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Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It borders Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. Accra is the capital and largest city. The country's population in 2005 was 21,029,853. It was inhabited in pre-colonial times by a number of ancient kingdoms, including an inland kingdom within The Ashanti and various Fante states along the coast. Trade with European states flourished after contact with the Portuguese in the 15th century, and the British established a crown colony, Gold Coast, in 1874. It was the first black African country to obtain independence from colonial rule. Upon achieving independence from the United Kingdom in 1957, the name Ghana was chosen for the new nation as a reference to its ancient roots in the Empire of Ghana.
History For most of Africa below the Sahara, but north of the tropical jungles, the development up to 500 A.D. was expanding agriculture. Well-organized villages arose; many were similar to the villages that exist today. Farming began earliest on the southern tips of the Sahara. Toward the end of the classical era, important regional kingdoms were forming in West Africa, which lead to the first great state - Ghana. Ghana faced challenges such as dense vegetation, disease's impact on domesticated animals, and slow spread of agriculture southward. But the strength of the agricultural economy would have an impact on the new kingdoms to the west of the Nile. Trade brought new crops from Southeast Asia near 100 A.D. Formed from the merger of the British colony Gold Coast and the British Togoland trust territory by a UN sponsored plebiscite, Ghana in 1957 became the first sub-Saharan country in colonial Africa to gain its independence. Kwame Nkrumah was an African anti-colonial leader, founder and first president of the modern Ghanaian state. He was the 1st African head of state in the Pan-African Movement, which was an idea he appropriated during his studies at Lincoln University in the United States, at the time when Marcus Garvey was becoming famous for his "Back to Africa Movement". 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. His changes resulted in the suspension of the constitution in 1981 and the banning of political parties. A new constitution, restoring multiparty politics, was approved in 1992, and Rawlings was elected in free elections of that year and also in 1996. The constitution prohibited him from running for a third term. John Kufuor, the current president, is now in his second term. 2007 will mark Ghana's Golden Jubilee celebration of 50 years of independence, Ghana@50. Politics Although a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, Ghana is a Republic. Its head of state is President John Agyekum Kufuor, the ninth leader of the country since independence. The Parliament of Ghana is and dominated by two main parties, the New Patriotic Party and National Democratic Congress. Kofi Annan, the previous Secretary-General of the United Nations, is from Ghana. Economy Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has twice the per capita output of the poorer countries in West Africa. Even so, Ghana remains heavily dependent on international financial and technical assistance. Gold, timber, and cocoa production are major sources of foreign exchange. The domestic economy continues to revolve around subsistence agriculture, which accounts for 40% of GDP and employs 60% of the work force, mainly small landholders. In 1995-97, Ghana made mixed progress under a three-year structural adjustment program in cooperation with the IMF. On the minus side, public sector wage increases and regional peacekeeping commitments have led to continued inflationary deficit financing, depreciation of the cedi, and rising public discontent with Ghana's austerity measures. Administrative Divisions Ghana is divided into 10 regions, which are then subdivided into a total of 138 districts. To see more detailed maps, see either the Regions of Ghana or the Districts of Ghana. The regions of Ghana are as follows: Geography Ghana is located on the Gulf of Guinea, only a few degrees north of the Equator. It is roughly the size of the state of Oregon. The coastline is mostly a low, sandy shore backed by plains and scrub and intersected by several rivers and streams. A tropical rain forest belt, broken by heavily forested hills and many streams and rivers, extends northward from the shore. North of this belt, the land is covered by low bush, park-like savanna, and grassy plains. The climate is tropical. The eastern coastal belt is warm and comparatively dry (see Dahomey Gap); the southwest corner, hot and humid; and the north, hot and dry. Lake Volta, the world's largest artificial lake, extends through large portions of eastern Ghana. The capital of Ghana is Accra with a population of about 3 million people. Main cities Other cities include (see also ): Demographics (major tribes - Akan 44%, Moshi-Dagomba 16%, Ewe 13%, Ga 8%), European and other 0.2% Religions: Christian 63%, Indigenous beliefs 21%, Muslim 16% Languages: English (official), African languages (including Akan, Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga) Languages Ethnologue lists a total of 79 languages in Ghana. As with many ex-colonies in Africa, the official language of Ghana is the colonial language, English. Nine languages have the status of government-sponsored languages: Akan, Dagaare/Wale, Dagbane, Dangme, Ewe, Ga, Gonja, Kasem and Nzema. Ethnologue provides a language map of Ghana * via their website. Culture
Education Ghana has 12,630 primary schools, 5,450 junior secondary schools, 503 senior secondary schools, 21 training colleges, 18 technical institutions, two diploma-awarding institutions and five universities serving a population of 18 million; this means that most Ghanaians have relatively easy access to good education. In contrast, at the time of independence in 1957, Ghana had only one university and a handful of secondary and primary schools. In the past decade, Ghana's spending on education has been between 28 percent and 40 percent of its annual budget. Primary and middle school education is free and will be mandatory when enough teachers and facilities are available to accommodate all students. Pupils are enrolled in a nursery school and kindergarten prior to their 6-year primary education at age six. Under educational reforms implemented in 1987, they pass into a new junior secondary school system for 3 years of academic training combined with technical and vocational training, where they pass a Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). Those wishing to continue with their education move into the 3-year senior secondary school program. Entrance to universities is by examination following completion of senior secondary school. School enrollment totals almost 2 million: 1.3 million primary; 107,600 middle; 48,900 secondary; 21,280 technical; 11,300 teacher training; and 5,600 university. There is currently an on-going educational reform in Ghana, and teaching is mainly in English, Ghana's official language. Miscellaneous topics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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