GOLD COAST 

GHANA

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DENOMINATION: 

AFRICA

Europeans reached this region of Africa in 1482, and forcenturies afterwards, various European empires and trading companies set up trading posts, known as factories there.They used these colonies to exploit the resources rather than to settle large numbers of subjects.

The Portuguese Gold Coast was the first claim.^[2] TheDutch arrived in 1598 and in 1642 incorporated the Portuguese territory intothe Dutch Gold Coast.^[2] TheDutch stayed in the region until 1871, when the last of their settlements weretaken over by the British Gold Coast.^[2]

There was also the Brandenburger Gold Coast, which established acolony in the area in 1682.^[2] Itlater became the Prussian Gold Coast.^[2] In1721 the Dutch purchasedit.^[2] The Swedish Gold Coast settlements date to1650. The Danes arrived in 1663 and later seized the Swedish territory andincorporated it into the Danish Gold Coast.^[2] In1850 all of the settlements became part of the British Gold Coast.^[2]

In 1774 a London commercial expert references awitness that "the king of Guinea, the greatest city in all the countriesof Negroland, has a mass of gold of thirty pounds weight as it was naturallyproduced in the mines which is completely pure, tough and malleable withouthaving been smelted".^[4] TheBritish had taken over all of Gold Coast by 1871.^[2] Theycaptured more territory inland in the late 19th century after the Anglo-Ashanti wars.^[2] In1957, the territory comprising the Gold Coast Crown Colony, the Ashanti CrownColony, the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast Protectorate and BritishTogoland were united as an independent dominion within the British Commonwealth of Nations under thename Ghana.^[2]

Ghana

Ghana (/ˈɡɑːnə/ (listen); Twi: Gaana, Ewe: Gana),officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa.^[8] It abuts the Gulf of Guinea andthe Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharingborders with IvoryCoast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Togo in the east.^[9] Ghanacovers an area of 238,535 km² (92,099 sq mi),spanning diverse biomes that range from coastal savannas to tropicalrainforests. With over 32 million inhabitants, Ghana is the second-most populous country in West Africa,after Nigeria.^[10] The capital and largest city is Accra; other major cities are Kumasi, Tamale,and Sekondi-Takoradi.

The earliest known kingdoms to emerge inmodern Ghana were the Mole-Dagbani states. The Bono state existedin the area that is modern day Ghana during the 11th century.^[11] Kingdoms and empires such as Kingdom of Dagbon inthe north^[12] and the Ashanti Empire inthe south emerged over the centuries.^[13] Beginningin the 15th century, the Portuguese Empire,followed by other European powers, contested the area fortrading rights, until the British ultimatelyestablished control of the coast by the 19th century. Following over a centuryof colonial resistance, the current borders of the country took shape,encompassing 4 separate British colonial territories: Gold Coast, Ashanti, the Northern Territories, and British Togoland.These were unified as an independent dominion within the Commonwealth of Nations. On 6th March 1957,Ghana became the first country in Sub-Saharan Africa to achieve sovereignty.^[14][15][16] Ghanasubsequently became influential in decolonisation efforts and the Pan-Africanmovement.^[17]

Ghana is a multi-ethnic country withlinguistic and religious groups;^[18] whilethe Akan arethe largest ethnic group, they constitute a plurality. Most Ghanaians are Christians (71.3%); almost a fifth are Muslims;a tenth practise traditional faiths or report no religion.^[3] Ghanais a unitary constitutionaldemocracy led by a president who is head of state and head of government.^[19] Forpolitical stability in Africa, Ghana ranked 7th in the 2012 Ibrahim Index of African Governance and5th in the 2012 Fragile States Index. It has maintained since1993 one of the freest and most stable governments on the continent, and itperforms relatively well in healthcare, economic growth,and human development,^[17] so that it has a significantinfluence in West Africa and Africa as a whole.^[20] Ghanais highly integrated in international affairs, being a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement, African Union anda member of the Economic Community of West African States, Group of 24 and Commonwealth of Nations.^[21]

Ghana means "king"^[22] andwas the title accorded to the kings of the medieval Ghana Empire in West Africa—notto be confused with today's Ghana, for the empire was further north, inmodern-day Mali, Senegal and southern Mauritania, as well as in the region ofGuinea.^{[citationneeded]}

The Republic of Ghana used the word in itsname because of "indications that present-day [Akan] inhabitants descendedfrom migrants who moved south from the ancient kingdom of Ghana."^[23]

Main article: History of Ghana

Medieval kingdoms

An 1850 map showing the Akan Kingdom of Ashanti within the Guinea region andsurrounding regions in West Africa18th-centuryAshanti brass kuduo. Gold dust and nuggets were kept in kuduo,as were other items of personal value and significance. As receptacles fortheir owners' kra, or life force, kuduo wereprominent features of ceremonies designed to honour and protect that individual.

The earliest known kingdoms to emerge inmodern Ghana were the Mole-Dagbani states.^[24] The Mole-Dagomba came onhorseback from what later became Burkina Faso undera single leader, NaaGbewaa.^[25] They invaded and occupied thelands of the local people ruled by the tendamba (land godpriests), established themselves as the rulers over the locals, and made Gambaga their capital.^[26] The death of Naa Gbewaa causedseccession among their children, some of whom broke off and founded separatestates including Mamprugu and Nanung.^[27][28]

The Akan-speakingpeoples began to move into what later is Ghana toward the 15th century.^[24][29] By the 16th century, the Akanswere established in the Akan state called Bonoman,for which the Brong-Ahafo region was named.^[24][30] From the 17th century, Akansemerged from what is believed to have been the Bonoman area, to create Akanstates, mainly based on gold trading.^[31] Thesestates included Bonoman (Brong-Ahafo region), Ashanti (Ashanti Region), Denkyira (Western North region), Mankessim Kingdom (Central region), and Akwamu (Eastern region).^[24] By the 19th century, theterritory of the southern part of Ghana was included in the Kingdom of Ashanti.^[24] The government of the AshantiEmpire operated first as a loose network and eventually as a centralisedkingdom with a specialised bureaucracy centred in the capital city of Kumasi.^[24] Prior to Akan contact withEuropeans, the Akan people created an economy based on principally gold and gold bar commodities,which were traded with other states in Africa.^[24][32] The Ga-Dangme and Ewe migratedwestward from south-western Nigeria. The Ewe migrated from Oyo area with theirGbe-speaking kinsmen (Adja, Fon, Phera Gun)and in transition, settled in Ketouin Benin Republic, Tado in Togo and with Nortsie ( a walled town on present dayTogo)as their final dispersal point. Their dispersal from Nortsie wasnecessitated by the high handed rule of King Agorkorli (Agor Akorlie). The Ga-Dangme occupy the Greater Accra Region and parts of the Eastern Region, whilethe Ewe are found in the Volta Region aswell as the neighbouring Togo, Benin Republic and Nigeria ( around Badagryarea).

European contact and colonialism

See also: Slave Coast of West Africa and Dutch Slave Coast

The Portuguese establishedthe Portuguese Gold Coast with theconstruction of Elmina Castle (Castelo da Mina) by Diogo de Azambuja in1482, making it the oldest European building in sub-Saharan Africa.

Akan trade with European states began aftercontact with the Portuguese in the 15th century.^[33] European contact by the Portuguese people,who came to the Gold Coast region in the 15th century totrade. The Portuguese then established the Portuguese Gold Coast (Costa do Ouro),focused on the availability of gold.^[34] ThePortuguese built a trading lodge at a coastal settlement called Anomansah (theperpetual drink) which they renamed São Jorge da Mina.^[34] In1481, King John II of Portugal commissioned Diogo de Azambuja tobuild the Elmina Castle, which was completed in 3 years.^[34] By1598, the Dutch hadjoined the Portuguese in the gold trade, establishing the Dutch Gold Coast (NederlandseBezittingen ter Kuste van Guinea - 'Dutch properties at the Guineacoast') and building forts at Fort Komenda andKormantsi.^[35] In1617, the Dutch captured the Elmina Castle from the Portuguese and Axim in 1642 (Fort St Anthony).^[35]

European traders had joined in gold tradingby the 17th century, including the Swedes, establishing the Swedish Gold Coast (Svenska Guldkusten),and Denmark–Norway, establishing the Danish Gold Coast (DanskeGuldkyst or Dansk Guinea).^[36] Europeantraders participated in the Atlantic slave trade in this area.^[37] More than 30 forts and castleswere built by the merchants. The Germans established the Brandenburger Gold Coast or GroßFriedrichsburg).^[38] In 1874, Great Britainestablished control over some parts of the country, assigning these areas thestatus of the British Gold Coast.^[39] Militaryengagements occurred between British colonial powers and Akan nation-states.The Kingdom of Ashanti defeated the British some times in the 100-year-long Anglo-Ashanti wars and eventually lostwith the War of the Golden Stool in 1900.^[40][41][42]

Transition to independence

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In 1947, the newly formed United Gold Coast Convention led by "The Big Six" called for"self-government within the shortest possible time" following the 1946 Gold Coast legislative election.^[36][43] Kwame Nkrumah,a Ghanaian nationalist who led Ghana from 1957 to 1966 as the country's first prime minister and president, formed the Convention People's Party in 1949 withthe motto "self-government now".^[36] Theparty initiated a "positive action" campaign involving non-violentprotests, strikes and non-cooperation with the British authorities. Nkrumah wasarrested and sentenced to one year imprisonment during this time. In the GoldCoast's 1951 general election, he was elected toParliament and was released from prison.^[36] hebecame prime minister in 1952 and began a policy of Africanization.^{[citationneeded]}

On 6 March 1957 at midnight, the GoldCoast, Ashanti, the Northern Territories, and British Togoland wereunified as one single independent dominion within the British Commonwealth under the nameGhana. This was done under the Ghana Independence Act 1957. The current flag of Ghana,consisting of the colours red, gold, green, and a black star, dates back tothis unification.^[44] On1 July 1960, following the Ghanaian constitutional referendum and Ghanaian presidential election, Nkrumahdeclared Ghana a republic and assumed the presidency.^{[14][15][16][36]} 6March is the nation's Independence Day, and 1 July is celebrated as Republic Day.^[45][46]

Nkrumah led an authoritarian regimein Ghana, as he repressed political opposition and conducted elections thatwere not free and fair.^{[47][48][49][50][51]} In 1964, a constitutional amendment made Ghana a one-party state,with Nkrumah as president for life of both the nation andits party.^[52] Nkrumah was the first Africanhead of state to promote the concept of Pan-Africanism,which he had been introduced to during his studies at Lincoln University, Pennsylvania in the UnitedStates, at the time when Marcus Garvey wasknown for his "Back to Africa Movement".^[36] Hemerged the teachings of Garvey, Martin Luther King Jr. and thenaturalised Ghanaian scholar W. E. B. Du Bois intothe formation of 1960s Ghana.^[36] OsagyefoDr. Kwame Nkrumah, as he became known, played an instrumental part in thefounding of the Non-Aligned Movement, and in establishing the Kwame Nkrumah Ideological Institute toteach his ideologies of communism and socialism.^[53] His life achievements wererecognised by Ghanaians during his centenary birthday celebration, and the daywas instituted as a public holiday in Ghana (Founders' Day).^[54]

Operation Cold Chop and aftermath

Main article: History of Ghana (1966–1979)

The government of Nkrumah was subsequentlyoverthrown in a coup by the Ghana Armed Forces, codenamed "OperationCold Chop". This occurred while Nkrumah was abroad with Zhou Enlai inthe People's Republic of China, on a fruitless mission to Hanoi, Vietnam, to help end the Vietnam War.The coup took place on 24 February 1966, led by Colonel Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka and BrigadierAkwasi Afrifa. The National Liberation Council was formed,chaired by Lieutenant General Joseph A. Ankrah.^[55]

A series of alternating military andcivilian governments, often affected by economic instabilities,^[56] ruled Ghana from 1966, endingwith the ascent to power of Flight Lieutenant Jerry JohnRawlings of the Provisional National Defence Council in1981.^[57] Thesechanges resulted in the suspension of the constitution in 1981 and the banning of political parties.^[58] Theeconomy soon declined, so Rawlings negotiated a structural adjustment plan,changing many old economic policies, and growth recovered during the mid-1980s.^[58] Anew constitution restoring multi-party system politics waspromulgated in the presidential election of 1992, in whichRawlings was elected, and again in the general election of 1996.^[59]

In a tribal war in Northern Ghana in 1994, between the Konkomba andother ethnic groups, including the Nanumba, Dagomba and Gonja,between 1,000 and 2,000 people were killed and 150,000 people were displaced.^[60]

Afterthe 2000 general election, John Kufuor ofthe New Patriotic Party became president ofGhana on 7 January 2001 and was re-elected in 2004, thus also serving twoterms (the term limit) as president of Ghana and marking the first time underthe fourth republic that power was transferred from one legitimately electedhead of state and head of government to another.^[59]

Nana Akufo-Addo, the ruling partycandidate, was defeated in a very close 2008 general election by John Atta Mills ofthe National Democratic Congress.^[61][62] Mills died of natural causesand was succeeded by Vice President John Mahama on24 July 2012.^[63] Following the 2012 general election, Mahama became presidentin his own right,^[64] andGhana was described as a "stable democracy".^[65][66] As a result of the 2016 general election,^[67] Nana Akufo-Addo becamepresident on 7 January 2017.^[68] He was re-elected after atightly contested election in 2020.^[69]

To combat deforestation, on 11 June 2021Ghana inaugurated Green Ghana Day, with the aim of planting 5 million trees ina concentrated effort to preserve the country's rainforest cover.^[70]

Ghana is located on the Gulf of Guinea,a few degrees north of the Equator.^[71] Itspans an area of 238,535 km² (92,099 sq mi) andhas an Atlantic coastline that stretches 560 kilometres (350 miles) on the Gulfof Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to its south.^[71] Dodi Island and Bobowasi Island arenear the south coast.^[72] Itlies between latitudes 4°45'N and 11°N, and longitudes 1°15'E and 3°15'W. The prime meridian passesthrough Ghana, specifically through Tema.^[71] Ghanais geographically closer to the "centre" of the Earth than any othercountry, since the notional centre, (0°, 0°) is located in the Atlantic Oceanapproximately 614 km (382 mi) off the south-east coast of Ghana.

Grasslands mixed with south coastal shrublandsand forests dominate Ghana, with forest extending northward from the coast 320kilometres (200 miles) and eastward for a maximum of about 270 kilometres (170miles) with locations for mining of industrial minerals and timber.^[71] Ghanais home to 5 terrestrial ecoregions: Eastern Guinean forests, Guinean forest–savanna mosaic, West Sudanian savanna, Central African mangroves, and Guinean mangroves.^[73] Ithad a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index meanscore of 4.53/10, ranking it 112th globally out of 172 countries.^[74]

The White Volta Riverand its tributary BlackVolta, flow south through Ghana to Lake Volta,the world's third-largest reservoir by volume andlargest by surface area, formed by the hydroelectric Akosombo Dam,^[75] completed in 1965. The Voltaflows out of Lake Volta into the Gulf of Guinea.^[76] The northernmost part of Ghanais Pulmakong and the southernmost part of Ghana is Cape Three Points.^[71]The climate of Ghana is tropical,and there is wetseason and dry season.^[78] Ghanasits at the intersection of 3 hydro-climatic zones.^[79] Changes in rainfall, weatherconditions and sea-level rise affect the salinity of coastal waters. This isexpected to negatively affect both farming and fisheries.^[80]

In 2015, the government produced a documenttitled "Ghana's Intended Nationally Determined Contribution."^[81] Following that, Ghana signedthe Paris Climate Agreement in 2016.

Ghana is a unitary presidential constitutionaldemocracy with a parliamentary multi-party system that is dominated bytwo parties—the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party(NPP). Ghana alternated between civilian and military governments until January1993, when the military government gave way to the Fourth Republic of Ghanaafter presidential and parliamentary elections in late 1992. The1992 constitution of Ghana divides powersamong a commander-in-chief of the Ghana Armed Forces (President of Ghana), parliament (Parliament of Ghana), cabinet (Cabinet of Ghana),council of state (Ghanaian Council of State), and an independentjudiciary (Judiciary of Ghana). The government is electedby universal suffrage after every four years.^[82] Nana Akufo-Addo wonthe presidency in the general election in 2016, defeating incumbent John Mahama.He also won the 2020 election after the presidentialelection results were challenged at the Supreme Court by flagbearer of the NDC,John Mahama. Presidents are limited to two four-year terms in office. Thepresident can serve a second term only upon re-election. The 2012 Fragile States Index indicated that Ghanais ranked the 67th-least fragile state in the world and the fifth-least fragilestate in Africa. Ghana ranked 112th out of 177 countries on the index.^[83] Ghana ranked as the 64th-leastcorrupt and politically corrupt country in the world out of all 174 countriesranked and ranked as the fifth-least corrupt and politically corrupt country inAfrica out of 53 countries in the 2012 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index.^[84][85] Ghana was ranked 7th in Africaout of 53 countries in the 2012 Ibrahim Index of African Governance. TheIbrahim Index is a comprehensive measure of African government, based onvariables which reflect the success with which governments deliver essentialpolitical goods to its citizens.^[86]

Foreign relations

Since independence, Ghana has been devotedto ideals of nonalignment and is a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement. Ghana favoursinternational and regional political and economic co-operation, and is anactive member of the United Nations and the African Union.^[87]

Ghana has a strong relationship with theUnited States. Three recent U.S. presidents—Bill Clinton, George W. Bush,and BarackObama and a Vice President — Kamala Harris madediplomatic trips to Ghana.^[88] Many Ghanaian diplomats andpoliticians hold positions in international organisations, including Ghanaiandiplomat and former Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan, International Criminal Court Judge Akua Kuenyehia,as well as former President Jerry John Rawlings andformer President JohnAgyekum Kufuor, who both served as diplomats of the United Nations.^[82]

In September 2010, President John Atta Mills visitedChina on an official visit. Mills and China's former President Hu Jintao markedthe 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two nations, at the Great Hall of the People.^[89] Chinareciprocated with an official visit in November 2011, by the vice-chairman ofthe Standing Committee of the National People's Congress ofChina, ZhouTienong who visited Ghana and met with Ghana's President John Mahama.^[90] IranianPresident Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met with Mahama in2013 to hold discussions on strengthening the Non-Aligned Movement and also co–chair abilateral meeting between Ghana and Iran at the Ghanaian presidential palace Flagstaff House.^{[91][92][93][94][95]}

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) wereintegrated into Ghana's development agenda and the budget. According toreports, the SDGs were implemented through a decentralized planning approach.This allows stakeholders' participations such as UN agencies, traditionalleaders, civil society organizations, academia, and others.^[96] The 17 SDGs are a global callto action to end poverty among others, and the UN and its partners in thecountry are working towards achieving them.^[97] According to the President Nana Akufo-Addo,Ghana was "the first sub-Saharan African country to achieve the goal ofhalving poverty, as contained in Goal 1 of the Millennium Development Goals"^[98]

Military

In1957, the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) consisted of itsheadquarters, support services, three battalions of infantry and areconnaissance squadron with armoured vehicles.^[99] PresidentNkrumah aimed at rapidly expanding the GAF to support the United States of Africa ambitions. Thus,in 1961, 4th and 5th Battalions were established, and in 1964 6th Battalion wasestablished, from a parachute airborne unit originallyraised in 1963.^[100] Today, Ghana is a regional power and regional hegemon.^[20] Inhis book Shake Hands with the Devil, Canadian Forces commander Roméo Dallaire highlyrated the GAF soldiers and military personnel.^[99]

The military operations and military doctrine ofthe GAF are conceptualised in the constitution, Ghana's Law on Armed ForceMilitary Strategy, and Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre agreementsto which GAF is attestator.^{[101][102][103]} GAFmilitary operations are executed under the auspices and imperium of the Ministry of Defence.^[101][104] AlthoughGhana is relatively peaceful and is often considered being one of the leastviolent countries in the region, Ghana has experienced political violence inthe past and 2017 has thus far seen an upward trend in incidents motivated bypolitical grievances.^[105]

Law enforcement

The Ghana Police Service and the Criminal Investigation Department are themain law enforcement agencies, responsible for the detection of crime,maintenance of law and order and the maintenance of internal peace and security.^[106] The Ghana Police Service haseleven specialised police units, including a Militarized police Rapid deployment force and Marine Police Unit.^[107][108] TheGhana Police Service operates in 12 divisions: ten covering the regions ofGhana, one assigned specifically to the seaport and industrial hub of Tema, and the twelfth being the Railways,Ports and Harbours Division.^[108] TheGhana Police Service's Marine Police Unit and Division handles issues thatarise from the country's offshore oil and gas industry.^[108]

The Ghana Prisons Service and thesub-division Borstal Institute for Juveniles administersincarceration.^[109] Ghanaretains and exercises the death penalty for treason, corruption, robbery,piracy, drug trafficking, rape, and homicide.^[110][111] Thenew sustainable development goals adopted by the United Nations call for theinternational community to come together to promote the rule of law; supportequal access to justice for all; reduce corruption; and develop effective,accountable, and transparent institutions at all levels.^[112]

Ghanais used as a key narcotics industry transshipment point by traffickers, usuallyfrom South America as well as some from other African nations.^[113] In2013, the UN chief of the Office on Drugs and Crime stated that "WestAfrica is completely weak in terms of border control and the big drug cartelsfrom Colombia and Latin America havechosen Africa as a way to reach Europe."^[114] Thereis not a wide or popular knowledge about the narcotics industry and interceptednarcotics within Ghana, since it is an undergroundeconomy. The social context within which narcotic trafficking,storage, transportation, and repacking systems exist in Ghana and the state'slocation along the Gulf of Guinea makes Ghana an attractive country for thenarcotics business.^[113][115] The Narcotics Control Board has impoundedcontainer ships at the Sekondi Naval Base in the Takoradi Harbour.These ships were carrying thousands of kilograms of cocaine, with a streetvalue running into billions of Ghana cedis.However, drug seizures saw a decline in 2011.^[113][115] Drug cartels areusing new methods in narcotics production and narcotics exportation, to avoidGhanaian security agencies.^[113][115] Underdevelopedinstitutions, porous open borders, and the existence of established smugglingorganisations contribute to Ghana's position in the narcotics industry.^[113][115] PresidentMills initiated ongoing efforts to reduce the role of airports in Ghana's drugtrade.^[113]

Human rights

See also: Human rights in Ghana and LGBT rights in Ghana

Homosexual acts areprohibited by law in Ghana.^[116] According to a 2013 survey bythe Pew Research Center, 96% of Ghanaians believethat homosexuality should not be accepted by society.^[117] Sometimeselderly women in Ghana are accused of witchcraft,particularly in rural Ghana. Issues of witchcraft mainly remain as speculationsbased on superstitions within families. In some parts of northern Ghana, thereexist what are called witchcamps. This is said to house a total of around 1,000 people accusedof witchcraft.^[118] TheGhanaian government has announced that it intends to close the camps.^[118]

Ghana possesses industrial minerals, hydrocarbons and precious metals.It is an emerging designated digital economy with mixed economy hybridisationand an emerging market. It has an economic plantarget known as the "Ghana Vision 2020". This plan envisions Ghana asthe first African country to become a developed country between2020 and 2029 and a newly industrialised country between 2030and 2039.^[119] This excludes fellow Group of 24 memberand Sub-Saharan African country South Africa,which is a newly industrialised country.^[120]

Ghana's economy has ties to the Chinese yuan renminbi along with Ghana'svast gold reserves. In 2013, the Bank of Ghana begancirculating the renminbi throughout Ghanaian state-owned banks and to the Ghanapublic as hard currency along with the national Ghanaian cedi forsecond national trade currency.^[121]

Between 2012 and 2013, 38% of ruraldwellers were experiencing poverty whereas only 11% of urban dwellers were.^[122] Urban areas hold greateropportunity for employment, particularly in informal trade, while nearly all(94 percent) of "rural poor households" participate in theagricultural sector.^[123]

The Volta River Authority and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, bothstate-owned, are the two major electricity producers.^[124] The Akosombo Dam,built on the Volta River in 1965, along with the Bui Dam, the Kpong Dam andseveral other hydroelectric dams, provide hydropower.^[125][126] Inaddition, the government sought to build the second nuclear power plant in Africa.

The Ghana Stock Exchange is the 5th largeston continental Africa and 3rd largest in sub-saharan Africa with a market capitalisation of GH¢ 57.2 billionor CN¥180.4 billionin 2012 with the South Africa JSE Limited asfirst.^[127] The Ghana Stock Exchange was the 2nd bestperforming stock exchange in sub-saharan Africa in2013.^[128]

Ghana produces high-quality cocoa.^[129] Itis the 2nd largest producer of cocoa globally.^[130] Ghana is classified as amiddle income country.^[5][131] Services account for 50% of GDP, followedby manufacturing (24.1%), extractive industries (5%), and taxes(20.9%).^[124] Ghanahas an increasing primary manufacturing economy and export of digitaltechnology goods along with assembling and exporting automobiles and ships,diverse resource rich exportation of industrial minerals, agricultural productsprimarily cocoa, petroleum and natural gas,^[132] and industries suchas information and communications technology primarilyvia Ghana's state digital technology corporation Rlg Communications which manufactures tablet computers with smartphones andvarious consumer electronics.^[124][133] Urban electric cars havebeen manufactured in Ghana since 2014.^[134][135]

It announced plans to issue government debtby way of social and green bonds in Autumn 2021 making it the first Africancountry to do so.^[136][137] The country, which isplanning to borrow up to $5 billion in international markets this year, woulduse the proceeds from these sustainable bonds to refinance debt used for socialand environmental projects and pay for educational or health. Only a few othernations have sold them so far, including Chile and Ecuador. The country will use the proceeds toforge ahead with a free secondary-school initiative started in 2017 among otherprograms, despite having recorded its lowest economic growth rate in 37 yearsin 2020.^[138]

Itproduces and exports hydrocarbons suchas sweet crude oil and natural gas.^[139][140] The 100%-state-owned filling station company, Ghana Oil Company,is the number 1 petroleum and gas filling station, and the 100%-state-ownedstate oil company Ghana National Petroleum Corporation oversees hydrocarbon exploration and production ofpetroleum and natural gas reserves. Ghana aims to further increase the outputof oil to 2.2 million barrels (350,000 m³) per day and gasto 34,000,000 cubic metres (1.2×10⁹ cu ft) per day.^[141] The Jubilee Oil Field,which contains up to 3 billion barrels (480,000,000 m³) ofsweet crude oil, was discovered in 2007.^[142] Ghana is believed to have upto 5 billion barrels (790,000,000 m³) to 7 billion barrels(1.1×10⁹ m³) of petroleum in reserves,^[143] which is the fifth-largest inAfrica and the 21st-to-25th-largest proven reserves in the world. Italso has up to 1.7×10¹¹ cubic metres (6×10¹² cu ft)of natural gas in reserves.^[144] Thegovernment has drawn up plans to nationalise petroleumand natural gas reserves to increase government revenue.^[145]

As of 2019, Ghana was the 7th largestproducer of gold in the world, producing ~140 tonnes that year.^[146] This record saw Ghana surpassSouth Africa in output for the first time, making Ghana the largest goldproducer in Africa.^[147] In addition to gold, Ghanaexports silver,timber, diamonds, bauxite, and manganese,and has other mineral deposits.^[148] Ghana ranks 9th in the worldin diamond export and reserve size.^[149] Thegovernment has drawn up plans to nationalize miningindustry to increase government revenue.^[150][151]

"Shortages" of electricity in2015 & 2016 led to dumsor ("persistent,irregular and unpredictable" electric power outages),^[152] increasingthe interest in renewables.^[153] Asof 2019, there is a surplus of electricity.^[154]

The judicial system of Ghana deals withcorruption, economic malpractice and lack of economic transparency.^[155] Accordingto Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index of 2018, out of 180countries, Ghana was ranked 78th, with a score of 41 on a scale where a 0–9score means highly corrupt, and a 90–100 score means very clean. This was basedon perceived levels of public sector corruption.^[156]

Science and technology

It launched a cellular mobile network(1992). It was connected to the internet and introduced ADSL broadband services.^[157] Itwas ranked 112nd in the Global Innovation Index in 2021, downfrom 106th in 2019.^{[158][159][160][161]}

The Ghana Space Science and Technology Centre (GSSTC)and Ghana Space Agency (GhsA) oversee space exploration andspace programmes. GSSTC and GhsA worked to have a national security observational satellite launched intoorbit in 2015.^[162][163] Ghana's annual spaceexploration expenditure has been 1% of its GDP, to support research in scienceand technology. In 2012, Ghana was elected to chair the Commission onScience and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (Comsats);Ghana has a joint effort in space exploration with the South African National Space Agency.^[162]

Tourism

In 2011, 1,087,000 tourists visited Ghana.^[164] Tourist arrivals includeSouth Americans, Asians, Europeans, and North Americans.^[165] Theattractions and tourist destinations include waterfalls such as Kintampo waterfalls and the largestwaterfall in west Africa, Wli waterfalls,the coastal palm-lined sandy beaches, caves, mountains, rivers, and reservoirsand lakes such as Lake Bosumtwi and the largest human-made lake in theworld by surface area, LakeVolta, dozens of forts and castles, World Heritage Sites, nature reserves andnational parks.^[165] Somecastles are Cape Coast Castle and the Elmina Castle.^[166] Castles mark where blood wasshed in the slave trade and preserve and promote the African heritage stolenand destroyed through the slave trade.^[167] Asa result of this, the World Heritage Convention of UNESCO namedGhana's castles and forts as World Heritage Monuments.^[167]

The World Economic Forum statistics in 2010showed that out of the world's favourite tourist destinations, Ghana was ranked108th out of 139 countries.^[168] Thecountry had moved 2 places up from the 2009 rankings. In 2011, Forbes magazine published that Ghanawas ranked the eleventh most friendly country in the world. The assertion wasbased on a survey in 2010 of a cross-section of travellers. Of all the Africancountries that were included in the survey, Ghana ranked highest.^[168] Tourism is the fourth highestearner of foreign exchange for the country.^[168] In 2017, Ghana ranked as the 43rd–most peaceful country in the world.^[169]

Up and down the coastline, surfing spotshave been identified and cultivated by locals and internationals. Surfers havemade trips to the country to sample the waves. Surfers carried their boardsamid traditional fishing vessels.^[170]

According to Destination Pride^[171]–a data-driven search platform usedto visualize the world's LGBTQ+ laws, rights and social sentiment–Ghana's Pridescore is 22 (out of 100).^[172]

As of 2019, Ghana has a population of30,083,000.^[173] Around 29% of the populationis under the age of 15, while persons aged 15–64 make up 57.8 percent of thepopulation.^[174] The2010 census reported that the largest ethnic groups are the Akan (47.3%), theMole-Dagbani (16.6%), the Ewe (13.9%), the Ga-Dangme (7.4%), the Gurma (5.7%)and the Guan (3.7%).^[175]

The median age of Ghanaian citizens is 30years old and the average household size is 3.6 persons.

With recent legal immigration of skilled workers whopossess GhanaCards, there is a small population of Chinese, Malaysian, Indian,Middle Eastern and European nationals. In 2010, the Ghana Immigration Service reported many economic migrants and Illegal immigrants inhabiting Ghana: 14.6% (or3.1 million) of Ghana's 2010 population (predominantly Nigerians,Burkinabe citizens, Togolese citizens, and Malian citizens). In 1969, under the"Ghana Aliens Compliance Order" enacted by the Prime Minister KofiAbrefa Busia;^[176] The Border Guard Unit deportedover 3,000,000 aliens and illegal immigrants in three months as they made up20% of the population at the time.^{[176][177][178]} In 2013, there was a massdeportation of illegal miners, more than 4,000 of them Chinese nationals.^[179][180]

Languages

English is the official language ofGhana.^[181][182] Additionally, there areeleven languages that have the status of government-sponsored languages:

·       Akan languages (Asante Twi, Akuapem Twi, Fante whichhave a high degree of mutual intelligibility, and Nzema,which is less intelligible with the above)

·       Dangme

·       Ewe

·       Ga

·       Guan

·       Kasem

·       Mole-Dagbani languages (Dagaare and Dagbanli)^[183][184]

Of these, Asante Twi is the most widelyspoken.^[185]

Because Ghana is surrounded by French-speakingcountries, French is widely taught in schools and used forcommercial and international economic exchanges. Since 2006, Ghana has been anassociate member of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie,^[186] the global organisation thatunites French-speaking countries (84 nations on six continents). In 2005, morethan 350,000 Ghanaian children studied French in schools. Since then, itsstatus has been progressively updated to a mandatory language in every juniorhigh school,^[187] and it is in the process ofbecoming an official language.^[188][189]

Ghanaian Pidgin English, also known as KruEnglish (or in Akan, kroo brofo), is a variety of West African Pidgin English spoken inAccra and in the southern towns.^[190] Itcan be divided into two varieties, referred to as "uneducated" or"non-institutionalized" pidgin and "educated" or"institutionalized" pidgin, the former associated with uneducated orilliterate people and the latter acquired and used in institutions such asuniversities.^[191]

Religion

Main article: Religion in Ghana

Christianity isthe largest religion in Ghana, with 71.3% of the populationbeing member of various Christian denominations as of 2021 census.^[192] Islam is practised by 19.9% of the totalpopulation. According to a 2012 report by Pew Research,51% of Muslims are followers of Sunni Islam,while approximately 16% belong to the Ahmadiyya movementand around 8% identify with Shia Islam,while the remainder are non-denominational Muslims.^[193][194] There is "no significantlink between ethnicity and religion in Ghana".^[195]

Universal health care and life expectancy

Ghana has a universal health care system strictlydesignated for Ghanaian nationals, National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS),is designated for Ghanaian nationals.^[196] Health care is variablethroughout Ghana and in 2012, over 12 million Ghanaian nationals werecovered by the NHIS.^[197] Urbancentres are well served and contain most of the hospitals, clinics, andpharmacies. There are over 200 hospitals, and Ghana is a destination for medical tourism.^[198] In 2010, there were 0.1physicians per 1,000 people and as of 2011, 0.9 hospital beds per 1,000 people.^[174] 5.2%of Ghana's GDP was spent on health in 2010.^[199] In2020, the WHO announced Ghana became the second country in the WHO AfricanRegion to attain regulatory system "maturity level 3", thesecond-highest in the four-tiered WHO classification of Nationalmedicines regulatory systems.^[200]

Life expectancy at birth in 2020 was 71 fora female and 65 for a male.^[201] In2013, infant mortality was to 39 per 1,000 livebirths.^[202] Sourcesvary on life expectancy at birth; the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated62 years for men and 64 years for women born in 2016.^[203] The fertility rate declinedfrom 3.99 (2000) to 3.28 (2010) with 2.78 in urban region and 3.94 in ruralregion.^[175] TheUnited Nations reports a fertility decline from 6.95 (1970) to 4.82 (2000) to3.93 live births per woman in 2017.^[204]

As of 2012, the HIV/AIDS prevalencewas estimated at 1.40% among adults aged 15–49.^[205]

Education

Education system's implementation of information and communications technology atthe University of Ghana

A education system is divided into 3 parts:basic education, secondary cycle, and tertiary education. "Basiceducation" lasts 11 years (ages 4‒15).^[206] Itis divided into kindergarten (2 years), primary school (2 modules of 3 years)and junior high (3 years). Junior high school ends with the Basic Education Certificate Examination.^[206][207] Oncecertified, the pupil can proceed to the secondary cycle.^[208] Hence, the pupil has thechoice between general education (offered by the senior high school) andvocational education (offered by the technical senior high school or thetechnical and vocational institutes). Senior high school lasts 3 years andleads to the West African Senior School Certificate Examination,which is a prerequisite for enrollment in a university bachelor's degreeprogramme.^[209]: 7 Polytechnics are open tovocational students.^[210]

A bachelor's degree requires 4 years ofstudy. It can be followed by a 1- or 2-year master's degree programme, whichcan be followed by a PhD programme of at least 3 years.^[209]: 9 A polytechnic programme lasts2 or 3 years.^[210] Ghanapossesses colleges of education.^[211] Someof the universities are the University of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology,and University of Cape Coast.^[212]

There are over 95% of children in school.^[213][214] The female and male ages15–24 years literacy rate was 81% in 2010, with males at 82%,^[215] and females at 80%.^[216] A education system annuallyattracts foreign students particularly in theuniversity sector.^[217][218]

Ghana has a free education 6-yearprimary school education system beginning at age 6.^[219] Thegovernment largely funds basic education comprising public primary schools andpublic junior high schools. Senior high schools were subsidised by thegovernment until September 2017/2018 academic year that senior high educationbecame free.^[220] At the higher educationlevel, the government funds more than 80% of resources provided to publicuniversities, polytechnics and teacher training colleges. As part of the FreeCompulsory Universal Basic Education, Fcube, the government supplies all basiceducation schools with all their textbooks and other educational supplies, likeexercise books. Senior high schools are provided with all their textbookrequirements by the government. Private schools acquire their educationalmaterial from private suppliers.^[221]

Foodand drink

Ghanaian cuisine includesan assortment of soups and stews with varied seafoods; most Ghanaian soups areprepared with vegetables, meat, poultry or fish.^[222] Fishis important in the diet with tilapia, roasted and fried whitebait,smoked fish and crayfish, all being common components of Ghanaian dishes.^[222] Banku (akple)is a common starchy food made from ground corn (maize),^[222] andcornmeal based staples kɔmi (kenkey)and banku (akple) are usually accompanied by some form of fried fish (chinam)or grilled tilapia and a very spicy condiment made from raw red and greenchillies, onions and tomatoes (pepper sauce).^[222] Bankuand tilapia is a combo served in most restaurants.^[222] Fufu is the most common exported Ghanaiandish and is a delicacy across the African diaspora.^[222] Riceis an established staple meal across the country, with various rice baseddishes serving as breakfast, lunch and dinner, the main variants are waakye, plainrice and stew (eight kontomire or tomato gravy), fried rice and jollof rice.^[223]

Literature

This section is an excerpt from Ghanaian literature.[edit]

Ghanaian literature is literatureproduced by authors from Ghana or in the Ghanaian diaspora.The tradition of literature starts with a long oral tradition, was influence heavilyby western literature during colonial rule, and became prominent with apost-colonial nationalist tradition in the mid 20th century.^{[224][225][226]} Thecurrent literary community continues with a diverse network of voices bothwithin and outside the country today, including film, theatre, and moderndigital formats such as blogging.^[225][226]

The most prominent authors are novelists J. E. Casely Hayford, Ayi Kwei Armah and Nii Ayikwei Parkes, who gained internationalacclaim with the books Ethiopia Unbound (1911), The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born (1968)and Tail of the Blue Bird (2009), respectively.^[227] Inaddition to novels, other literature arts such as theatre and poetry have alsohad a very good development and support at the national level with prominentplaywrights and poets Joede Graft and Efua Sutherland.^[227]

The Ghanaian national literature radio programme andaccompanying publication Voices of Ghana (1955-1957) wasone of the earliest on the African continent, and helped establish the scope ofthe contemporary literary tradition in Ghana.^[228] Scholarship of Anglo-phoneAfrica sometimes favors literatures from other geographies, such as the literature of Nigeria.^[229]

Clothing

Duringthe 13th century, Ghanaians developed their unique art of adinkra printing.Hand-printed and hand-embroidered adinkra clothes were made and usedexclusively by royalty for devotional ceremonies. Each of the motifs that makeup the corpus ofadinkra symbolism has a name and meaning derived from a proverb, a historicalevent, human attitude, ethology, plant life-form,or shapes of inanimate and man-made objects. The meanings of the motifs may becategorised into aesthetics, ethics, human relations, and concepts.^[230] The Adinkra symbols have adecorative function as tattoos but also represent objects that encapsulateevocative messages that convey traditional wisdom, aspects of life, or theenvironment. There are many symbols with distinct meanings, often linked withproverbs. In the words of Anthony Appiah, they were one of the means ina pre-literate society for "supporting the transmission of a complex andnuanced body of practice and belief".^[231]

Kentecloth, the traditional or national cloth of Ghana, is worn by most southernGhanaian ethnic groups, including the Akan,the Ga, and the Ewe.

Along with the adinkra cloth, Ghanaiansuse many cloth fabrics for their traditional attire.^[232] Thedifferent ethnic groups have their own individual cloth. The most well known isthe Kente cloth^[232] Kenteis a very important national costume and clothing, and these clothes are usedto make traditional and modern Kente attire.^[232] Differentsymbols and different colours mean different things.^[232] Kente isthe most famous of all the Ghanaian clothes.^[232] Kenteis a ceremonial cloth hand-woven on a horizontal treadle loom and strips measuring about4 inches wide are sewn together into larger pieces of cloths.^[232] Clothscome in various colours, sizes and designs and are worn during very importantsocial and religious occasions.^[232] Ina cultural context, kente is more important than just a cloth as it is a visualrepresentation of history and also a form of written language through weaving.^[232] Theterm kente has its roots in the Akan word kɛntɛn which means abasket and the first kente weavers used raffia fibres to weave cloths thatlooked like kenten (a basket); and thus were referred to as kentenntoma; meaning basket cloth.^[232] Theoriginal Akan name of the cloth was nsaduaso or nwontoma,meaning "a cloth hand-woven on a loom"; however, "kente" isthe most frequently used term today. Kente is also woven by the Ewe people (EweKente) in the Volta Region. The main weaving centers are Agortime area andAgbozume. Agbozume has a vibrant kente market attracting patrons from all overwest Africa and the diaspora.^[232]

Contemporary Ghanaian fashion includestraditional and modern styles and fabrics and has made its way into the Africanand global fashion scene. The cloth known as African print fabric was created out ofDutch wax textiles. It is believed that in the late 19th century, Dutch shipson their way to Asia stocked with machine-made textiles that mimickedIndonesian batik stoppedat many West African ports on the way. The fabrics did not do well in Asia.However, in West Africa—mainly Ghana where there was an already establishedmarket for cloths and textiles—the client base grew and it was changed toinclude local and traditional designs, colours and patterns to cater to thetaste of the new consumers.^[233] Today outside of Africa it iscalled "Ankara," and it has a client base well beyond Ghana andAfrica as a whole. It is popular among Caribbean peoples and African Americans;celebrities such as Solange Knowles and her sister Beyoncé havebeen seen wearing African print attire.^[234] Manydesigners from countries in North America and Europe are now using Africanprints, and they have gained a global interest.^[235] British luxury fashion house Burberry created a collection aroundGhanaian styles.^[236] American musician Gwen Stefani hasrepeatedly incorporated African prints into her clothing line and can often beseen wearing it.^[237] Internationally acclaimedGhanaian-British designer Ozwald Boateng introducedAfrican print suits in his 2012 collection.^[238]

Music and dance

Main articles: Azonto and Kpanlogo

0:16Adowa dance form and music performance.

Music incorporates types of musicalinstruments such as the talking drum ensembles, Akan Drum, goje fiddle and koloko lute, court music,including the Akan Seperewa,the Akan atumpan, the Ga kpanlogo styles, and log xylophones usedin asonko music.^[239] Africanjazz was created by KofiGhanaba.^[240] A form of secular music is highlife.^[239] Highlifeoriginated in the 19th and 20th centuries and spread throughout West Africa.^[239]

In the 1990s, a genre of music was createdincorporating the influences of highlife, Afro-reggae, dancehall and hip hop.^[239] Thishybrid was called hiplife.^[239]

There are dances for occasions.^[241] Dancesfor celebrations include the Adowa, Kpanlogo, Azonto, Klama, Agbadza, Borborbor and Bamaya.^[241] TheNana Otafrija Pallbearing Services, also known as the Dancing Pallbearers, come from the coastaltown of Prampram.The group was featured in a BBC feature story in 2017, and footage from thestory became part of an Internet meme in the wake of the COVID-19 worldpandemic.^[242]

Media

Chapter12 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana guarantees freedom of the press and independence ofthe media, while Chapter 2 prohibits censorship.^[243] Post-independence, privateoutlets closed during the military governments, and media laws preventedcriticism of government.^[244] Pressfreedoms were restored in 1992, and after the election in 2000 of Kufuor, thetensions between the private media and government decreased. Kufuor supportedpress freedom and repealed a libel law,and maintained that the media had to act responsibly.^[245] The media have been describedas "one of the most unfettered" in Africa.^[246]

In 1948, the Gold Coast Film Unit was setup in the Information Services Department.^[247]

Architecture

There are 2 types of construction: theseries of adjacent buildings in an enclosure around a common, and the roundhuts with grass roof.^[248] The round huts with grassroof architecture are situated in the northern regions, while the series ofadjacent buildings are in the southern regions. Postmodern architecture and high-tech architecture buildings are inthe southern regions, while heritage sites are evident in the more than 30forts and castles in the country, such as Fort William and Fort Amsterdam. Ghana has museums that aresituated inside castles, and 2 are situated inside a fort.^[249] The Military Museum and the National Museum organise temporaryexhibitions.^[249]

Ghana has museums that show an in-depthlook at specific regions. There are a number of museums that provide insightinto the traditions and history of the geographical areas.^[249] The Cape Coast Castle Museumand St. Georges Castle (Elmina Castle) Museum offer guided tours. The Museum of Science and Technology providesits visitors with a look into the domain of scientific development, throughexhibits of objects of scientific and technological interest.^[249]

Sports

Main article: Sports in Ghana

Association football is the top spectatorsport in Ghana.^[250] Ghanahas won the Africa Cup of Nations four times, the FIFA U-20 World Cup once, and hasparticipated in three consecutive FIFA World Cups in2006, 2010, and 2014.^[250] The InternationalFederation of Football History and Statistics crowned AsanteKotoko SC as the African club ofthe 20th century.^[251]

Ghana competes in the Commonwealth Games, sending athletes in everyedition since 1954 (except for the 1986 games). Ghana has won 57 medals at theCommonwealth Games, including 15 gold, with all but one of their medals comingin athletics and boxing. The country has also produced a number of boxers,including Azumah Nelson a three-time world champion,^[252][253] Nana Yaw Konadu alsoa three-time world champion,^[253] Ike Quartey,^[253] and Joshua Clottey.^[253]