Ghana
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| National motto: Freedom and Justice | |||||
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| Official language | English (official), others | ||||
| Capital | Accra | ||||
| Capital's coordinates | 5ð 33' N, 0ð 15' W | ||||
| Largest City | Accra | ||||
| President | John Agyekum Kufuor | ||||
| Area - Total - % water | Ranked 77th 238,540 km² 3.5% | ||||
| Population
- Total (Year) - Density | Ranked 50th
19,533,560 82/km² | ||||
| GDP (PPP)
- Total (Year) - GDP/head | Ranked 73rd
$41,250 million $2,000 | ||||
| Currency | Cedi | ||||
| Time zone | UTC, no (DST) | ||||
| Independence | 6 March 1957, from the United Kingdom | ||||
| National anthem | Hail the Name of Ghana | ||||
| Internet TLD | .GH | ||||
| Calling Code | 233 | ||||
| Table of contents |
|
2 History 3 Politics 4 Economy 5 Regions 6 Geography 7 Demographics 8 Culture 9 Miscellaneous topics 10 External links |
Upon achieving independence from Great Britain, the name "Ghana" was chosen for the new nation—a reference to the Ghana Empire of earlier centuries. This name is mostly symbolic, as the old Ghanan Empire was not located anywhere near modern-day Ghana.
Formed from the merger of the British colony of the Gold Coast and the British Togoland trust territory, Ghana in 1957 became the first country in colonial Africa to gain its independence. A long series of coups resulted in the suspension of the constitution in 1981 and the banning of political parties. A new constitution, restoring multiparty politics, was approved in 1992.
Ghana is a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations. Its head of state is an elected president (currently John Agyekum Kufuor) with executive power. The Parliament of Ghana is unicameral and dominated by two main parties, the New Patriotic Party and National Democratic Congress.
Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has twice the per capita output of the poorer countries in West Africa. Even so, Ghana remains heavily dependent on international financial and technical assistance. Gold, timber, and cocoa production are major sources of foreign exchange. The domestic economy continues to revolve around subsistence agriculture, which accounts for 40% of GDP and employs 60% of the work force, mainly small landholders. In 1995-97, Ghana made mixed progress under a three-year structural adjustment program in cooperation with the IMF. On the minus side, public sector wage increases and regional peacekeeping commitments have led to continued inflationary deficit financing, depreciation of the cedi, and rising public discontent with Ghana's austerity measures.
Ghana is divided into 10 regions
Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, Upper West Ghana, Volta, Western
The capital is Accra.
Other cities:
Name
History
Main article: History of GhanaPolitics
Main article: Politics of GhanaEconomy
Main article: Economy of GhanaRegions
Main article: Regions of GhanaGeography
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of GhanaCulture
Main article: Culture of GhanaMiscellaneous topics
External links
| Countries in Africa | ||
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| Other areas: Canary Islands | Madeira Islands | Mayotte | Réunion | Saint Helena | Western Sahara | ||