Republic of Ghana
COUNTRY STATISTICS
Area: 87,850 sq.miles (227,500 sq.km)
Population: 17,450,000
Currency: 1 cedi = 100 pesewas
Exchange Rate: Cedi 437.1 = US$ 1
Capital: Accra
Main Cities: Kumasi, Sekondi-Takoradi, Tema
Languages: English, 50 tribal languages
Religions: Christian, Traditional beliefs, Muslim
Total GDP: US$ 19,920,000,000
Imports: US$ 2,296,000,000
Population Growth: 3%
Death Rate: 11.7/1000 people
Life Expectancy: 56 years
Number of Goats: 3,337,000
Per Capita PPP: US$ 956
Exports: US$ 1,207,000,000
Population Density: 73 people/sq.km
Birth Rate: 41.7/1000 people
Infant Mortality: 81/1000 live births
Number of Pigs: 595,000
The African nation Ghana is named after an ancient kingdom in the northwestern Sahara from which the Ashanti peoples migrated. Akan settlers and Mande traders arrived in the 13th and 14th centuries. During the 17th century the Ashanti centralized the empire. Ghana was known as the Gold Coast because large amounts of alluvial gold were traded there. The Portuguese traded slaves raided from the Bight of Benin for Akan gold. In 1874 the country became a British colony. Kwame Nkrumah led the fight for independence and was Ghana's first president. He was overthrown in the first of a series of coups that impeded development until Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings's coups in 1979 and 1981 brought him to power. After ruling as a benevolent dictator for more than a decade, Rawlings was elected president in landmark but hotly disputed (and partially boycotted) 1992 multiparty elections.
SPECIAL FACT
Ghana was the first colony in sub-Saharan Africa to be granted independence (1957), opening the floodgates for the pan-African independence movement.
ECONOMICS
Despite economic difficulties, Ghana is one of the most developed
countries in tropical Africa. Cacao, otherwise known as cocoa, dominates the cash-crop
production, accounting for more than 50 percent of the country's exports. Illegal
exportation of cocoa is a serious problem due to artificially low prices paid by
Ghana’s government. Large-scale replanting is needed to replace the aged and diseased
cacao trees that have hurt the industry since the 1970s; in the mid-1990s Ghana failed to
sell the entirety of each year’s crop. Logs and sawed timber account for about 20
percent of exports. Gold, diamonds, manganese, and bauxite provide another 17 percent of
exports. In spite of satisfactory economic health, more private investment is needed so
Ghana can wean itself from foreign assistance. In 1994 Ghana’s first lady, Nana
Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, visited Chicago to invite entrepreneurs to invest in businesses
in her nation.
SPECIAL FACT
The Omanhene Chocolate Company, based in Milwaukee, Wisc., produces its dark-milk-chocolate bars in Tema, Ghana. Approximately 275 Ghanaians work at their nation’s first factory to make for-export chocolate.
GEOGRAPHY & TOURISM
Behind lagoons, sandbars, and plains on Ghana’s coast, the land
rises to each side of the Volta River Basin. To the west it forms the Kwahu Plateau. To
the east are the Akwapim-Togo Mountains. The climate is hot and humid in the southwest,
and hot and dry in the southeast. In the south and central areas there are two wet
seasons: May to June and October. In the north the rainy season is from July to September.
The capital and largest city is Accra, situated on the coast in the southeast. The
government is encouraging tourism by spotlighting the country’s beaches and national
parks. Attractions include a number of coastal forts built by 17th-century Europeans as
bases for the trade of gold, ivory, and slaves. Colorful, hand-woven Kente cloth, adopted
by many African-Americans as a symbol of cultural pride, is made in the Ashanti region.
SPECIAL FACT
Following a severe shortage of essential food and other items in the
early 1970s, Head of State General Acheampong promoted one of his colonels to Minister of
Essential Commodities, responsible for monitoring such supplies as sardines, soap, sugar,
and milk.
CULTURE & THE ARTS
Ghana has an extremely diverse society-more than 100 different ethnic
groups live within its borders. The tribes are generally grouped by ethnolinguistic
entities, the largest of which are the Kwa speakers, who constitute up to 70 percent of
the population. Gur speakers, most of whom are Muslim, represent 20 percent. Kwa speakers
are made up of five main groups: the Akan, Ewe, Ga-Adangbe, Guan, and Central Togo. Among
the Akan the most famous are the Ashanti, whose powerful kingdom was historically ruled by
a paramount chief, the Asantehene, and included a central bureaucracy. The Ashanti, known
for their great wealth, historically traded in gold dust and produced splendid gold
jewelry. Weaving of traditional Kente cloth is also important culturally. Some woven
patterns are used exclusively on certain occasions or for certain people. For example, a
pattern can denote a birth, an engagement, or a corpse. Mid-19th century clashes with the
British over the slave trade led to the Ashantis’ decline. Ashanti Queen Yaa
Asantewaa was praised for her bravery when the tribe defended itself against the British.
SPECIAL FACT
The Akan use talking drums that imitate the tones of their language
to communicate proverbs, histories, and other information.