The Republic of Ghana is a country in West Africa. It 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. The word Ghana means "Warrior King,"and was the source of the name "Guinea" (via French Guinoye), which has been used to refer to the West African coast (reflected in the Gulf of Guinea).
Ghana was inhabited in pre-colonial times by a number of ancient kingdoms, including the Ga-Daŋmes on the eastern coast, the inland Empire of Ashanti and various Fante states along the coast and inland. Trade with European states flourished after contact with the Portuguese in the 15th century, and the British established a crown colony, Gold Coast, in 1874.
Gold Coast achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1957, becoming the first Sub-Saharan African nation to do so. The name Ghana was chosen for the new nation to reflect the ancient Empire of Ghana, which once extended throughout much of West Africa. In the Ashanti language it is spelled Gaana. The country is often labelled ‘Africa for beginners.’ Its first president was Kwame Nkrumah, American-educated advocate of Pan-Africanism and friend of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In 2000, Nkrumah was voted Africa's man of the millennium by listeners to the BBC World Service.
Ghana endured a long series of coups before Lt. Jerry Rawlings took power in 1981 and banned political parties. After approving a new constitution and restoring multiparty politics in 1992, Rawlings won presidential elections in 1992 and 1996, but was constitutionally prevented from running for a third term in 2000. John Kufuor succeeded him and was reelected in 2004. John Atta-Mills won the 2009 presidential elections.
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| Accra's Makola Market
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Accra's Makola Market (close up) |
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Kwame Nkrumah Memorial, Accra |
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Kwame Nkrumah and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. |
Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has twice the per capita output of the poorer countries in West Africa. Even so, Ghana remains somewhat dependent on international financial and technical assistance as well as the activities of the extensive Ghanaian diaspora. Gold, timber, cocoa, diamond, bauxite, and manganese exports are major sources of foreign exchange. An oilfield which is reported to contain up to 3 billion barrels (480,000,000 m3) of light oil was discovered in 2007. Oil exploration is ongoing and, the amount of disovered oil continues to increase.
The domestic economy continues to revolve around subsistence agriculture, which accounts for 50% of GDP and employs 85% of the work force, mainly small landholders. Tourism is becoming more important and profitable. On the negative side, public sector wage increases and regional peacekeeping commitments have led to continued inflationary deficit financing, depreciation of the local currency, Cedi, and rising public discontent with Ghana's austerity measures. About 30 % of the population live below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day. Even so, Ghana remains one of the more economically sound countries in all of Africa.
Soccer/football is the most popular sport in the country. The national team is known as 'The Black Starts'. Ghana reached their first-ever FIFA World Cup finals in Germany in 2006 despite having long been a dominant force on the African scene. The Black Stars' debut performance at the FIFA World Cup finals was impressive, seeing them through the first round, where they won matches against the Czech Republic and USA before being eliminated by Brazil.
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The coastal beach resorts are attracting returning and new tourists |
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Soccer/football is Ghana's most popular sport
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Street vendor in Accra |
