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Quick Facts
| Surface: | |
238,537 sq. km |
| Population: | 23 million |
| Population density: | 80 inhabitants per sq. km |
| Population mix: | Urban, 35.8%; Rural, 64.2% |
| Constitution: | Republic with an executive presidency and parliamentary democracy |
| Head of State: | The President, HE John Agyekum Kufuor since December 2000 |
| Official language: | English |
| Other languages: | Ga, Ewe, Fanti, Twi, and Hausa |
| Currency: | Cedi (GHS) valued at = $0.996 Canadian Dollar (Nov 2007) |
Location
Formerly the Gold Coast Ghana is a West African country stretching between the arid Sahel and the Gulf of Guinea and is surrounded by Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Togo. Accra, the capital, is on the coast.
Geography
Ghana is divided into four distinct geographical regions:
- The coastline (in the south) is a sequence of white sandy beaches spread out over a distance of 550 km, punctuated with savannah, joining up with the city of Accra.
- The western part consists of the Ashanti plateau composed of forest areas where cocoa is an important crop.
- The eastern part of Ghana is less prosperous having been subjected over the years to forest fires, resulting in seriously dry conditions.
- To the north, the bush gives way to savannah where roam buffalo, antelope and elephant.
Lake Volta (8 480 sq. km and covering 3% of Ghana's surface) is a reservoir created by the 113 m Akosombo Dam. The highest elevation in the country is Mount Afadjato at 885 m.
Climate
The masses of hot, dry air from the Sahara create the savannah conditions in the north. To the south and inland from the coastal plain, the humidity from the ocean causes forest conditions, which end up accounting for one third of Ghana's land mass. Not affected by this humidity is the capital region, occupying the savannah.
Population
Two population settings exist. One third live in a triangle formed by the coastline and the city of Kumasi. The other setting with a denser population is to the north along the Burkina Faso border. Christianity makes up the largest religious denomination at over 50%, followed with traditional religions at 32% and by Islam at 13%. Population is predominately African: Akan (40%), Ewe, Mole-Dagbani, Ga-Adangbe.
Economy
Ghana's economic base rests on its abundance of natural resources. These are primarily gold, cocoa, forest products and bauxite. Other exported products are manganese and industrial diamonds. Manufacturing has suffered considerably since the Economic Recovery Programme (ERP), backed by the International Monetary Fund, was put in motion in 1983-86. As a result, a large percentage of persons employed now are in the public sector.
Important Cities & their population
| Accra: | |
2,096,600, the capital |
| Kumasi: | 1,604,900, the ancient capital of Ashanti |
| Takoradi-Sekondi: | 410,200 |
| Tamale: | 390,700 |
Transportation
| Road: | |
about 32,000 km of road, 6,000 of which are paved, mainly in the southern part of the country. |
| Rail: | 1,000 km, mainly in the triangle area joining Kumasi, Sekondi-Takoradi and Accra |
| Sea: | Ports at Tema (Greater Accra) and Takoradi (western region) |
| Air: | Kotoka international airport, 10 km north of Accra, served by Ghana Airways, Aeroflot, Air Afrique, British Airways, Egypt Air, KLM, Swissair, Lufthansa, Nigeria Airways and Ethiopian |
| Airlines: | Domestic airports at Kumasi, Tamale, Sunyani |
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