Snapshot of Ghana

Location:

Ghana is located on West Africa's Gulf of Guinea only a few degrees north of the Equator. To the south is 330 miles of coastline. To the north, Ghana shares a border with Burkina Faso. To the west is the Ivory Coast, and to the east is Togo.

Land Area:

Ghana covers approximately 92,000 square miles, about the size of Illinois and Indiana combined.

Terrain:

The topography of Ghana is varied. There are plains and scrublands, rainforests and savannas.

Climate:

The climate of Ghana is tropical. The eastern coastal belt is warm and dry, while the southwest corner is hot and humid. There are two distinct rainy seasons in the south, while in the north, these two rainy seasons tend to merge.

Population:

There are about 18 million people in Ghana. Most of the population of Ghana belongs to three ethnic groups: Akan, Ewe, and Ga.

Language:

The official language of Ghana is English. However 44% of the population speaks Akan, 16% speak Mole-Dagbani, 13% speak Ewe, and 8% speak Ga-Adangbe.

Religion:

A plurality (35%) of Ghanaians are Christians. 31% of Ghanaians practice indigenous beliefs, 27% are Muslim, and 7% practice other faiths.

Major Cities:

Accra is the capital city of Ghana. Accra is a large city with a metropolitan area population of approximately 3 million. Other large cities in Ghana are Kumasi, Tema, and Sekondi-Takoradi.

Government:

Ghana achieved independence from Britain in 1957. Like the Unites States the Ghanaian government has three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judiciary. Like the United States, Ghana has a President who is elected to a maximum of two four-year terms. There is a single-chamber Parliament, whose members are elected to four-year terms. As in the United States, Ghana has a Supreme court with justices who are nominated by the President, but must be approved by the legislature.

Economy:

The majority of Ghana’s workforce is engaged in farming. Cocoa is the country’s biggest export, and other exports include aluminum, gold, timber, and diamonds. The Ghanaian economy benefits from an industrial base that is relatively advanced among the countries of the region. Tourism is an important and growing source of foreign income for Ghana. In 1997, tourism ranked third among the sources of foreign capital.

Flag:

The flag of Ghana contains three horizontal stripes of red, gold, and green, with a black star in the center of the gold stripe.