Ghana: The Gold Coast

Ghana has been known as the Gold Coast since the 17th century. British merchants named it "the Gold Coast" because they were impressed with the gold resources in the area.

Overview

Flag
Anthem	God Bless Our Homeland Ghana
Capital	Accra
Largest city	Accra
Official language(s)	English
Demonyma name for a resident of a locality, often the same as the name of the people's native language	Ghanaian
Government	Constitutional democracy
Area	238,535 km2, 92,098 sq mi
Population	~ 24 million
Currency	Ghanaian cedi (GHS)
Internet TLD	.gh

Geography

The Republic of Ghana is a country located in West Africa that borders Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east and the Gulf of Guinea to the south. Accra is the capital and most populous city of Ghana. It is the administrative, communications, and economic centre of the country. The city has a population of 3,963,264. Other large cities are Kumasi (2,604,909), Tamale (390,730) and Takoradi (260,651).

Society and culture

Ghana is an ethnically diverse country; thus, Ghanaian culture is a mixture of all its ethnic groups. It is most evidentobviously true by simple observation in Ghanaian cuisinea characteristic style of preparing food, the arts and clothing. The celebration of festivals in Ghana is an essential part of Ghanaian culture.

Population

Ghana has a population of about 24 million people. It is home to more than 100 different ethnic groups. Fortunately, Ghana has not seen the kind of ethnic conflict that has led to civil war in many other African countries. The ethnic groups in Ghana are the Akan (49.3%), Mole-Dagbon (15.2%), Ewe (11.7%), Ga-Dangme (7.3%), Guan (4%), Gurma (3.6%), Gurunsi (2.6%), Mande-Busanga (1%), other tribes (1.4%), others (Hausa, Zabarema, Fulani) (1.8%).

Languages

Ghana has 47 ethnic languages. English is the country's official language and predominatesto dominate or hold power over, especially through numerical advantage government and business affairs. It is also the standard language used for educational instruction. Native Ghanaian languages are divided into two linguistic subfamilies of the Niger-Congo language family. Languages belonging to the Kwa subfamily are found predominantly to the south of the Volta River. They are spoken by about 75% of the country's population. The languages belonging to the Gur subfamily are found predominantly to the north. Nine languages have the status of government-sponsored languages: Akan, specificallyexplicitely, definitely, especially Ashanti Twi, Fanti, Akuapem Twi, Akyem, Kwahu, Nzema, Dagaare/Wale, Dagbani, Dangme, Ewe, Ga, Gonja and Kasem.

Religion

Religious tolerancean acceptance or patience with the beliefs, opinions or practices of others in Ghana is very high. The major Christian celebrations of Christmas and Easter are recognised as national holidays. Religious divisionseach of the separate parts in Ghana are as follows: Christian 68.8%, Muslim 15.9%, Traditional African beliefs 8.5%. The southern part of the nation is more Christian, while the north is more Islamic.

Government and politics

Ghana was created as a parliamentary democracyrule by the people, either directly or through elected representatives at independence in 1957. The 1992 constitution divides powers among a President, Parliament, Cabinet, Council of State, and an independent judiciarythe court system and judges considered collectively. The Government is elected by universal suffragea vote in deciding a particular question. The legal system is based on British common law, customary (traditional) law, and the 1992 constitution. Major parties in Ghana are the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the New Patriotic Party the Convention People's Party. The current president of Ghana is John Atta Mills, a candidate of the NDC.

Economy

Well endowedto be furnished with something naturally with natural resources, Ghana has twice the per capita outputproductionof the poorer countries in West Africa. Even so, Ghana remains somewhat dependent on trade and international assistanceaid, help. About 28% of the population live below the international povertythe state of being poor or needy line of US$1.25 a day. Ghana, known for its gold in colonialpertaining to a period when a country or territory was a colony times, remains one of the world's top gold producers. Other exports such as cocoa, timberwood that has been pre-cut and is ready for use in construction, electricity, diamond, bauxitethe principal ore of aluminium; a clay-like mineral, and manganesea metallic chemical element are major sources of foreign exchange. The economy continues to relyto have confidence; to trust; to depend on heavily on agriculture.