FIFA World Cups (2006, 2010, 2014 and 2022) and has also won the FIFA U-17 World Cup twice. The International Federation of Football History & Statistics, International Federation of Football History and Statistics crowned Asante Kotoko SC as the International Federation of Football History & Statistics#Continental Clubs of the 20th century, African club of the 20th century. Ghana competes in the Commonwealth Games, sending athletes in every edition since 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, 1954 (except for the 1986 Commonwealth Games, 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 boxers, including Azumah Nelson a three-time world champion, Nana Konadu, Nana Yaw Konadu also a three-time world champion, Ike Quartey, and Joshua Clottey.

Etymology

History

Medieval kingdoms

European contact and colonialism

Transition to independence

Operation Cold Chop and aftermath

Geography

Politics

Foreign relations

Military

Law enforcement

Human rights

Economy

Science and technology

Tourism

Demographics

Languages

Religion

Universal health care and life expectancy

Education

Culture

Food and drink

Literature

Clothing

Music and dance

Media

Architecture

Sports

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links