The Republic of Ghana is a country in West Africa. It borders Côte d'Ivoire (also known as 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) used to refer to the West African coast (as in Gulf of Guinea)
Ghana is the first black African colony to gain independence from the British colonial rule on March 6, 1957, Ghana was known as the Gold Coast. Upon achieving independence from the United Kingdom, the name Ghana was chosen for the new nation to reflect the ancient Ghana Empire that once extended throughout much of western Africa. In the Ashanti language it is spelled Gaana.
The capital of Ghana was moved from Cape Coast to Accra by the British in 1876. After Ghana's independence, President Kwame Nkrumah emerged as a leading spokesman for Pan-Africanism.
A series of military coups brought Jerry Rawlings to power in 1981. Multiparty democracy started with the new 1992 Constitution. In December 2000, for the first time in its history, Ghana witnessed the election of an opposition party. Facts about Ghana Population 18,800,000 ( 2000 Census) 21,029,853 (2005 est.)
Females- 51% Male 49% Age Structure 0-14 years: 41.18% (male 4,123,317; female 4,068,786)
15-64 years: 55.35% (male 5,455,577; female 5,555,278)
65 years and over: 3.47% (male 328,809; female 362,247) (2001 est.) Sex Ratio at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 est.) Major Ethnic Divisions Ghanaian by Birth/parenthood 92.1%
Akan 49.1% Mole-Dagomba 16.5% Ewe 12.7% Ga-Dangme 8% (2000 Census)
non-Ghanaians 3.9% Literacy Rate 74.8%
82.7 %( Male); 67.1% (Female)
Religions Christian 69%, Traditionalists 8.5%, Muslim 15.6%, others 6.9%. (2000 census) Languages English (official)
African (Akan, Mole-Dagomba, Ewe,and Ga)
Labour force 9.0 million
Agriculture and fishing- 55% Industry- 18.7% Sales and Clerical- 15.2% (2000 Census)
Services, transportation, and communications- 7.7% Professional 3.7%;
48% of population of working age. 82% of 15-64 years are in some gainful employment. adult unemployment rate for Ghana at 8.2 per cent. (2000 Census) Capital Accra ; 1,847,000
Currency Ghana Cedis
Life Expectancy 57 year
Income per Capita U.S. 290 (2002 estimate)
Ruling Party National Democratic Congress
Type of Government Multiparty Democracy
President John Evans Atta Mills
Main Export Cocoa, Gold, Timber |
