Ghana — map and facts

About Ghana

Ghana is a West African nation bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south. Its capital is Accra, a bustling metropolis of over four million people, while the total national population stands at approximately 34 million. Ghana is one of the most stable and prosperous democracies in sub-Saharan Africa, with a multi-party system that has facilitated peaceful transfers of power since 1992. The economy is driven by gold and cocoa exports, offshore oil production from the Jubilee Field discovered in 2007, and a growing services sector. Ghana is the world's second-largest cocoa producer after Côte d'Ivoire. English is the official language, though Akan, Ewe, Dagbani, and other languages are widely spoken. Ghana was the first sub-Saharan African country to gain independence from colonial rule, on 6 March 1957, under the leadership of Kwame Nkrumah. Nkrumah's declaration of independence became a landmark moment in pan-African history.

Geography and Landscape

Ghana covers approximately 239,000 square kilometres in West Africa. The country's geography is dominated in the centre and north by the Volta River basin, one of West Africa's great drainage systems. Lake Volta, formed by the Akosombo Dam completed in 1965, is one of the world's largest artificial reservoirs by surface area, covering roughly 8,500 square kilometres. The White Volta and Black Volta flow southward from Burkina Faso to feed the reservoir. The southern coastal zone features the Gulf of Guinea shoreline with sandy beaches, lagoons, and the Volta Delta. The Ashanti Plateau rises in the south-centre, and the Akwapim-Togo Ranges run along the eastern border. Mount Afadjato, near the Togo border, reaches 885 metres as Ghana's highest point. The north is characterised by Guinea savanna woodland and flat plains. Ghana's climate transitions from tropical wet in the south, with two rainy seasons, to a single-season tropical savanna climate in the north. Deforestation has significantly reduced original forest cover in the south.

History

The territory of modern Ghana was home to a succession of powerful kingdoms. The Akan states rose to prominence from the thirteenth century onward, and the Ashanti Empire, founded in the late seventeenth century by Osei Tutu around its capital Kumasi, became one of West Africa's most formidable polities, famed for its gold wealth symbolised by the Golden Stool. European contact began with the Portuguese, who built Elmina Castle in 1482 as the first European permanent structure south of the Sahara. The Gold Coast, as the region became known, was a major hub of the transatlantic slave trade. Britain established colonial control, defeating the Ashanti in a series of wars culminating in 1901. Under British administration, cocoa cultivation transformed the economy. Kwame Nkrumah led the independence movement, and on 6 March 1957 the Gold Coast became Ghana — named after the ancient medieval empire — the first Black African nation to gain independence. A series of coups followed, including Nkrumah's own overthrow in 1966. Ghana returned to stable multiparty democracy in 1992 and has since been a regional model for democratic governance.