Ghana
Why Ghana? The glory and the story
In 2007 Ghana celebrated its 50th year of independence. With a tradition of stable, peaceful governance Ghana is a Sub Saharan African success story. Ghana's official motto "freedom and justice" is in keeping with its historical place as the first black African nation to win independence.
Ghana has maintained an exceptional level of peace throughout its post-colonial history. Blessed with low crime rates, Ghanaians are renowned for their easy-going attitude and national pride.
After gold and cocoa, Ghana is perhaps most famous for its fort and castle-lined coastline, the physical reminders and remainders of European colonial presence. Ghana was the first place in sub-Saharan Africa where, in the 15th century, Europeans arrived to trade - first in gold, later in slaves.
Ghana boasts beautiful beaches and a still largely undeveloped coastline. Culturally, the nation has a rich tradition of craftsmanship: masterful woodcarvings, famously intricate woven Kente cloth, beautifully crafted beads, furniture and hand-made drums. Drumming has long been at the forefront of Ghana’s rich musical tradition. The early to mid 20th century saw Ghana as a centre for Highlife music. In the late 1990s Ghana was the birthplace of new kind of African pop music called ‘Hip Life’, a blend of American hip-hop and African highlife music.
On March 6, 1957 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. attended the flag raising ceremony in support of Ghana's first president, Kwame Nkrumah. Dr. King was one of a long list of famous visitors to Ghana. Throughout the twentieth century and into the present era, Ghana has been a meeting place for generations of intellectuals, activists, writers, and artists. W.E.B. Dubois spent the last years of his life in Ghana and is buried in Accra. Malcolm X and Richard Wright made pilgrimages to Ghana. Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka taught at the University of Ghana in the 1970s and in the 1950s Caribbean poet Kamau Braithwaite worked in Ghana's Ministry of Education. Prominent Ghanaian writers include Commonwealth Writers Prize-winning author and playwright, Ama Ata Aidoo, Princeton University philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah and University of Ghana professor and poet Kofi Anyidoho.
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Location & Geography
Ghana is located on West Africa's Atlantic Coast, in the Gulf of Guinea. Roughly the size of Britain, it borders Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to the east. Accra is its capital and largest city.
A few degrees north of the Equator, Ghana’s climate is tropical: consistently warm and comparatively dry along the southeast coast; hot and humid in the southwest; hot and dry in the north. Ghana's coastline is mostly sandy shore backed by plains. A tropical rain forest belt broken by rivers, streams and heavily forested hills extends north from the shore. Above this greenbelt the land is covered by low bush, park-like savanna, and grassy plains. East of the capital the Volta Region’s Togo-Atakora range of hills is home to several waterfalls and Mt. Afedjato, the nation’s highest elevation point. Lake Volta, the world's largest artificial lake, extends through large portions of eastern Ghana.
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History
In pre-colonial times, Ghana was home to ancient inland kingdoms and coastal states. First contact with Europeans was in 1470 on what was then called the Gold Coast. Various European nations, including the Portuguese, the Dutch, the Swedes and the Danes controlled portions of the Gold Coast, with the British ultimately prevailing. Although independence came in 1957, there was a long history of resistance and struggle against the British, most notably during the Ashanti-British wars of the 19th century.
Upon Ghana's independence in 1957 anti-colonial leader Dr. Kwame Nkrumah became the first president of the modern Ghanaian state. Nkrumah was the first African head of state to espouse an allegiance to Pan-Africanism, an idea he encountered during studies at Lincoln University in the United States, at a time when Marcus Garvey was becoming famous for his "Back to Africa Movement."
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Politics & Economy
On February 24, 1966 Nkrumah was overthrown by a CIA-assisted coup. A series of subsequent coups ended with the ascension to power of Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings in 1981. A new constitution restoring multiparty politics was approved in 1992 and Rawlings was elected in free elections that year and again in 1996. The constitution prohibited him from running for a third term. John Agyeman Kufuor, the current president, is now in his second term.
Internationally, Ghana has a high-profile United Nations peacekeeping role; troops from Ghana have been deployed in Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone and DR Congo; Ghanaian soldiers were among the handful of UN peacekeepers who refused to abandon their post during the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.
A well-administered country by regional standards, Ghana is often seen as a model for political and economic reform in Africa. Ghana is the world's second-largest producer of cocoa. The fertile soil produces a host of other crops including, avocados, mangoes, pineapples, peanuts (called “groundnuts”), maize, plantains, yams and coconuts. It is also a mineral rich country, with large mining holdings in precious metals such as gold and industrial diamonds. In 2007, the government announced the discovery of offshore light crude oil.
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Facts:
Full name: Republic of Ghana
Population: 21.8 million (UN, 2005)
Capital: Accra
Area: 238,533 sq km (92,098 sq miles)
Major languages: English, African languages including Akan, Ga, Ewe
Ethnic Groups: African 98.5% (includes Akan 49%, Mole-Dagomba 17%, Ewe 13%, Ga-Dangme 8%), European and other 1.5% (1998)
Major religions: Christianity, indigenous beliefs, Islam
Life expectancy: 56 years (men), 57 years (women) (UN)
Literacy: total population: 74.8% (male: 82.7%, female: 67.1% (2003 est.))
Monetary unit: Cedi
Main exports: Gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore, diamonds
GNI per capita: US $450 (World Bank, 2006)
Internet domain: .gh
International dialing code: +233
President: John Agyeman Kufuor
Vice-President: Alhaji Aliu Mahama
Minister of Foreign Affairs: Mr. Akwasi Osei Adjei
Minister of Finance & Economic Planning: Mr. Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu
Chief Justice: Mrs. Georgina Theodora Wood
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Some Famous Ghanaians:
Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations (1997-2007)
Ghana's beloved “Black Stars” soccer team won the African Nations Cup four times: 1963, 1965, 1978, and 1982. The Black Stars made their first appearance at the 2006 World Cup, becoming a crowd favorite with their spirited play.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Azumah “Zoom Zoom” Nelson, was the World Boxing Council's Featherweight and Super Featherweight champion.
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MEDIA
Ghana enjoys a high degree of media freedom. Private press and broadcasters operate without significant restrictions. The Commonwealth Press Union has described Ghana's media as "one of the most unfettered" on the continent. The private press is lively, and often carries criticism of government policy. Radio is Ghana's most popular medium. Scores of private FM stations crowd the dial. Animated phone-in programs are staple fare on many radio stations.
State-run Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) runs national TV and radio networks. BBC Africa, Radio France Internationale and the Voice of America are available on FM in Accra.
Television Stations:
Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) - state-run, operates Ghana TV (GTV)
Metro TV - jointly owned by government and private company
TV3 - private
Multichoice - cable operator
Radio Stations:
Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) - state-run, operates Radio 1 with programmes in English and Ghanaian vernaculars, commercial service Radio 2 and local services including Accra's Unique FM
Adom FM - private
Atlantis Radio FM - private
Choice FM - private
Gold FM - private
Groove FM – private
Happy FM - private
Joy FM - private
Peace FM - private
Space FM - private
Vibe FM - private
Newspapers:
The Ghanaian Chronicle - private daily
Daily Graphic - state-owned
Daily Guide - private
Ghanaian Times - state-owned daily
Accra Daily Mail
The Mirror - weekly, sister paper of the Daily Graphic
The Independent - weekly
Ghana Palaver - weekly
Sunday Herald – weekly
News agency:
Ghana News Agency
