Ghana#Further reading

The name Ghana comes from Wagadu, an empire in west Africa from the 3rd to 12th centuries; Wagadu was termed Ghana by Arab traders involved in the trans-Saharan trade. Ghana is thought to originate from the title Kaya Maghan of the rulers of Wagadu, which translates as ruler of gold. As the Gold Coast colony prepared for independence, the nation's leader and first prime minister later first president Kwame Nkrumah who together with five others known as The Big Six, led Ghana to independence, settled on Ghana, aiming to evoke a sense of unity and liberation among the Ghanaian people. The name was a powerful reminder of their shared heritage and the legacy of the ancient empire that once thrived in the wider region. It encapsulated the aspirations of the Ghanaian people for self-governance, progress, and a future marked by dignity and resilience.{{cite web |title=Unveiling The Origins: How Ghana Got Its Name |url=https://africanfolder.com/how-ghana-got-its-name/ |work=African folder |date=7 June 2023 |access-date=23 June 2024}}{{cite book |last=Gestrich |first=Nikolas |title=Oxford Research Encyclopedias: African history |chapter=Ghana Empire |year=2019 |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.396 |isbn=978-0-19-027773-4 |url=https://oxfordre.com/africanhistory/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277734-e-396}}

{{main|History of Ghana}}

{{main|Ashanti Empire|Kingdom of Dagbon|Bono state}}

File:Guinea from Milner's Atlas.jpg Kingdom of Ashanti within the Guinea region and surrounding regions in West Africa|left]]

The earliest kingdoms to emerge in Ghana were Bonoman in the south and the Kingdom of Dagbon in the north, with Bonoman existing in the area during the 11th century.{{cite web |title=Pre-Colonial Period |url=http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/history/pre-colonial.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101123235900/http://ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/history/pre-colonial.php |archive-date=23 November 2010 |access-date=13 December 2010 |publisher=Ghanaweb.com}} From the 17th century, different Akan states begun to emerge from what is believed to have been the Bonoman area, mainly based on gold trading.{{cite book|first=Dennis M. |last=Warren|title=The Techiman-Bono of Ghana: An Ethnography of an Akan Society|publisher= Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company|date= 1975}} These states included Bonoman (Brong-Ahafo region), Ashanti (Ashanti Region), Denkyira (Western North region), Mankessim Kingdom (Central region), and Akwamu (Eastern region). By the 19th century, the territory of the southern part of Ghana was included in the Asante Kingdom. The government of the Ashanti Empire operated first as a loose network and eventually as a centralised kingdom with a specialised bureaucracy centred in the capital city of Kumasi. Prior to Akan contact with Europeans, the Akan people created an economy based on principally gold and gold bar precious metals, which were traded with other states in Africa.{{cite web |url=http://rubens.anu.edu.au/htdocs/surveys/african/ashanti/history.html |title=A Short History of Ashanti Gold Weights |publisher=Rubens.anu.edu.au |access-date=24 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130902030803/http://rubens.anu.edu.au/htdocs/surveys/african/ashanti/history.html |archive-date=2 September 2013 |url-status=live}}

The Ga-Dangme and Ewe migrated westward from south-western Nigeria. The Ewe, formerly known as Dogbo, migrated from Oyo area with their Gbe-speaking kinsmen (Adja, Fon, Phla/Phera and Ogun/Gun) and, in transition, settled at Ketou in Benin Republic, Tado in Togo, and Dogbo Nyigbo in Benin Republic, with Nortsie (a walled town in present-day Togo) as their final dispersal point. Their dispersal from Nortsie was necessitated by the high-handed rule of King Agorkorli (Agɔ Akɔli), who was the reigning monarch of the tribe at that time. The Ewe in Ghana speak three principal dialects: Anlo (along the coast), Tongu (along the Volta river) and Ewedome (in the hill country side). The Ga-Dangme occupy the Greater Accra Region and parts of the Eastern Region, while the Ewe are found in the Volta Region as well as the neighbouring Togo, Benin Republic and Nigeria (around Badagry area).{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}

{{See also|Slave Coast of West Africa|Dutch Slave Coast}}File:Elmina_slave_castle.jpg established the Portuguese Gold Coast with the construction of Elmina Castle (Castelo da Mina) by Diogo de Azambuja in 1482, making it the oldest European building in Sub-Saharan Africa.]]

Akan trade with European states began after contact with the Portuguese in the 15th century.{{cite web |url=http://www.modernghana.com/GhanaHome/ashanti/ashanti.asp?menu_id=6&sub_menu_id=67&gender=&s=a |title=History of the Ashanti People |publisher=Modern Ghana |access-date=9 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130731222849/http://www.modernghana.com/GhanaHome/ashanti/ashanti.asp?menu_id=6&sub_menu_id=67&gender=&s=a |archive-date=31 July 2013 |url-status=live}} European contact was by the Portuguese people, who came to the Gold Coast region in the 15th century to trade. The Portuguese then established the Portuguese Gold Coast (Costa do Ouro), focused on the availability of gold. The Portuguese built a trading lodge at a coastal settlement called Anomansah (the perpetual drink), which they renamed São Jorge da Mina.{{cite web |url=http://www.tonyxworld.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2&Itemid=38 |title=History of Ghana |publisher=TonyX |access-date=20 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501201014/http://www.tonyxworld.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2&Itemid=38 |archive-date=1 May 2013 |url-status=dead}} In 1481, King John II of Portugal commissioned Diogo de Azambuja to build the Elmina Castle, which was completed in three years. By 1598, the Dutch had joined the Portuguese in the gold trade, establishing the Dutch Gold Coast (Nederlandse Bezittingen ter Kuste van Guinea – 'Dutch properties at the Guinea coast') and building forts at Fort Komenda and Kormantsi.{{cite book |last=Levy |first=Patricia |author2=Wong, Winnie |title=Ghana |url=https://archive.org/details/ghana0000levy |url-access=registration |publisher=Marshall Cavendish |page=[https://archive.org/details/ghana0000levy/page/24 24] |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-7614-4847-1}} In 1617, the Dutch captured the Elmina Castle from the Portuguese and Axim in 1642 (Fort St Anthony).

European traders had joined in gold trading by the 17th century, including the Swedes, establishing the Swedish Gold Coast (Svenska Guldkusten), and Denmark–Norway, establishing the Danish Gold Coast (Danske Guldkyst or Dansk Guinea).{{cite web |title=History of Ghana |url=http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/history/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101215170543/http://ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/history/ |archive-date=15 December 2010 |access-date=10 January 2011 |publisher=ghanaweb.com}} European traders participated in the Atlantic slave trade in this area.{{cite book |last=Emmer |first=Pieter C. |edition=1st |series=Variorum Collected Studies (Book 614) |title=The Dutch in the Atlantic Economy, 1580–1880: Trade, Slavery, and Emancipation (Variorum Collected Studies) |page=17 |publisher=Routledge |location=Abingdon-on-Thames |year=2018 |isbn=978-0-86078-697-9}} More than 30 forts and castles were built by the merchants. The Germans established the Brandenburger Gold Coast or Groß Friedrichsburg.{{cite web |date=15 September 2008 |title=Bush Praises Strong Leadership of Ghanaian President Kufuor |url=http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/article/2008/09/20080915145840dmslahrellek0.5556452.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512220141/http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/article/2008/09/20080915145840dmslahrellek0.5556452.html |archive-date=12 May 2014 |access-date=26 June 2010 |work=iipdigital.usembassy.gov}} In 1874, Great Britain established control over some parts of the country, assigning these areas the status of the British Gold Coast.MacLean, Iain (2001), Rational Choice and British Politics: An Analysis of Rhetoric and Manipulation from Peel to Blair, p. 76, {{ISBN|0-19-829529-4}}. Military engagements 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 lost with the War of the Golden Stool in 1900.{{cite book |author=Puri, Jyoti |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tEL4ToU8JSQC&pg=PA76 |title=Encountering Nationalism |publisher=Wiley |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-470-77672-8 |pages=76– |access-date=27 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915131854/https://books.google.com/books?id=tEL4ToU8JSQC&pg=PA76 |archive-date=15 September 2015 |url-status=live}}Freeman-Grenville, G. S. P. (1975), Chronology of World History: A Calendar of Principal Events from 3000 BC to AD 1973, Part 1973, Rowman & Littlefield, {{ISBN|0-87471-765-5}}.[https://www.webcitation.org/5kwpwoVQ8?url=http://ca.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761580620_3/Ashanti_Kingdom.html Ashanti Kingdom], Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2009, Archived 31 October 2009.

{{see also|Dominion of Ghana|Ghana Independence Act 1957}}

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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.{{cite book |author=Gocking, Roger |title=The History of Ghana |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofghana00gock |url-access=registration |year=2005 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-313-31894-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/historyofghana00gock/page/92 92]– |access-date=27 June 2015}} 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 with the motto "self-government now". The party initiated a "positive action" campaign involving non-violent protests, strikes and non-cooperation with the British authorities. Nkrumah was arrested and sentenced to one year imprisonment during this time. In the Gold Coast's 1951 general election, he was elected to Parliament and was released from prison. He became prime minister in 1952 and began a policy of Africanization.{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}}

At midnight of March 6, 1957, the Gold Coast, Ashanti, the Northern Territories, and British Togoland were unified as one single independent dominion within the British Commonwealth under the name Ghana. 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 to this unification.{{cite web |url=http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/flags/countrys/africa/ghana.htm |title=Ghana flag and description |publisher=worldatlas.com |access-date=24 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121224131743/http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/flags/countrys/africa/ghana.htm |archive-date=24 December 2012 |url-status=live}} On 1 July 1960, following the Ghanaian constitutional referendum and Ghanaian presidential election, Nkrumah declared Ghana a republic and assumed the presidency. 6 March is the nation's Independence Day, and 1 July is celebrated as Republic Day.{{cite web |url=https://www.africa.com/5-things-know-ghana-independence-day/ |title=5 Things To Know About Ghana's Independence Day |website=Africa.com |access-date=10 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710225301/https://www.africa.com/5-things-know-ghana-independence-day/ |archive-date=10 July 2018 |url-status=dead}}{{cite web |url=https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/What-is-Republic-Day-in-Ghana-615882 |title=What is Republic Day in Ghana? |last=Oquaye |first=Mike |date=10 January 2018 |website=GhanaWeb |access-date=29 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629211559/https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/What-is-Republic-Day-in-Ghana-615882 |archive-date=29 June 2018 |url-status=live}}

Nkrumah led an authoritarian regime in Ghana, as he repressed political opposition and conducted elections that were not free and fair.{{Cite journal |last=Mazrui |first=Ali |author-link=Ali Mazrui|date=1966 |title=Nkrumah: The Leninist Czar |journal=Transition |issue=26 |pages=9–17 |doi=10.2307/2934320 |jstor=2934320 |issn=0041-1191}}{{Cite journal |last=Kilson |first=Martin L. |date=1963 |title=Authoritarian and Single-Party Tendencies in African Politics |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/world-politics/article/abs/authoritarian-and-singleparty-tendencies-in-african-politics/C06E363B216E1DC2324E77AABDE4FE40 |journal=World Politics |language=en |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=262–294 |doi=10.2307/2009376 |jstor=2009376 |s2cid=154624186 |issn=1086-3338 |access-date=6 January 2023 |archive-date=1 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201210711/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/world-politics/article/abs/authoritarian-and-singleparty-tendencies-in-african-politics/C06E363B216E1DC2324E77AABDE4FE40 |url-status=live}}{{Cite journal |last=Bretton |first=Henry L. |date=1958 |title=Current Political Thought and Practice in Ghana* |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/abs/current-political-thought-and-practice-in-ghana/01D51435240B4DD2FFCDF67F554FA682 |journal=American Political Science Review |language=en |volume=52 |issue=1 |pages=46–63 |doi=10.2307/1953012 |jstor=1953012 |s2cid=145766298 |issn=1537-5943 |access-date=6 January 2023 |archive-date=1 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201201816/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/abs/current-political-thought-and-practice-in-ghana/01D51435240B4DD2FFCDF67F554FA682 |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |date=2016 |title=Ghana's Kwame Nkrumah: visionary, authoritarian ruler and national hero |url=https://www.dw.com/en/ghanas-kwame-nkrumah-visionary-authoritarian-ruler-and-national-hero/a-19070359|first=Hilke|last=Fischer |website=Deutsche Welle |language=en-GB |access-date=6 January 2023 |archive-date=1 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201182454/https://www.dw.com/en/ghanas-kwame-nkrumah-visionary-authoritarian-ruler-and-national-hero/a-19070359 |url-status=live}}{{Cite news |date=1964-05-03 |title=Portrait of Nkrumah as Dictator |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/05/03/archives/portrait-of-nkrumah-as-dictator.html |access-date=2022-02-19 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=1 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201205439/https://www.nytimes.com/1964/05/03/archives/portrait-of-nkrumah-as-dictator.html |url-status=live}} In 1964, a constitutional amendment made Ghana a one-party state, with Nkrumah as president for life of both the nation and its party.{{Citation |title=VII. The Reluctant Nation |date=1964-12-31 |work=One-Party Government in the Ivory Coast |pages=219–249 |place=Princeton |publisher=Princeton University Press |doi=10.1515/9781400876563-012 |isbn=978-1-4008-7656-3 }} Nkrumah was the first African head of state to promote the concept of Pan-Africanism, which he had been introduced to during his studies at Lincoln University, Pennsylvania in the United States, at the time when Marcus Garvey was known for his "Back to Africa Movement". He merged the teachings of Garvey, Martin Luther King Jr. and the naturalised Ghanaian scholar W. E. B. Du Bois into the formation of 1960s Ghana. Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, as he became known, played an instrumental part in the founding of the Non-Aligned Movement, and in establishing the Kwame Nkrumah Ideological Institute to teach his ideologies of communism and socialism.{{cite web|last=Atta-Boakye|first=Ken |title=Of Nkrumah's Political Ideologies: Communism, Socialism, Nkrumaism |work=GhanaWeb |url=http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=110817 |publisher=Ghana Web |date=20 September 2006 |access-date=9 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150725015602/http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=110817 |archive-date=25 July 2015 |url-status=live}} His life achievements were recognised by Ghanaians during his centenary birthday celebration, and the day was instituted as a public holiday in Ghana (Founders' Day).{{cite web |title=Founders' day to be placed on Ghana's Holiday Calendar|url=http://www.modernghana.com/news/419363/1/founders-day-to-be-placed-on-ghanas-holiday-calend.html |publisher=Modern Ghana |date=22 September 2012 |access-date=9 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130925093111/http://www.modernghana.com/news/419363/1/founders-day-to-be-placed-on-ghanas-holiday-calend.html |archive-date=25 September 2013 |url-status=live}}

{{main|History of Ghana (1966–1979)}}

The government of Nkrumah was subsequently overthrown in a coup by the Ghana Armed Forces, codenamed "Operation Cold Chop". This occurred while Nkrumah was abroad with Zhou Enlai in the People's Republic of China, on a 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 Brigadier Akwasi Afrifa. The National Liberation Council was formed, chaired by Lieutenant General Joseph A. Ankrah.{{cite web |url=http://libyadiary.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/pdf-2011-the-political-and-social-thought-of-kwame-nkrumah.pdf |title=The political and social thought of Kwame Nkrumah |first=Ama|last=Biney|author-link=Ama Biney|year=2011 |access-date=28 April 2014 |work=Libyadiary |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429052034/http://libyadiary.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/pdf-2011-the-political-and-social-thought-of-kwame-nkrumah.pdf |archive-date=29 April 2014 |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |last=Imoro |first=Issah |date=24 February 2015 |title=The Other Side Of Operation Cold Chop' |url=https://www.modernghana.com/news/600560/the-other-side-of-operation-cold-chop.html |access-date=26 February 2024 |website=Modern Ghana |archive-date=8 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230708061634/https://www.modernghana.com/news/600560/the-other-side-of-operation-cold-chop.html |url-status=live }}

A series of alternating military and civilian governments, often affected by economic instabilities,{{cite book |title=A Country Study: Ghana |last=David |first=Owusu-Ansah |publisher=La Verle Berry |year=1994}} ruled Ghana from 1966, ending with the ascent to power of Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings of the Provisional National Defence Council in 1981.{{cite news |url=http://www.africa-confidential.com/whos-who-profile/id/424/ |title=Ghana: Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings (J.J Rawlings) |work=Africa Confidential |access-date=1 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029191244/http://www.africa-confidential.com/whos-who-profile/id/424/ |archive-date=29 October 2013 |url-status=live}} These changes resulted in the suspension of the constitution in 1981 and the banning of political parties.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1050310.stm |title=Rawlings: The legacy |publisher=BBC News |date=1 December 2000 |access-date=1 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828010357/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1050310.stm |archive-date=28 August 2017 |url-status=live}} The economy soon declined, so Rawlings negotiated a structural adjustment plan, changing many old economic policies, and growth recovered during the mid-1980s. A new constitution restoring multi-party system politics was promulgated in the presidential election of 1992, in which Rawlings was elected, and again in the general election of 1996.{{cite web |title=Elections in Ghana |url=http://africanelections.tripod.com/gh.html |work=Africanelections.tripod.com |access-date=1 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120530060759/http://africanelections.tripod.com/gh.html |archive-date=30 May 2012 |url-status=live}}

In a tribal war in Northern Ghana in 1994, between the Konkomba and other ethnic groups, including the Nanumba, Dagomba and Gonja, between 1,000 and 2,000 people were killed and 150,000 people were displaced.{{cite web |url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4be33c.html |title=Refworld {{!}} Ghana: Conflict between the Konkomba and Nanumba tribes and the government response to the conflict (1994 – September 2000) |last=Refugees |first=United Nations High Commissioner for |website=Refworld |date=26 September 2000 |access-date=8 January 2022 |archive-date=26 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190426203557/https://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4be33c.html |url-status=live}}

File:Kpetoee.jpg in 2015]]

After the 2000 general election, John Kufuor of the New Patriotic Party became president of Ghana on 7 January 2001 and was re-elected in 2004, thus also serving two terms (the term limit) as president of Ghana and marking the first time under the fourth republic that power was transferred from one legitimately elected head of state and head of government to another.

Nana Akufo-Addo, the ruling party candidate, was defeated in a very close 2008 general election by John Atta Mills of the National Democratic Congress.{{cite news |last=Kokutse |first=Francis |title=Opposition leader wins presidency in Ghana |agency=Associated Press |date=3 January 2009 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-01-03-ghana-election_N.htm |work=USA Today |access-date=9 May 2014 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121209072058/http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-01-03-ghana-election_N.htm |archive-date=9 December 2012 |url-status=live}}Gyimah-Boadi, Emmanuel, "The 2008 Freedom House Survey: Another Step Forward for Ghana." Journal of Democracy 20.2 (2009): 138–152 [https://muse.jhu.edu/article/262756/summary excerpt]. {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220818201829/https://muse.jhu.edu/article/262756/summary |date=18 August 2022 }}. Mills died of natural causes and was succeeded by Vice President John Mahama on 24 July 2012.{{cite news|first=Adam|last=Nossiter |title=John Atta Mills, President of Ghana, Dies at 68 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/25/world/africa/john-atta-mills-ghanas-president-dies-68.html |work=The New York Times |date=25 July 2012 |access-date=9 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140709161829/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/25/world/africa/john-atta-mills-ghanas-president-dies-68.html |archive-date=9 July 2014 |url-status=live}} Following the 2012 general election, Mahama became president in his own right,{{cite news |url=http://english.sina.com/world/p/2013/0107/545991.html |title=Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama sworn in |publisher=Sina Corp |date=7 January 2013 |access-date=30 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005011622/http://english.sina.com/world/p/2013/0107/545991.html |archive-date=5 October 2013 |url-status=live}} and Ghana was described as a "stable democracy".{{cite web |title=Ghana – Economy: Keep calm and carry on: A strong and stable democracy has been built over the years |url=https://oxfordbusinessgroup.com/reports/ghana/2012-report/economy/keep-calm-and-carry-on-a-strong-and-stable-democracy-has-been-built-over-the-years |publisher=Oxford Business Group |access-date=23 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230423125221/https://oxfordbusinessgroup.com/reports/ghana/2012-report/economy/keep-calm-and-carry-on-a-strong-and-stable-democracy-has-been-built-over-the-years |archive-date=23 April 2023 |date=2013}}{{cite web |title=BTI 2016: Ghana Country Report |url=https://bti-project.org/fileadmin/api/content/en/downloads/reports/country_report_2016_GHA.pdf |website=BTI Transformation Index |publisher=Bertelsmann Stiftung |access-date=23 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127192937/https://bti-project.org/fileadmin/api/content/en/downloads/reports/country_report_2016_GHA.pdf |archive-date=27 January 2022 |location=Gütersloh |date=2016}} As a result of the 2016 general election,{{cite web |url=https://yen.com.gh/85240-what-world-media-ghanas-2016-elections.html#85240 |title=What the world media is saying about Ghana's 2016 elections – YEN.COM.GH|first=M. |last=Quarshie |date=7 December 2016 |work=yen.com.gh |access-date=7 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161208122522/https://yen.com.gh/85240-what-world-media-ghanas-2016-elections.html#85240 |archive-date=8 December 2016 |url-status=dead}} Nana Akufo-Addo became president on 7 January 2017.{{cite web |title=2016 Presidential Results |url=http://www.thumbsapp.com.gh/ |website=Ghana Electoral Commission |access-date=18 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170519211542/http://www.thumbsapp.com.gh/ |archive-date=19 May 2017 |url-status=dead}} He was re-elected after a tightly contested election in 2020.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-55236356 |title=Ghana election: Nana Akufo-Addo re-elected as president |work=BBC News |date=9 December 2020 |access-date=21 June 2021 |archive-date=9 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201209194653/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-55236356 |url-status=live}}

To combat deforestation, on 11 June 2021 Ghana inaugurated Green Ghana Day, with the aim of planting five million trees in a concentrated effort to preserve the country's rainforest cover.{{cite web |title=Planting of Five Million Tres on 11th June, 2021 the Green Ghana in the Bosomtwe Constituency {{!}} Bosomtwe District Assembly |url=http://www.bosomtwe.gov.gh/article/planting-five-million-trees-11th-june2021-green-ghana-bosomtwe-constituency |website=www.bosomtwe.gov.gh |access-date=16 February 2022 |archive-date=16 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216230232/http://www.bosomtwe.gov.gh/article/planting-five-million-trees-11th-june2021-green-ghana-bosomtwe-constituency |url-status=live}}

{{Main|Geography of Ghana|Geology of Ghana|}}

{{See also|Biodiversity of Ghana}}

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Ghana is located on the Gulf of Guinea, a few degrees north of the Equator. It spans an area of {{convert|238540|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}{{cite web |url=http://www.photius.com/countries/ghana/geography/ghana_geography_physical_setting.html |title=Ghana: Geography Physical |publisher=photius.com |access-date=24 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060123/http://www.photius.com/countries/ghana/geography/ghana_geography_physical_setting.html |archive-date=21 September 2013 |url-status=live}}, {{cite web |url=http://www.photius.com/countries/ghana/geography/ghana_geography_location_and_size.html |title=Ghana: Location and Size |publisher=photius.com |access-date=24 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060248/http://www.photius.com/countries/ghana/geography/ghana_geography_location_and_size.html |archive-date=21 September 2013 |url-status=live}} and has an Atlantic coastline that stretches {{convert|560|km|mi|abbr=off}} on the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to its south. Dodi Island and Bobowasi Island are near the south coast.{{cite web |title=Ghana low plains |url=http://www.photius.com/countries/ghana/geography/ghana_geography_the_low_plains.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060245/http://www.photius.com/countries/ghana/geography/ghana_geography_the_low_plains.html |archive-date=21 September 2013 |access-date=24 June 2013 |publisher=photius.com}} It lies between latitudes 4°45'N and 11°N, and longitudes 1°15'E and 3°15'W. The prime meridian passes through Ghana, specifically through Tema. Ghana is geographically closer to the intersection of the Prime Meridian and the Equator than any other country, since this point, (0°, 0°), is located in the Atlantic Ocean approximately 614km (382mi) off the south-east coast of Ghana.

Grasslands mixed with south coastal shrublands and forests dominate Ghana, with forest extending northward from the coast {{convert|320|km|mi|abbr=off}} and eastward for a maximum of about {{convert|270|km|mi|abbr=off}} with locations for mining of industrial minerals and timber. Ghana is home to five terrestrial ecoregions: Eastern Guinean forests, Guinean forest–savanna mosaic, West Sudanian savanna, Central African mangroves, and Guinean mangroves.{{cite journal |last1=Dinerstein |first1=Eric |last2=Olson |first2=David |last3=Joshi |first3=Anup |last4=Vynne |first4=Carly |last5=Burgess |first5=Neil D. |last6=Wikramanayake |first6=Eric |last7=Hahn |first7=Nathan |last8=Palminteri |first8=Suzanne |last9=Hedao |first9=Prashant|last10=Noss|first10=Reed |last11=Hansen |first11=Matt |last12=Locke |first12=Harvey |last13=Ellis |first13=Erle C |last14=Jones |first14=Benjamin |last15=Barber |first15=Charles Victor |last16=Hayes |first16=Randy |last17=Kormos |first17=Cyril |last18=Martin |first18=Vance |last19=Crist |first19=Eileen|last20=Sechrest|first20=Wes |last21=Price |first21=Lori |last22=Baillie |first22=Jonathan E. M. |last23=Weeden |first23=Don |last24=Suckling |first24=Kierán |last25=Davis |first25=Crystal |last26=Sizer |first26=Nigel |last27=Moore |first27=Rebecca |last28=Thau |first28=David |last29=Birch |first29=Tanya|last30=Potapov|first30=Peter |last31=Turubanova |first31=Svetlana |last32=Tyukavina |first32=Alexandra |last33=de Souza |first33=Nadia |last34=Pintea |first34=Lilian |last35=Brito |first35=José C. |last36=Llewellyn |first36=Othman A. |last37=Miller |first37=Anthony G. |last38=Patzelt |first38=Annette |last39=Ghazanfar |first39=Shahina A.|last40=Timberlake|first40=Jonathan |last41=Klöser |first41=Heinz |last42=Shennan-Farpón |first42=Yara |last43=Kindt |first43=Roeland |last44=Lillesø |first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow |last45=van Breugel |first45=Paulo |last46=Graudal |first46=Lars |last47=Voge |first47=Maianna |last48=Al-Shammari |first48=Khalaf F. |last49=Saleem |first49=Muhammad |title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm |journal=BioScience |volume=67 |issue=6 |year=2017 |pages=534–545 |issn=0006-3568 |doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014 |pmid=28608869 |pmc=5451287 |doi-access=free}}

The White Volta River and its tributary Black Volta, flow south through Ghana to Lake Volta, the world's third-largest reservoir by volume and largest by surface area, formed by the hydroelectric Akosombo Dam,{{cite web |url=https://www.water-technology.net/features/feature-ten-largest-dams-in-the-world-reservoirs/ |title=Top 10 biggest dams |work=Water Technology |date=29 September 2013 |access-date=5 December 2021 |archive-date=30 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221130182444/https://www.water-technology.net/features/feature-ten-largest-dams-in-the-world-reservoirs/ |url-status=live}} completed in 1965.{{Cite web |title=History of Akosombo dam |url=https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/history/akosombo_dam.php |access-date=2024-02-27 |website=www.ghanaweb.com |archive-date=16 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110516134942/http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/history/akosombo_dam.php |url-status=live }} The Volta flows out of Lake Volta into the Gulf of Guinea.{{cite web |url=https://www.ghanamaritime.org/uploads/39536-profile-of-major-rivers-in-ghana.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215083109/http://www.ghanamaritime.org/uploads/39536-profile-of-major-rivers-in-ghana.pdf |archive-date=2017-12-15 |url-status=live |title=Profile of Major Rivers in Ghana |work=Ghana Maritime Authority |access-date=5 December 2021}} The northernmost part of Ghana is Pulmakong and the southernmost part of Ghana is Cape Three Points.{{clear}}

|rowspan="12"|File:Ghana Regions map.png, geographical regions and terrestrial plains colour-coded}}]]

|- style="background:#eee;"

| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Settlements

|-

|border = "1"|Accra

|style="text-align:center;"| Seat of Government and Capital city.

|-

|border = "1"|Bolgatanga

|style="text-align:center;"| Paga Crocodile Pond location.

|-

|border = "1"|Cape Coast

|style="text-align:center;"|Cape Coast Castle is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

|-

|border = "1"|Elmina

|style="text-align:center;"| Coastal town with Elmina Castle.

|-

|border = "1"|Koforidua

|style="text-align:center;"|Aburi Botanical Gardens location.

|-

|border = "1"|Kumasi

|style="text-align:center;"|Traditional centre of the Kingdom of Ashanti.

|-

|border = "1"|Obuasi

|style="text-align:center;"|World's ninth largest gold mine location; and mining town.

|-

|border = "1"|Sekondi-Takoradi

|style="text-align:center;"|Surfing beaches such as Busua Beach,{{cite web |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/13/travel/unusual-surf-spots/ |title=11 of the world's most unusual surf spots |work=edition.cnn.com |publisher=CNN |first=Tamara |last=Hinson |date=28 August 2014 |access-date=28 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411081223/http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/13/travel/unusual-surf-spots/ |archive-date=11 April 2016 |url-status=live}} and UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

|-

|border = "1"|Tamale

|style="text-align:center;"|Largest settlement in the Kingdom of Dagbon and gateway to Mole National Park.

|-

|border = "1"|Yendi

|style="text-align:center;"|Traditional Capital of the Kingdom of Dagbon and seat of Yaa Naa.

|}

{{Main articles|Climate of Ghana|Climate change in Ghana}}

The climate of Ghana is tropical, and there is wet season and dry season.{{cite web |title=UNDP Climate Change Country Profile: Ghana |url=http://ncsp.undp.org/document/undp-climate-change-country-profile-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055503/http://ncsp.undp.org/document/undp-climate-change-country-profile-11 |archive-date=21 September 2013 |access-date=24 June 2013 |work=ncsp.undp.org}} Ghana sits at the intersection of three hydro-climatic zones.{{Cite web |title=Ghana |url=https://www.climatelinks.org/countries/ghana |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407044029/https://www.climatelinks.org/countries/ghana |archive-date=7 April 2022 |access-date=2020-04-22 |website=Climatelinks |language=en}} The eastern coastal belt is warm and comparatively dry, the south-west corner of Ghana is hot and humid, and the north of Ghana is hot and dry.{{cite web |title=Ghana high plains |url=http://www.photius.com/countries/ghana/geography/ghana_geography_the_high_plains.html |access-date=24 June 2013 |work=photius.com}}

Climate change in Ghana is having significant impacts on the people of Ghana. Increasing temperatures and changes in rainfall, extreme weather, drought, wild fires, floods and sea-level rise{{cite web |date=2021-01-11 |title=Ghana's coastline, swallowed by the sea |url=https://en.unesco.org/courier/2021-1/ghanas-coastline-swallowed-sea |access-date=2023-03-16 |work=UNESCO}} are expected to negatively affect the country's infrastructure, hydropower production, food security, water supply, and coastal and agricultural livelihoods such as farming and fisheries.{{cite web |last=Tuebner |first=Robert |date=7 June 2023 |title=Ghana Climate Change Report |url=https://apps.fas.usda.gov/newgainapi/api/Report/DownloadReportByFileName?fileName=Ghana%20Climate%20Change%20Report%20_Accra_Ghana_GH2023-0008.pdf |access-date=25 May 2024 |work=USDA Foreign Agricultural Service}}{{cite web |date=31 January 2017 |title=Climate Risk Profile: Ghana |url=https://www.climatelinks.org/resources/climate-risk-profile-ghana |access-date=30 December 2022 |publisher=USAID |via=climatelinks.org |archive-date=5 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231005140733/https://www.climatelinks.org/resources/climate-risk-profile-ghana |url-status=dead }}{{Cite web |title=World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal |url=https://climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org/ |access-date=2024-07-12 |website=climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org |language=en}} Ghana's economy will be impacted by climate change, due to its dependence on climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture, energy, and forestry. Diseases like malaria, dengue fever and cholera are predicted to increase due to changes in water conditions.{{Cite journal |last1=Awuni |first1=Stephen |last2=Adarkwah |first2=Francis |last3=Ofori |first3=Benjamin D. |last4=Purwestri |first4=Ratna Chrismiari |last5=Bernal |first5=Diana Carolina Huertas |last6=Hajek |first6=Miroslav |date=2023-05-01 |title=Managing the challenges of climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies in Ghana |journal=Heliyon |language=English |volume=9 |issue=5 |pages=e15491 |doi=10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15491 |doi-access=free |issn=2405-8440 |pmc=10149250 |pmid=37131451|bibcode=2023Heliy...915491A }} Ghana signed the Paris Agreement in 2016. Ghana aims to avoid 64 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, compared to a business-as-usual scenario for 2020-2030. The country has committed to net zero by 2060.{{Cite web |last=Climate Watch |title=Ghana |url=https://www.climatewatchdata.org/countries/GHA?end_year=2021&start_year=1990 |access-date=2025-03-10 |website=www.climatewatchdata.org}}

{{main|Government of Ghana|Politics of Ghana}}

{{See also|Regions of Ghana}}

File:Ghana Parliament House – Ghana Supreme Court – Osu Castle.JPG, the Supreme Court of Ghana and Judiciary of Ghana buildings and Jubilee House is the presidential palace.]]

File:Presidents of Ghana and of the 4th Republic of Ghana.JPG and the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th presidents of the 4th Republic of Ghana Rawlings; Kufuor; Mills and Mahama.]]

Ghana is a unitary presidential constitutional democracy with a parliamentary multi-party system that is dominated by two parties—the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP). Ghana alternated between civilian and military governments until January 1993, when the military government gave way to the Fourth Republic of Ghana after presidential and parliamentary elections in late 1992. The 1992 constitution of Ghana divides powers among 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 independent judiciary (Judiciary of Ghana). The government is elected by universal suffrage after every four years."Government and Politics". [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/ghtoc.html A Country Study: Ghana] {{webarchive |url=https://archive.today/20120713070609/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/ghtoc.html |date=13 July 2012}} (La Verle Berry, editor). Library of Congress Federal Research Division (November 1994). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/about.html Lcweb2.loc.gov] {{Webarchive |url=https://archive.today/20120710004153/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/about.html |date=10 July 2012}}

Nana Akufo-Addo won the presidency in the general election in 2016, defeating incumbent John Mahama. He also won the 2020 election after the presidential election results were challenged at the Supreme Court by flagbearer of the NDC, John Mahama. Presidents are limited to two four-year terms in office.

The 2012 Fragile States Index indicated that Ghana is ranked the 67th-least fragile state in the world and the fifth-least fragile state in Africa. Ghana ranked 112th out of 177 countries on the index.{{cite web |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/failed_states_index_2012_interactive |title=Foreignpolicy.com – Failed States List 2012 |work=Foreign Policy |year=2012 |access-date=1 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130528161748/http://www.foreignpolicy.com/failed_states_index_2012_interactive |archive-date=28 May 2013 |url-status=live}} Ghana ranked as the 64th-least corrupt and politically corrupt country in the world out of all 174 countries ranked and ranked as the fifth-least corrupt and politically corrupt country in Africa out of 53 countries in the 2012 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index.{{cite web |url=http://www.transparency.org/cpi2012/results |title=Corruption Perceptions Index 2012 |publisher=Transparency International Corruption Perception Index |year=2012 |access-date=1 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130528032608/http://www.transparency.org/cpi2012/results |archive-date=28 May 2013 |url-status=dead}}{{cite web |url=http://www.cddghana.org/documents/Curbing%20Corruption%20and%20Improving%20Economic%20Governance.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080510115831/http://www.cddghana.org/documents/Curbing%20Corruption%20and%20Improving%20Economic%20Governance.pdf |archive-date=10 May 2008 |title=Curbing Corruption and Improving Economic Governance: The Case of Ghana |publisher=Ghana Center for Democratic Development |access-date=1 June 2013 |page=5 |author=Agyeman-Duah, Baffour}} Ghana was ranked seventh in Africa out of 53 countries in the 2012 Ibrahim Index of African Governance. The Ibrahim Index is a comprehensive measure of African government, based on variables which reflect the success with which governments deliver essential political goods to its citizens.{{cite web |url=http://www.moibrahimfoundation.org/interact/ |title=Mo Ibrahim Foundation – 2012 Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) |publisher=Moibrahimfoundation.org |year=2012 |access-date=1 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130530015728/http://www.moibrahimfoundation.org/interact/ |archive-date=30 May 2013}} According to 2023 V-Dem Democracy indices Ghana is ranked 67th electoral democracy worldwide and 10th electoral democracy in Africa.{{cite web |last=V-Dem Institute |date=2023 |title=The V-Dem Dataset |url=https://www.v-dem.net/data/the-v-dem-dataset/ |access-date=14 October 2023 |archive-date=8 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208183458/https://www.v-dem.net/data/the-v-dem-dataset/ |url-status=live }}

{{main|Foreign relations of Ghana}}

File:Kofi Annan at OYW.jpg, Ghanaian diplomat and United Nations Secretary-General 1997–2006]]

Since independence, Ghana has been devoted to ideals of nonalignment and is a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement. Ghana favours international and regional political and economic co-operation, and is an active member of the United Nations and the African Union.{{cite web |url=http://www.un.int/ghana/ |title=Official page of Nations Permanent Mission of Ghana to the United Nations |access-date=20 May 2012 |date=20 September 2011 |publisher=United Nations |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120501042954/http://www.un.int/ghana/ |archive-date=1 May 2012 |url-status=live}}

Ghana has a strong relationship with the United States. Three recent U.S. presidents—Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama—and a Vice President—Kamala Harris—have made diplomatic trips to Ghana.{{Cite web |date=2023-03-26 |title=US Vice President Kamala Harris' full speech upon arrival in Ghana - MyJoyOnline.com |url=https://www.myjoyonline.com/us-vice-president-kamala-harris-full-speech-upon-arrival-in-ghana/|first=Kenneth Awotwe |last=Darko |access-date=2023-03-29 |website=www.myjoyonline.com |language=en-US |archive-date=29 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329174643/https://www.myjoyonline.com/us-vice-president-kamala-harris-full-speech-upon-arrival-in-ghana/ |url-status=live}} Many Ghanaian diplomats and politicians hold positions in international organisations, including Ghanaian diplomat and former Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan, International Criminal Court Judge Akua Kuenyehia, as well as former President Jerry John Rawlings and former President John Agyekum Kufuor, who both served as diplomats of the United Nations. The most notable among diplomats from Ghana is the Late Kofi Annan, who served as the 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations.

In September 2010, President John Atta Mills visited China on an official visit. Mills and China's former President Hu Jintao marked the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two nations, at the Great Hall of the People.{{cite web |url=http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/wjb/zzjg/fzs/gjlb/2999/3001/t755583.htm |title=Hu Jintao Holds Talks with President of Ghana Mills |access-date=4 January 2012 |date=20 September 2010 |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120627115536/http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/wjb/zzjg/fzs/gjlb/2999/3001/t755583.htm |archive-date=27 June 2012 |url-status=live}} China reciprocated with an official visit in November 2011, by the vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China, Zhou Tienong who visited Ghana and met with Ghana's president John Mahama.{{cite news |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-11/12/c_122269189.htm |title=Visiting senior Chinese official lauds Ghana for political stability, national unity |agency=Xinhua News Agency |date=12 November 2011 |access-date=13 November 2011 |author=Deng, Shasha |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130909155705/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-11/12/c_122269189.htm |archive-date=9 September 2013}} China recently became one of the top investing countries of Ghana, which predominantly focus on infrastructure, natural resources, and the manufacturing sector, have promoted economic growth, job creation, and technology transfer in Ghana. However, concerns regarding the sustainability of Chinese-financed projects, environmental impacts, and the lack of transparency in their investments call for a careful assessment of these collaborations.{{Cite journal |last1=Assamah |first1=Daniel |last2=Yuan |first2=Shaoyu |date=2024-04-05 |title=Greenfield investment and job creation in Ghana: a sectorial analysis and geopolitical implications of Chinese investments |journal=Humanities and Social Sciences Communications |language=en |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=1–11 |doi=10.1057/s41599-024-02789-w |issn=2662-9992|doi-access=free }} Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met with Mahama in 2013 to hold discussions on strengthening the Non-Aligned Movement and also co–chair a bilateral meeting between Ghana and Iran at the Ghanaian presidential palace Flagstaff House.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22733605 |title=Ahmadinejad: Iran's populist and pariah leaves the stage |access-date=10 May 2014 |date=4 June 2013 |publisher=BBCNews |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140414120427/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22733605 |archive-date=14 April 2014 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22193136 |title=Iranian leader Ahmadinejad's West Africa tour defended |access-date=10 May 2014 |date=17 April 2013 |work=BBC News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140922183829/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22193136 |archive-date=22 September 2014 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=http://ghananewsagency.org/politics/cpp-welcomes-president-ahmadinejad-visit-to-ghana--59069 |title=CPP welcomes President Ahmadinejad visit to Ghana |access-date=10 May 2014 |date=18 April 2013 |agency=Ghana News Agency |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512215634/http://ghananewsagency.org/politics/cpp-welcomes-president-ahmadinejad-visit-to-ghana--59069 |archive-date=12 May 2014 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://www.iafrica.tv/ghana-welcomed-irans-president-mahmoud-ahmadinejad/ |title=Ghana welcomed Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad|first=Eddy|last=Adkins |access-date=10 May 2014 |date=17 April 2013 |publisher=iafrica.tv |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512213620/https://www.iafrica.tv/ghana-welcomed-irans-president-mahmoud-ahmadinejad/ |archive-date=12 May 2014}}{{cite web |url=http://www.ghana.gov.gh/index.php/information/press-release/637-president-mahmoud-ahmadinejad-to-visit-ghana |title=President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad To Visit Ghana |access-date=10 May 2014 |year=2013 |publisher=Government of Ghana |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130929200634/http://ghana.gov.gh/index.php/information/press-release/637-president-mahmoud-ahmadinejad-to-visit-ghana |archive-date=29 September 2013 |url-status=live}}

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) were integrated into Ghana's development agenda and the budget. According to reports, the SDGs were implemented through a decentralized planning approach. This allows for stakeholders' participation, such as in UN agencies, traditional leaders, civil society organizations, academia, and others.{{cite web |title=Ghana .:. Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform |url=https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/memberstates/ghana |access-date=2020-09-21 |website=sustainabledevelopment.un.org |archive-date=17 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517021851/https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/memberstates/ghana |url-status=live}} The 17 SDGs are a global call to action to end poverty among others, and the UN and its partners in the country are working towards achieving them.{{cite web |title=Sustainable Development Goals {{!}} United Nations in Ghana |url=https://ghana.un.org/en/sdgs |access-date=2020-09-21 |website=ghana.un.org |archive-date=18 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918144931/https://ghana.un.org/en/sdgs |url-status=live}} According to the President Nana Akufo-Addo, Ghana was "the first Sub-Saharan African country to achieve the goal of halving poverty, as contained in Goal 1 of the Millennium Development Goals".{{Cite news |title=SDGs implementation: Ghana will be a shinning example' – Akufo-Addo |language=en-GB |work=Graphic Online |url=https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/politics/sdgs-implementation-ghana-will-be-a-shinning-example-akufo-addo.html |access-date=2020-09-22 |archive-date=30 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220430020854/https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/politics/sdgs-implementation-ghana-will-be-a-shinning-example-akufo-addo.html |url-status=live}}

{{main|Ghana Armed Forces}}

In 1957, the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) consisted of its headquarters, support services, three battalions of infantry and a reconnaissance squadron with armoured vehicles.Kilford, Christopher R. (2010), [http://qspace.library.queensu.ca/bitstream/1974/1876/1/Kilford_Chris_R_200905_PhD.pdf The Other Cold War: Canada's Military Assistance to the Developing World 1945–75] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020150101/http://qspace.library.queensu.ca/bitstream/1974/1876/1/Kilford_Chris_R_200905_PhD.pdf |date=20 October 2013}}, Kingston, Ontario: Canadian Defence Academy Press, p. 138, {{ISBN|1-100-14338-6}}. President Nkrumah 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 was established, from a parachute airborne unit originally raised in 1963.Baynham, Simon (1988), The Military and Politics in Nkumrah's Ghana, Westview, Chapter 4, {{ISBN|0-8133-7063-9}}. Today, Ghana is a regional power and regional hegemon.{{cite book |last=Kacowicz |first=Arie M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=itXKj0EY9zwC&pg=PA144 |title=Zones of Peace in the Third World: South America and West Africa |publisher=SUNY Press |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-7914-3957-9 |page=144 |access-date=19 March 2023 |archive-date=4 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404105201/https://books.google.com/books?id=itXKj0EY9zwC&pg=PA144 |url-status=live}} In his book Shake Hands with the Devil, Canadian Forces commander Roméo Dallaire highly rated the GAF soldiers and military personnel.

The military operations and military doctrine of the GAF are conceptualised in the constitution, Ghana's Law on Armed Force Military Strategy, and Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre agreements to which GAF is attestator.{{cite news |url=http://www.mofep.gov.gh/?q=divisions/pbb/defence |title=Defence |work=Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning |access-date=10 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426201752/http://www.mofep.gov.gh/?q=divisions%2Fpbb%2Fdefence |archive-date=26 April 2014 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://www.kaiptc.org/Publications/Occasional-Papers/Documents/no_20.aspx |title=Ghana's Regional Security Policy: Costs, Benefits and Consistency |page=33 |format=PDF |access-date=10 May 2014 |publisher=Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140508150900/http://www.kaiptc.org/Publications/Occasional-Papers/Documents/no_20.aspx |archive-date=8 May 2014}}{{cite news |url=http://www.kaiptc.org/about-us/History.aspx |title=KAIPTC |work=Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre |access-date=10 May 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512214613/http://www.kaiptc.org/about-us/History.aspx |archive-date=12 May 2014}} GAF military operations are executed under the auspices and imperium of the Ministry of Defence.{{cite web |url=http://www.gaf.mil.gh/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=67&Itemid=101 |title=Vision and Mission of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) |access-date=10 May 2014 |work=gaf.mil.gh |publisher=Ghana Armed Forces |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721032203/http://www.gaf.mil.gh/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=67&Itemid=101 |archive-date=21 July 2011}} Although Ghana is relatively peaceful and is often considered being one of the least violent countries in the region, Ghana has experienced political violence in the past and 2017 has thus far seen an upward trend in incidents motivated by political grievances.{{cite web |url=http://www.acleddata.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/ACLED_Conflict-Trends-Report_No.58-May-2017_pdf.pdf |title=Real-time Analysis of African Political Violence |date=May 2017 |publisher=Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project |access-date=13 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613204214/http://www.acleddata.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/ACLED_Conflict-Trends-Report_No.58-May-2017_pdf.pdf |archive-date=13 June 2018 |url-status=live}}

{{further|Law enforcement in Ghana|Crime in Ghana}}

File:Ghana Police Service Motorbikes.jpg Unit of the Ghana Police Service]]

The Ghana Police Service and the Criminal Investigation Department are the main law enforcement agencies, responsible for the detection of crime, maintenance of law and order and the maintenance of internal peace and security.{{cite web |title=The Ghana Police Service |url=http://www.mint.gov.gh/police.htm |publisher=mint.gov.gh |access-date=1 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512222320/http://www.mint.gov.gh/police.htm |archive-date=12 May 2014}} The Ghana Police Service has eleven specialised police units, including a Militarized police Rapid deployment force and Marine Police Unit.{{cite web |title=Ghana Police Service sets up Marine Police Unit |url=http://www.modernghana.com/news/323575/1/ghana-police-service-sets-up-marine-police-unit.html |publisher=modernghana.com |access-date=1 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102193158/http://www.modernghana.com/news/323575/1/ghana-police-service-sets-up-marine-police-unit.html |archive-date=2 January 2014 |url-status=live}} The Ghana Police Service operates in 12 divisions: ten covering the regions of Ghana, one assigned specifically to the seaport and industrial hub of Tema, and the twelfth being the Railways, Ports and Harbours Division.{{cite web |title=Police Administration |url=http://www.ghanapolice.info/regional.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130218115805/http://www.ghanapolice.info/regional.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 February 2013 |publisher=ghanapolice.info |access-date=19 June 2013}} The Ghana Police Service's Marine Police Unit and Division handles issues that arise from the country's offshore oil and gas industry.

The Ghana Prisons Service and the sub-division Borstal Institute for Juveniles administers incarceration.{{cite web |title=Ghana Prisons Service General Information |url=http://www.ghanaprisons.gov.gh/page-content?page=43393a37-a28e-4f1c-8540-e8eaf28825e8&menu=29899081-5de7-4bd0-8656-6473ac6f2c3e |publisher=ghanaprisons.gov.gh |access-date=31 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131024072237/http://www.ghanaprisons.gov.gh/page-content?page=43393a37-a28e-4f1c-8540-e8eaf28825e8&menu=29899081-5de7-4bd0-8656-6473ac6f2c3e |archive-date=24 October 2013}} Ghana retains and exercises the death penalty for treason, corruption, robbery, piracy, drug trafficking, rape, and homicide.{{cite web |title=Ghana – Death Penalty |url=http://www.handsoffcain.info/bancadati/schedastato.php?idstato=17000446&idcontinente=25 |publisher=handsoffcain.info |access-date=31 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020214250/http://www.handsoffcain.info/bancadati/schedastato.php?idstato=17000446&idcontinente=25 |archive-date=20 October 2013 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=Ghana Criminal Code and Courts |url=http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-5351.html |publisher=country-data.com |access-date=31 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515034443/http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-5351.html |archive-date=15 May 2013 |url-status=live}} The new sustainable development goals adopted by the United Nations call for the international community to come together to promote the rule of law; support equal access to justice for all; reduce corruption; and develop effective, accountable, and transparent institutions at all levels.{{cite web |last1=Perriello |title=Promoting Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions in the Great Lakes |url=https://blogs.state.gov/stories/2015/10/01/promoting-peace-justice-and-strong-institutions-great-lakes |website=DIPNote |publisher=US Department of state |access-date=20 May 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160520085847/https://blogs.state.gov/stories/2015/10/01/promoting-peace-justice-and-strong-institutions-great-lakes |archive-date=20 May 2016}}File:Drugtrade.pngs and drug traffickers (shown in orange).]]

Ghana is used as a key narcotics industry transshipment point by traffickers, usually from South America as well as some from other African nations. In 2013, the UN chief of the Office on Drugs and Crime stated that "West Africa is completely weak in terms of border control and the big drug cartels from Colombia and Latin America have chosen Africa as a way to reach Europe."{{cite web |last1=Gerra |title=Illegal drug use on the rise in Africa |url=http://www.dw.com/en/illegal-drug-use-on-the-rise-in-africa/a-16614023 |website=DW Made for minds |publisher=Deutsche Welle |access-date=20 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314035220/http://www.dw.com/en/illegal-drug-use-on-the-rise-in-africa/a-16614023 |archive-date=14 March 2016 |url-status=live}} There is not a wide or popular knowledge about the narcotics industry and intercepted narcotics within Ghana, since it is an underground economy. The social context within which narcotic trafficking, storage, transportation, and repacking systems exist in Ghana and the state's location along the Gulf of Guinea makes Ghana an attractive country for the narcotics business.{{cite web |url=http://www.gulfnews.com/news/world/other-world/ghana-hit-by-illegal-drug-trade-1.1236396 |title=Ghana hit by illegal drug trade |work=Gulf News |date=28 September 2013 |access-date=4 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212171614/http://gulfnews.com/news/world/other-world/ghana-hit-by-illegal-drug-trade-1.1236396 |archive-date=12 December 2013 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2013/November-20th/ghana-could-be-taken-over-by-drug-barons-ifkwesi-aning.php |title=Ghana could be taken over by drug barons if |publisher=myjoyonline.com |date=20 November 2013 |access-date=4 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131210062520/http://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2013/November-20th/ghana-could-be-taken-over-by-drug-barons-ifkwesi-aning.php |archive-date=10 December 2013 |url-status=live}} The Narcotics Control Board has impounded container ships at the Sekondi Naval Base in the Takoradi Harbour. These ships were carrying thousands of kilograms of cocaine, with a street value running into billions of Ghana cedis. However, drug seizures saw a decline in 2011. Drug cartels are using new methods in narcotics production and narcotics exportation, to avoid Ghanaian security agencies. Underdeveloped institutions, porous open borders, and the existence of established smuggling organisations contribute to Ghana's position in the narcotics industry. President Mills initiated ongoing efforts to reduce the role of airports in Ghana's drug trade.

{{see also|Human rights in Ghana|LGBT rights in Ghana}}

Homosexual acts are prohibited by law in Ghana.{{cite news |date=16 June 2016 |title=Here are the 10 countries where homosexuality may be punished by death |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/06/13/here-are-the-10-countries-where-homosexuality-may-be-punished-by-death-2/ |url-status=live |access-date=19 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161111064457/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/06/13/here-are-the-10-countries-where-homosexuality-may-be-punished-by-death-2/ |archive-date=11 November 2016}} According to a 2013 survey by the Pew Research Center, 96% of Ghanaians believe that homosexuality should not be accepted by society.[http://www.pewglobal.org/2013/06/04/the-global-divide-on-homosexuality/ "The Global Divide on Homosexuality."] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103034522/http://www.pewglobal.org/2013/06/04/the-global-divide-on-homosexuality/|date=3 November 2013}} Pew Research Center. 4 June 2013. Sometimes elderly women in Ghana are accused of witchcraft, particularly in rural Ghana. Issues of witchcraft mainly remain as speculations based on superstitions within families. In some parts of northern Ghana, there exist what are called witch camps. These are said to house a total of around 1,000 people accused of witchcraft.{{cite web |date=1 September 2012 |title=Ghana witch camps: Widows' lives in exile |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19437130 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181020122329/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19437130 |archive-date=20 October 2018 |access-date=21 July 2018 |publisher=BBC News |df=dmy-all}} The Ghanaian government has announced that it intends to close the camps.

{{main|Economy of Ghana}}

{{see also|Agriculture in Ghana|Manufacturing in Ghana#Automobile manufacturing|l3=Automobile manufacturing in Ghana}}

File:GDP per capita development development of Ghana.svg

File:Ghana Product Exports (2019).svg

File:Ghana Export Trends.jpg, gold, and cocoa; exports in percentage{{clarification needed|date=April 2025}}]]

Ghana possesses industrial minerals, hydrocarbons and precious metals. It is an emerging designated digital economy with mixed economy hybridisation and an emerging market. It has an economic plan target known as the "Ghana Vision 2020". This plan envisions Ghana as the first African country to become a developed country between 2020 and 2029 and a newly industrialised country between 2030 and 2039.{{cite web |title=Ghana |url=https://www.vizocom.com/internet/ghana/ |website=Vizocom – Satellite Internet and VSAT Solutions |access-date=29 May 2020 |archive-date=8 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608091316/https://www.vizocom.com/internet/ghana/ |url-status=live}} This excludes fellow Group of 24 member and Sub-Saharan African country South Africa, which is a newly industrialised country.{{cite web |url=http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/mobile/?articleID=2000065384&story_title= |title=Is Ghana the next African economic tiger? |publisher=standardmedia.co.ke |date=4 September 2012 |access-date=5 September 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403174443/http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/mobile/?articleID=2000065384&story_title= |archive-date=3 April 2015}}

Ghana's economy has ties to the Chinese yuan renminbi along with Ghana's vast gold reserves. In 2013, the Bank of Ghana began circulating the renminbi throughout Ghanaian state-owned banks and to the Ghana public as hard currency along with the national Ghanaian cedi for second national trade currency.{{cite web |url=http://www.radioxyzonline.com/edition/pages/business/09172013-1152/14785.stm |title=BoG introduce Chinese Yuan onto the FX market |publisher=Bank of Ghana |year=2013 |access-date=22 September 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130926191724/http://www.radioxyzonline.com/edition/pages/business/09172013-1152/14785.stm |archive-date=26 September 2013}}

Between 2012 and 2013, 38% of rural dwellers were experiencing poverty whereas only 11% of urban dwellers were.{{cite web |url=https://www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/2014/08/15/ghanas-request-for-imf-assistance/ |title=Ghana's Request for IMF Assistance |first=Temesgen Deressa and Amadou |last=Sy |date=30 November 2001 |access-date=13 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613160601/https://www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/2014/08/15/ghanas-request-for-imf-assistance/ |archive-date=13 June 2018 |url-status=live}} Urban areas hold greater opportunity for employment, particularly in informal trade, while nearly all (94 percent) of "rural poor households" participate in the agricultural sector.{{cite conference |url=http://www.oecd.org/agriculture/agricultural-policies/46341169.pdf |title=Economic Importance of Agriculture for Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction: Findings from a Case Study of Ghana |first=Xinshen |last=Diao |conference=Global Forum on Agriculture 29–30 November 2010 – Policies for Agricultural Development, Poverty Reduction and Food Security |location=Paris |access-date=13 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618215948/http://www.oecd.org/agriculture/agricultural-policies/46341169.pdf |archive-date=18 June 2018 |url-status=live}}

The Volta River Authority and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, both state-owned, are the two major electricity producers.{{cite web |title=Ghana – Gross Domestic Product |url=http://www.statsghana.gov.gh/docfiles/GDP/revised_gdp_2011_april-2012.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417045744/http://www.statsghana.gov.gh/docfiles/GDP/revised_gdp_2011_april-2012.pdf |archive-date=17 April 2012 |access-date=13 June 2012 |publisher=statsghana.gov.gh}} The Akosombo Dam, built on the Volta River in 1965, along with the Bui Dam, the Kpong Dam and several other hydroelectric dams, provide hydropower.{{cite web |url=http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/publications/rr171.pdf |title=A new era of transformation in Ghana |publisher=ifpri.org |access-date=16 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120409195949/http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/publications/rr171.pdf |archive-date=9 April 2012}}{{rp|12}}{{cite web |url=http://www.worldfolio.co.uk/region/africa/ghana/president-john-atta-mills-n145 |title=New fuel for faster development |publisher=worldfolio.co.uk |access-date=31 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624100025/http://www.worldfolio.co.uk/region/africa/ghana/president-john-atta-mills-n145 |archive-date=24 June 2013 |url-status=dead}} In addition, the government sought to build the second nuclear power plant in Africa.

The Ghana Stock Exchange is the fifth largest on continental Africa and 3rd largest in Sub-Saharan Africa with a market capitalisation of GH¢ 57.2 billion or CN¥180.4 billion in 2012 with the South Africa JSE Limited as first.{{cite web |url=http://www.icbuk.com/images/uploads/ICBUKGhanaReportSeptember2011.pdf |title=Ghana Market Update |publisher=Intercontinental Bank |access-date=26 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120704014602/http://www.icbuk.com/images/uploads/ICBUKGhanaReportSeptember2011.pdf |archive-date=4 July 2012}}{{rp|13}} The Ghana Stock Exchange was the second best performing stock exchange in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2013.{{cite web |url=http://www.africastrictlybusiness.com/lists/top-performing-african-stock-markets-2013 |title=Top-Performing African Stock Markets in 2013 |publisher=africastrictlybusiness.com |year=2013 |access-date=20 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140321014630/http://www.africastrictlybusiness.com/lists/top-performing-african-stock-markets-2013 |archive-date=21 March 2014 |url-status=dead}}

Ghana produces high-quality cocoa.{{cite web |url=http://africanbusinessmagazine.com/special-reports/country-reports/ghana-celebrates/is-ghana-entering-a-sweet-golden-era |title=Is Ghana Entering A Sweet, Golden Era? |work=African Business |date=September 2011 |access-date=10 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140718204528/http://africanbusinessmagazine.com/special-reports/country-reports/ghana-celebrates/is-ghana-entering-a-sweet-golden-era |archive-date=18 July 2014 |url-status=live}} It is the second largest producer of cocoa globally and its ICCO membership helps in its international cocoa trade.{{Cite web |title=Cocoa facts and figures – Kakaoplattform |url=https://www.kakaoplattform.ch/about-cocoa/cocoa-facts-and-figures#:~:text=In%20the%202018/2019%20cocoa,biggest%20cocoa%20producer%20in%20Asia. |access-date=2022-08-20 |website=www.kakaoplattform.ch |archive-date=17 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220617043810/https://www.kakaoplattform.ch/about-cocoa/cocoa-facts-and-figures#:~:text=In%20the%202018/2019%20cocoa,biggest%20cocoa%20producer%20in%20Asia. |url-status=live}} Ghana is classified as a middle-income country.{{cite book |url=http://www.icbuk.com/images/uploads/ICBUKGhanaReportSeptember2011.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120704014602/http://www.icbuk.com/images/uploads/ICBUKGhanaReportSeptember2011.pdf |archive-date=4 July 2012 |title=Ghana Market Update |author=Forrest, Paul |publisher=Intercontinental Bank |date=September 2011 |access-date=26 March 2012 |page=13}} Services account for 50% of GDP, followed by manufacturing (24.1%), extractive industries (5%), and taxes (20.9%).

Ghana's economy is characterized by a growing manufacturing sector and the export of digital technology products. The country is also engaged in the assembly and export of automobiles and ships. Additionally, Ghana's economy benefits from a diverse range of resource-rich exports, including industrial minerals and agricultural products, with cocoa being a primary commodity. The nation is also a significant producer and exporter of petroleum and natural gas.{{cite news |title=Ghana's Jubilee oil field nears output plateau -operator |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL6N0DA59S20130423?irpc=932 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125201001/https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL6N0DA59S20130423?irpc=932 |archive-date=25 January 2021 |access-date=31 May 2013 |work=Reuters}}

The information and communications technology (ICT) sector plays a crucial role in Ghana's industrial landscape, with companies such as Rlg Communications, a state-affiliated digital technology corporation, leading in the production of tablet computers, smartphones, and various consumer electronics.{{cite web |date=26 March 2012 |title=The Top 5 Countries for ICT4D in Africa |url=http://www.ictworks.org/2012/03/26/top-5-countries-ict4d-africa-are-kenya-ghana-nigeria-tanzania-and/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130614035416/http://www.ictworks.org/2012/03/26/top-5-countries-ict4d-africa-are-kenya-ghana-nigeria-tanzania-and/ |archive-date=14 June 2013 |access-date=3 May 2013 |work=ICT Works |publisher=ictworks.org}}

Urban electric cars have been manufactured in Ghana since 2014.{{cite news |title=Ghana's model vehicle unveiled by Suame Magazine artisans |author=Kofi Adu Domfeh |url=http://www.modernghana.com/news/458333/1/ghanas-model-vehicle-unveiled-by-suame-magazine-ar.html |publisher=Modernghana.com |date=13 April 2013 |access-date=25 September 2013 |archive-date=27 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927144319/http://www.modernghana.com/news/458333/1/ghanas-model-vehicle-unveiled-by-suame-magazine-ar.html |url-status=live}}{{cite news |title=Ghana's model car attracts Dutch government support |url=http://business.myjoyonline.com/pages/news/201307/109474.php |publisher=Myjoyonline.gh |date=15 July 2013 |access-date=25 September 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130923084526/http://business.myjoyonline.com/pages/news/201307/109474.php |archive-date=23 September 2013 |df=dmy-all}}

Ghana announced plans to issue government debt by way of social and green bonds in autumn of 2021, making it the first African country to do so.{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-25/ghana-to-sell-sustainable-bonds-for-up-to-1-billion-by-july-kp3rq0p1 |access-date=5 July 2021 |newspaper=Bloomberg.com|first= Moses Mozart |last=Dzawu |title=Ghana to Sell Sustainable Bonds for up to $1 Billion by July |date=25 May 2021 |archive-date=18 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718005927/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-25/ghana-to-sell-sustainable-bonds-for-up-to-1-billion-by-july-kp3rq0p1 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-05/ghana-mulls-africa-s-first-social-bonds-with-2-billion-sale |access-date=5 July 2021 |newspaper=Bloomberg.com |title=Ghana Mulls Africa's First Social Bonds with $2 Billion Sale|first=Ekow |last=Dontoh |date=5 July 2021 |archive-date=6 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210706081855/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-05/ghana-mulls-africa-s-first-social-bonds-with-2-billion-sale |url-status=live}} The country, which was planning to borrow up to $5 billion in international markets,{{when|date=October 2023}} would use the proceeds from these sustainable bonds to refinance debt used for social and environmental projects and pay for educational or health. Only a few other nations have sold them so far, including Chile and Ecuador. The country will use the proceeds to forge ahead with a free secondary-school initiative started in 2017 among other programs, despite having recorded its lowest economic growth rate in 37 years in 2020.{{cite web|first=Ekow |last=Dontoh |title=Ghana plans to issue Africa's first social bonds with $2B sale |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/7/5/ghana-plans-to-issue-africas-first-social-bonds-with-2b-sale|date=2 July 2021 |access-date=2021-07-06 |website=www.aljazeera.com |archive-date=6 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210706055819/https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/7/5/ghana-plans-to-issue-africas-first-social-bonds-with-2b-sale |url-status=live}}

File:Jubilee Oil Field of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and National Petroleum Authority.png of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation and National Petroleum Authority, located off the coast of the Western Region]]

Ghana produces and exports hydrocarbons such as sweet crude oil and natural gas.{{cite web |url=http://www.individual.troweprice.com/public/Retail/Planning-&-Research/Connections/Africa/Global-Economy-African-Countries-Growth |title=Five Countries to Watch |work=individual.troweprice.com |access-date=27 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130412023853/http://individual.troweprice.com/public/Retail/Planning-%26-Research/Connections/Africa/Global-Economy-African-Countries-Growth |archive-date=12 April 2013}}{{cite web |url=http://www.aluworks.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=63&Itemid=60&734e1554a786d82e908c7c85044123c2=746b376516a36724613692ecab763f6f |title=Africa |publisher=Aluworks.com |access-date=26 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903210059/http://www.aluworks.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=63&Itemid=60&734e1554a786d82e908c7c85044123c2=746b376516a36724613692ecab763f6f |archive-date=3 September 2011}} The 100%-state-owned filling station company, Ghana Oil Company, is the number one petroleum and gas filling station, and the 100%-state-owned state oil company Ghana National Petroleum Corporation oversees hydrocarbon exploration and production of petroleum and natural gas reserves. Ghana aims to further increase the output of oil to {{convert|2.2|e6oilbbl}} per day and gas to {{convert|1.2|e9cuft|m3|order=flip}} per day.Clark, Nancy L. "Petroleum Exploration". [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/ghtoc.html A Country Study: Ghana]. {{webarchive |url=https://archive.today/20120713070609/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/ghtoc.html |date=13 July 2012}} (La Verle Berry, editor). Library of Congress Federal Research Division (November 1994). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/about.html Lcweb2.loc.gov] {{webarchive |url=https://archive.today/20120710004153/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/about.html |date=10 July 2012}} The Jubilee Oil Field, which contains up to {{convert|3|Goilbbl|m3}} of sweet crude oil, was discovered in 2007.{{cite news |url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071222/ap_on_re_af/ghana_oil_discovery_3 |title=Ghana leader: Oil reserves at 3B barrels |work=Yahoo News |date=22 December 2007 |access-date=21 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071226200944/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071222/ap_on_re_af/ghana_oil_discovery_3 |archive-date=26 December 2007}} Ghana is believed to have up to {{convert|5|Goilbbl|m3}} to {{convert|7|Goilbbl|m3}} of petroleum in reserves,McLure, Jason. [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-01/ghana-oil-reserves-to-be-5-billion-barrels-in-5-years-as-fields-develop.html "Ghana Oil Reserves to Be {{convert|5|Goilbbl|m3}} in 5 years as fields develop"]. Bloomberg Television, 1 December 2010. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029191618/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-01/ghana-oil-reserves-to-be-5-billion-barrels-in-5-years-as-fields-develop.html |date=29 October 2013}}. which is the fifth-largest in Africa and the 21st-to-25th-largest proven reserves in the world. It also has up to {{convert|6|e12cuft|m3|order=flip}} of natural gas in reserves.{{cite web |url=https://graphic.com.gh/archive/Business-News/atuabo-gas-project-to-propel-more-growth.html |title=Atuabo gas project to propel more growth |first=Moses Dotsey |last=Aklorbortu |work=Daily Graphic |date=13 May 2013 |access-date=27 October 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140503021413/http://graphic.com.gh/archive/Business-News/atuabo-gas-project-to-propel-more-growth.html |archive-date=3 May 2014 |url-status=dead}} The government has drawn up plans to nationalise petroleum and natural gas reserves to increase government revenue.{{cite web |url=https://allafrica.com/stories/201304291808.html/?maneref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fm%3Fq%3DGhana%2520privatise%2520mining%26client%3Dms-opera-mobile%26channel%3Dnew |title=Ghana: Why Privatise Ghana Oil? |publisher=allafrica.com |access-date=22 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130929015429/http://allafrica.com/stories/201304291808.html/?maneref=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.google.com%252Fm%253Fq%253DGhana%252520privatise%252520mining%2526client%253Dms-opera-mobile%2526channel%253Dnew |archive-date=29 September 2013 |url-status=live}}

In 2015, Ghana produced 88 metric tonnes of gold as per the our world in data report.{{Cite web |title=Our world in data report Gold production, 1681 to 2015 |url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/gold-production?tab=table}} As of 2019, Ghana was the 7th largest producer of gold in the world, producing ~140 tonnes that year.{{cite web |title=Ghana Gold Production |url=https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/ghana/gold-production |access-date=26 October 2020 |website=CEIC Data |archive-date=29 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029183111/https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/ghana/gold-production |url-status=live}} This record saw Ghana surpass South Africa in output for the first time, making Ghana the largest gold producer in Africa.{{cite web |author=Whitehouse, David |date=8 October 2019 |title=Ghana now Africa's largest gold producer, but reforms await |url=https://www.theafricareport.com/18245/ghana-now-africas-largest-gold-producer-but-reforms-await/ |access-date=16 October 2020 |work=The Africa Report |archive-date=29 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029100547/https://www.theafricareport.com/18245/ghana-now-africas-largest-gold-producer-but-reforms-await/ |url-status=live}} In addition to gold, Ghana exports silver, timber, diamonds, bauxite, and manganese, and has other mineral deposits.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U49Q8BgiarkC&q=Ghana%20minerals%20granite&pg=PA70 |title=Ghana Mineral and Mining Sector Investment and Business Guide |date=7 February 2007 |publisher=International Business Publications, USA |isbn=978-1-4330-1775-9 |access-date=16 May 2014}} {{dead link|date=February 2023|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}} Ghana ranks 9th in the world in diamond export and reserve size.{{cite web |title=Ghana |url=https://eiti.org/ghana |access-date=2021-07-06 |website=Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative |archive-date=9 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709185204/https://eiti.org/ghana |url-status=dead}} The government has drawn up plans to nationalize mining industry to increase government revenue.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U49Q8BgiarkC&pg=PA70 |title=Ghana Mineral and Mining Sector Investment and Business Guide |work=Ibpus.com |publisher=International Business Publications |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-4330-1775-9 |access-date=24 June 2013}} {{dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}{{cite web |title=Ghana Minerals and Mining Act |url=http://www.ghanalegal.com/?id=3&law=535&t=ghana-laws |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021012648/http://www.ghanalegal.com/?id=3&law=535&t=ghana-laws |archive-date=21 October 2013 |access-date=16 May 2014 |publisher=ghanalegal.com}}

"Shortages" of electricity in 2015 and 2016 led to dumsor ("persistent, irregular and unpredictable" electric power outages),{{cite web |url=http://graphic.com.gh/news/politics/37330-i-ve-been-named-mr-dumsor-in-ghana-prez-mahama-tells-ghanaians-in-germany.html |title=I've been named 'Mr Dumsor' in Ghana – Prez Mahama tells Ghanaians in Germany – See more at |date=21 January 2015 |website=Graphic Online |publisher=Graphic Communications Group Ltd (GCGL) |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150424025905/http://www.graphic.com.gh/news/politics/37330-i-ve-been-named-mr-dumsor-in-ghana-prez-mahama-tells-ghanaians-in-germany.html |archive-date=24 April 2015 |access-date=2 March 2015}} increasing the interest in renewables.{{cite web |url=http://graphic.com.gh/features/features/21105-ghana-s-power-crisis-what-about-renewable-energy.html |title=Ghana's power crisis: What about renewable energy? |publisher=graphic.com.gh |date=10 April 2014 |access-date=8 February 2015 |author=Agbenyega, E. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701211205/http://graphic.com.gh/features/features/21105-ghana-s-power-crisis-what-about-renewable-energy.html |archive-date=1 July 2015 |url-status=live}} As of 2019, there is a surplus of electricity.{{cite web |url=http://theconversation.com/lessons-to-be-learnt-from-ghanas-excess-electricity-shambles-121257 |title=Lessons to be learnt from Ghana's excess electricity shambles |last=Sarkodie |first=Samuel Asumadu |website=The Conversation |date=5 August 2019 |access-date=28 December 2019 |archive-date=8 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200108022101/http://theconversation.com/lessons-to-be-learnt-from-ghanas-excess-electricity-shambles-121257 |url-status=live}}

The judicial system of Ghana deals with corruption, economic malpractice and lack of economic transparency. According to Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index of 2018, out of 180 countries, Ghana was ranked 78th, with a score of 41 on a scale where a 0–9 score means highly corrupt, and a 90–100 score means very clean. This was based on perceived levels of public sector corruption.{{cite web |title=OUR WORK IN Ghana |url=https://www.transparency.org/en/countries/ghana |website=Transparency.org |publisher=Transparency International |access-date=1 June 2020 |archive-date=8 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608091309/https://www.transparency.org/en/countries/ghana |url-status=live}}

Ghana launched a cellular mobile network in 1992. It was later connected to the Internet and introduced ADSL broadband services.{{cite web |title=Science & Technology |url=http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/technology/ |publisher=Ghanaweb |date=24 June 2015 |access-date=24 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160623022534/http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/technology/ |archive-date=23 June 2016 |url-status=live}}

Ghana was ranked 99th in the Global Innovation Index in 2024.{{Cite book |author=World Intellectual Property Organization |year=2024 |title=Global Innovation Index 2024: Unlocking the Promise of Social Entrepreneurship |url=https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/global-innovation-index-2024/en/ |access-date=2024-10-06 |website=www.wipo.int |page=18 |publisher=World Intellectual Property Organization |language=en |doi=10.34667/tind.50062 |isbn=978-92-805-3681-2}}{{Cite book |title=Global Innovation Index 2023, 15th Edition |url=https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2023/index.html |access-date=2023-10-29|date=2 November 2023 |publisher=World Intellectual Property Organization |doi=10.34667/tind.46596 |isbn=9789280534320 |language=en |archive-date=22 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022042128/https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2023/index.html |url-status=live |last1=Dutta |first1=Soumitra |last2=Lanvin |first2=Bruno |last3=Wunsch-Vincent |first3=Sacha |last4=León |first4=Lorena Rivera |last5=World Intellectual Property Organization }}{{cite web |date=28 October 2013 |title=Global Innovation Index |url=https://knowledge.insead.edu/entrepreneurship-innovation/global-innovation-index-2930 |access-date=2 September 2021 |website=INSEAD Knowledge |archive-date=2 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902101622/https://knowledge.insead.edu/entrepreneurship-innovation/global-innovation-index-2930 |url-status=dead}}

The Ghana Space Science and Technology Centre (GSSTC) and Ghana Space Agency (GhsA) oversee space exploration and space programmes. GSSTC and GhsA worked to have a national security observational satellite launched into orbit in 2015.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18739694 |title=Africa's journey to space begins on the ground |year=2012 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=24 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130613213302/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18739694 |archive-date=13 June 2013 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/ghanas-home-grown-space-program-takes-off/1686704.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130628032244/http://www.voanews.com/a/1686704.html |url-status=live |archive-date=28 June 2013 |title=Ghana's Home-Grown Space Program Takes Off |year=2013 |publisher=Voice of America |location=United States |access-date=24 June 2013}} Ghana's annual space exploration expenditure has been 1% of its GDP, to support research in science and technology. In 2012, Ghana was elected to chair the Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (Comsats); Ghana has a joint effort in space exploration with the South African National Space Agency.

{{Main|Tourism in Ghana}}

File:Surfers Surfing at Busua Beach in Western region, Ghana.jpgs at Busua Beach in the Western Region]]

In 2011, tourists visiting Ghana numbered 1,087,000,{{cite web |work=Ministry of Tourism Ghana |publisher=ghana.gov.gh |url=http://www.ghana.gov.gh/index.php/news/features/5885-we-are-serious-about-overcoming-the-challenges-confronting-tourism-development |title=We Are Serious About Overcoming The Challenges Confronting Tourism Development |access-date=14 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140718223300/http://www.ghana.gov.gh/index.php/news/features/5885-we-are-serious-about-overcoming-the-challenges-confronting-tourism-development |archive-date=18 July 2014 |url-status=live}} with arrivals including South Americans, Asians, Europeans, and North Americans. Among the attractions and tourist destinations are waterfalls such as Kintampo waterfalls and the largest waterfall in west Africa, Wli waterfalls, the coastal palm-lined sandy beaches, caves, mountains, rivers, and reservoirs and lakes such as Lake Bosumtwi and the largest human-made lake in the world by surface area, Lake Volta, dozens of forts and castles, World Heritage Sites, nature reserves and national parks.{{cite web |url=http://www.uniquetrustex.com/node/162/177/?ex=trade-expo-international-ghana&nid=162 |title=Trade Expo International Ghana |publisher=uniquetrustex.com |access-date=14 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501221713/http://www.uniquetrustex.com/node/162/177/?ex=trade-expo-international-ghana&nid=162 |archive-date=1 May 2013}} Notable castles are Cape Coast Castle and the Elmina Castle.{{cite web |title=Visit Ghana {{!}} Forts and Castles in Ghana |url=https://visitghana.com/attractions/all-forts-and-castles/ |access-date=12 September 2020 |website=Visit Ghana |language=en-US |archive-date=23 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523044732/https://visitghana.com/attractions/all-forts-and-castles/ |url-status=live}} Castles mark where blood was shed in the slave trade and preserve and promote the African heritage stolen and destroyed through the slave trade.{{cite web |last=Centre |first=UNESCO World Heritage |title=Forts and Castles, Volta, Greater Accra, Central and Western Regions |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/34/ |access-date=12 September 2020 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |archive-date=27 October 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051027113800/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/34/ |url-status=live}} The World Heritage Convention of UNESCO named Ghana's castles and forts as World Heritage Monuments, based on the criterion: "The Castles and Forts of Ghana shaped not only Ghana’s history but that of the world over four centuries as the focus of first the gold trade and then the slave trade. They are a significant and emotive symbol of European–African encounters and of the starting point of the African Diaspora."

The World Economic Forum statistics in 2010 showed that out of the world's favourite tourist destinations, Ghana was ranked 108th out of 139 countries.{{cite web |title=Forbes: Ghana is eleventh friendliest nation |url=http://vibeghana.com/2011/03/20/forbes-ghana-is-eleventh-friendliest-nation/ |publisher=vibeghana.com |access-date=31 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728071955/http://vibeghana.com/2011/03/20/forbes-ghana-is-eleventh-friendliest-nation/ |archive-date=28 July 2011 |url-status=live}} The country had moved two places up from the 2009 rankings. In 2011, Forbes magazine published that Ghana was ranked the 11th most friendly country in the world. The assertion was based on a survey in 2010 of a cross-section of travellers. Of all the African countries that were included in the survey, Ghana ranked highest. Tourism is the fourth highest earner of foreign exchange for the country. In 2024, Ghana ranked as the 55th most peaceful country in the world.{{Cite web |title=2024 Global Peace Index |url=https://www.economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GPI-2024-web.pdf}}

Up and down the coastline, surfing spots have been identified and cultivated by locals and internationals. Surfers have made trips to the country to sample the waves. Surfers carried their boards amid traditional fishing vessels.{{cite web |last=Saxena |first=Kanika |date=2018-12-21 |title=Wish To Experience The Thrill Of Surfing in Ghana? Here's Where You Should Go! |url=https://traveltriangle.com/blog/surfing-in-ghana/ |access-date=21 May 2021 |language=en-US |archive-date=21 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521092011/https://traveltriangle.com/blog/surfing-in-ghana/ |url-status=live}}

According to Destination Pride{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/life/travel/tools-to-help-the-lgbtq-community-travel-more-safely-1.4539293 |title=Tools to help the LGBTQ community travel more safely |date=16 February 2018 |first=Ryan E. |last=Thompson |work=CBC Life |access-date=14 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718062412/https://www.cbc.ca/life/travel/tools-to-help-the-lgbtq-community-travel-more-safely-1.4539293 |archive-date=18 July 2018 |url-status=live}}—a data-driven search platform used to visualize the world's LGBTQ+ laws, rights and social sentiment—Ghana's Pride score is 22 (out of 100).{{cite web |url=https://destinationpride.org/destination/ghana |title=I'm sharing Ghana's Destination Pride Flag. What does your country score? |website=Destination Pride |access-date=14 March 2019 |archive-date=16 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190316165738/https://destinationpride.org/destination/ghana |url-status=live}}

{{Main|Demographics of Ghana}}

{{Further|Ghanaian people}}

{{bar box

|title=Ethnic Groups in Ghana

|titlebar=#ddd

|left1=Ethnic Groups

|right1=percent

|float=right

|bars=

{{bar percent|Akan|darkgreen|47.3}}

{{bar percent|Mole-Dagbani|purple|18.5}}

{{bar percent|Ewe|red|13.9}}

{{bar percent|Ga-Dangme|black|7.4}}

{{bar percent|Gurma|orange|5.7}}

{{bar percent|Guan|darkblue|3.7}}{{bar percent|Grusi|white|2.5}}

{{bar percent|Mande|maroon|1.1}}

{{bar percent|Other|darkgray|1.4}}

}}

{{As of|2024}}, the United Nations reports Ghana has a population of 34,581,288.{{Cite web |title=Ghana Population (2024) - Worldometer |url=https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/ghana-population/ |access-date=2024-09-28 |website=www.worldometers.info |language=en}} {{As of|2018}}, around 29% of the population is under the age of 15, while persons aged 15–64 make up 57.8% of the population.{{cite web |title=Health Nutrition and Population Statistics – DataBank |url=http://databank.worldbank.org/data/reports.aspx?source=health-nutrition-and-population-statistics |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180225150240/http://databank.worldbank.org/data/reports.aspx?source=health-nutrition-and-population-statistics |archive-date=25 February 2018 |access-date=13 June 2018 |website=databank.worldbank.org}} The 2010 census reported that the largest ethnic groups are the Akan (47.3%), the Mole-Dagbani (18.5%), the Ewe (13.9%), the Ga-Dangme (7.4%), the Gurma (5.7%) and the Guan (3.7%).{{cite web |date=May 2013 |title=2010 Population & Housing Census: National Analytical Report |url=http://www.statsghana.gov.gh/docfiles/2010phc/National_Analytical_Report.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712212518/http://www.statsghana.gov.gh/docfiles/2010phc/National_Analytical_Report.pdf |archive-date=12 July 2018 |access-date=23 January 2014 |publisher=Ghana Statistical Service}} {{As of|2024}}, the United Nations reports the median age of Ghanaian citizens is 21 years old.{{Cite web |title=Median age of population |url=https://population.un.org/dataportal/data/indicators/67/locations/288/start/1990/end/2024/table/pivotbylocation?df=b41781d3-8dca-46c2-9b2c-31721453af2a |access-date=28 September 2024 |website=United Nations Data Portal Population Division}} Ghana contributes 0.42% to the total world population.

With recent legal immigration of skilled workers who possess Ghana Cards, 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% (or 3.1 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 then Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia,{{cite web |url=http://vibeghana.com/2013/04/14/ghana-owes-no-apology-to-anybody-for-aliens-compliance-order/ |title=Ghana Owes no Apology to Anybody for Aliens Compliance Order |publisher=vibeghana.com |date=14 April 2013 |access-date=31 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927075540/http://vibeghana.com/2013/04/14/ghana-owes-no-apology-to-anybody-for-aliens-compliance-order/ |archive-date=27 September 2013 |url-status=live}} the Border Guard Unit deported more than 3,000,000 aliens and illegal immigrants in three months as they made up 20% of the population at the time.{{cite web |url=http://sites.davidson.edu/cis485/?p=3349 |title=The History of Ghana's 1969 Aliens Compliance Order |work=davidson.edu |date=29 March 2012 |access-date=31 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130917165858/http://sites.davidson.edu/cis485/?p=3349 |archive-date=17 September 2013}}{{Cite journal |last=Daly |first=Samuel Fury Childs |date=2022-07-30 |title=Ghana Must Go: Nativism and the Politics of Expulsion in West Africa, 1969–1985 |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/pastj/gtac006 |journal=Past & Present |issue=259 |pages=229–261 |doi=10.1093/pastj/gtac006 |issn=0031-2746 |access-date=3 August 2022 |archive-date=7 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407064513/https://academic.oup.com/past/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/pastj/gtac006/6652271?redirectedFrom=fulltext |url-status=live}} In 2013, there was a mass deportation of illegal miners, more than 4,000 of whom were Chinese nationals.

{{cite web |url=http://mg.co.za/article/2013-07-16-ghana-cracks-down-on-illegal-chinese-miners |title=Ghana deports thousands of illegal Chinese miners |work=Mail & Guardian |date=16 July 2013 |access-date=9 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512231106/http://mg.co.za/article/2013-07-16-ghana-cracks-down-on-illegal-chinese-miners |archive-date=12 May 2014 |url-status=live}}

{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/15/ghana-deports-chinese-goldminers |title=Ghana deports thousands in crackdown on illegal Chinese goldminers |work=The Guardian |date=15 July 2013 |access-date=9 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512214119/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/15/ghana-deports-chinese-goldminers |archive-date=12 May 2014 |url-status=live}}

{{Largest cities

|country = Ghana

|div_name = Region

|stat_ref = 2021 Ghana census

|img_1 =

|city_1 = Accra

|div_1 = Greater Accra

|pop_1 = 1,964,264

|img_2 =

|city_2 = Kumasi

|div_2 = Ashanti Region

|pop_2 = 1,468,609

|city_3 = Tamale, Ghana{{!}}Tamale

|div_3 = Northern Region (Ghana){{!}}Northern Region

|pop_3 = 360,579

|city_4 = Takoradi

|div_4 = Western Region (Ghana){{!}}Western Region

|pop_4 = 232,919

|city_5 = Sunyani

|div_5 = Bono Region

|pop_5 = 202,932

|city_6 = Teshie

|div_6 = Greater Accra

|pop_6 = 176,597

|city_7 = Cape Coast

|div_7 = Central Region (Ghana){{!}}Central Region

|pop_7 = 143,015

|city_8 = Sekondi-Takoradi

|div_8 = Central Region (Ghana){{!}}Central Region

|pop_8 = 138,872

|city_9 = Obuasi

|div_9 = Ashanti Region

|pop_9 = 137,856

|city_10 = Koforidua

|div_10 = Eastern Region (Ghana){{!}}Eastern Region

|pop_10 = 130,810

}}

{{main|Languages of Ghana}}

File:Predominant tribe in the area - (Ghana) LOC 88692692.jpg

English is the official language of Ghana.{{cite web |title=The Bureau of Ghana Languages-BGL |url=http://www.ghanaembassy.org/index.php?page=language-and-religion |publisher=Ghana Embassy Washington DC, USA |year=2013 |access-date=11 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022204947/http://www.ghanaembassy.org/index.php?page=language-and-religion |archive-date=22 October 2013 |url-status=live}}{{cite book |title=A handbook of varieties of English. 1. Phonology, Volume 2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mtd3a-56ysUC&pg=PA847 |publisher=Oxford University Press |author=Bernd Kortmann Walter de Gruyter |year=2004 |access-date=11 November 2013 |isbn=978-3-11-017532-5}} Additionally, there are eleven languages that have the status of government-sponsored languages:

• Akan languages (Asante Twi, Akuapem Twi, Fante, Bono which have 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){{cite web |title=The Bureau of Ghana Languages-BGL |url=http://www.ghanaculture.gov.gh/index1.php?linkid=331&page=2§ionid=602 |publisher=National Commission on Culture |year=2006 |access-date=11 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112001558/http://www.ghanaculture.gov.gh/index1.php?linkid=331&page=2§ionid=602 |archive-date=12 November 2013 |url-status=dead}}{{cite web |title=Study of Ghanaian Languages |url=http://www.africa.upenn.edu/K-12/Study_16156.html |publisher=africa.upenn.edu |access-date=6 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112001739/http://www.africa.upenn.edu/K-12/Study_16156.html |archive-date=12 November 2013 |url-status=live}}

Of these, Asante Twi is the most widely spoken.{{cite web |title=Introduction to the Verbal and Multi-Verbalsystem of Akan |url=http://www.ling.hf.ntnu.no/tross/osam.pdf |work=ling.hf.ntnu.no |year=2013 |access-date=16 November 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407085659/http://www.ling.hf.ntnu.no/tross/osam.pdf |archive-date=7 April 2014}}

Because Ghana is surrounded by French-speaking countries, French is widely taught in schools and used for commercial and international economic exchanges. Since 2005, Ghana has been an associate member of the {{Lang|fr|Organisation internationale de la Francophonie}},{{cite web |url=https://www.jeux.francophonie.org/etats-invites/ghana |title=Ghana – Jeux de la francophonie |website=www.jeux.francophonie.org |access-date=10 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180211131331/https://www.jeux.francophonie.org/etats-invites/ghana |archive-date=11 February 2018 |url-status=live}} the global organisation that unites French-speaking countries (84 nations on six continents). In 2005, more than 350,000 Ghanaian children studied French in schools. Since then, its status has been progressively updated to a mandatory language in every junior high school,{{cite web |url=http://www.lalettrediplomatique.fr/contribution_detail.php?id=20&idrub=67&idrubprod=262 |title=La Lettre Diplomatique – La revue des Relations internationales et diplomatiques depuis 1988 – La Francophonie et le Ghana |website=www.lalettrediplomatique.fr |access-date=10 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180211072205/http://www.lalettrediplomatique.fr/contribution_detail.php?id=20&idrub=67&idrubprod=262 |archive-date=11 February 2018 |url-status=dead}} and it is in the process of becoming an official language.{{cite web |url=https://qz.com/africa/1588566/ghanas-president-wants-french-as-a-second-language/ |title=Ghana's president wants to make French a formal language, but it's not a popular plan |work=QZ.com |date=7 April 2019 |last=Asiedu |first=Kwasi Gyamfi |access-date=21 June 2021 |archive-date=8 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508135708/https://qz.com/africa/1588566/ghanas-president-wants-french-as-a-second-language/ |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://www.pulse.com.gh/bi/strategy/ghana-adopts-french-as-its-second-official-language/eg77s29 |title=Ghana adopts French as its second official language |website=pulse.com |date=21 March 2019 |access-date=21 June 2021 |archive-date=2 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802174130/https://www.pulse.com.gh/bi/strategy/ghana-adopts-french-as-its-second-official-language/eg77s29 |url-status=live}}

Ghanaian Pidgin English, also known as Kru English (or in Akan, kroo brofo), is a variety of West African Pidgin English spoken in Accra and in the southern towns.Magnus Huber, Ghanaian Pidgin English in its West African Context (1999), page 139 It can be divided into two varieties, referred to as "uneducated" or "non-institutionalized" pidgin and "educated" or "institutionalized" pidgin, the former associated with uneducated or illiterate people and the latter acquired and used in institutions such as universities.Huber (1999), pp. 138–153

{{Main|Religion in Ghana}}

Christianity is the largest religion in Ghana, with 71.3% of the population being members of various Christian denominations as of the 2021 census.{{cite web |url=https://census2021.statsghana.gov.gh/gssmain/fileUpload/reportthemelist/2021%20PHC%20General%20Report%20Vol%203C_Background%20Characteristics_181121.pdf |title=2021 PHC General Report Vol 3C, Background Characteristics |website=Ghana Statistical Service |access-date=26 January 2022 |archive-date=27 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227194122/https://census2021.statsghana.gov.gh/gssmain/fileUpload/reportthemelist/2021%20PHC%20General%20Report%20Vol%203C_Background%20Characteristics_181121.pdf |url-status=live }} Islam is practised by 20% of the total population. According to a 2012 report by Pew Research, 51% of Muslims are followers of Sunni Islam, while approximately 16% belong to the Ahmadiyya movement and around 8% identify with Shia Islam, while the remainder are non-denominational Muslims.{{cite report |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2012/08/the-worlds-muslims-full-report.pdf |title=The World's Muslims: Unity and Diversity |date=August 9, 2012 |publisher=Pew Research Center, Forum on Religious & Public life |pages=29–31 |access-date=November 21, 2020 |archive-date=February 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225091620/https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2012/08/the-worlds-muslims-full-report.pdf |url-status=live}}Owusu-Ansah (1994), "Religion and Society". There is "no significant link between ethnicity and religion in Ghana".{{cite web |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2006/71304.htm |title=International Religious Freedom Report 2006 Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor |publisher=USA state.gov |access-date=December 17, 2014 |archive-date=12 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212213625/https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2006/71304.htm |url-status=live }}

Ghana has around 150,000 Jehovah's Witnesses.{{cite web|url=https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/2023-Service-Year-Report-of-Jehovahs-Witnesses-Worldwide/2023-Country-and-Territory-Reports/|title=2023 Country and Territory Reports|publisher=Jehovah's Witnesses|access-date=20 September 2024}}

{{main|l1 = NHIS|2 = Health in Ghana}}

{{further|Eye care in Ghana|Optometry in Ghana}}

File:Life_expectancy_in_Ghana.svg

Ghana has a universal health care system, National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), which is strictly designated for Ghanaian nationals.{{cite web |url=http://www.nhis.gov.gh/ |title=National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) |publisher=nhis.gov.gh |access-date=10 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140516205524/http://nhis.gov.gh/ |archive-date=16 May 2014 |url-status=live}} Health care is variable throughout Ghana and in 2012, more than 12 million Ghanaian nationals were covered by the NHIS.{{cite web |title=Ghana: National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) |url=http://jointlearningnetwork.org/content/national-health-insurance-scheme-nhis |publisher=jointlearningnetwork.org |access-date=10 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512213346/http://jointlearningnetwork.org/content/national-health-insurance-scheme-nhis |archive-date=12 May 2014 |url-status=dead}} Urban centres are well served and contain most of the hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies. There are more than 200 hospitals, and Ghana is a destination for medical tourism.{{cite web |url=http://www.eturbonews.com/10800/medical-tourism-emerging-market-ghana |title=Medical tourism is emerging market for Ghana |publisher=eturbonews.com |date=5 August 2009 |access-date=10 May 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512224254/http://www.eturbonews.com/10800/medical-tourism-emerging-market-ghana |archive-date=12 May 2014}} In 2010, there were 0.1 physicians per 1,000 people and {{as of|2011|lc=y}}, 0.9 hospital beds per 1,000 people. In 2010, 5.2% of Ghana's GDP was spent on health.[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2225.html Field Listing :: Health expenditures] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326095442/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2225.html |date=26 March 2014}}. Retrieved 24 June 2013. In 2020, the WHO announced Ghana became the second country in the WHO African Region to attain regulatory system "maturity level 3", the second-highest in the four-tiered WHO classification of National medicines regulatory systems.{{cite web |date=13 May 2020 |title=Ghana bolsters medicines regulatory system, guarantees product quality |url=https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/ghana-bolsters-medicines-regulatory-system-guarantees-product-quality.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200520001950/https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/ghana-bolsters-medicines-regulatory-system-guarantees-product-quality |archive-date=20 May 2020 |access-date=19 May 2020 |publisher=World Health Organization}}

Life expectancy at birth in 2021 was 68.6 for a female and 63.7 for a male.{{Cite web |title=Ghana |url=https://data.who.int/countries/288 |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=datadot |language=en}} In 2013, infant mortality was to 39 per 1,000 live births.{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2091.html |title=Field Listing – Infant mortality rate |publisher=CIA World Factbook |access-date=24 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121119041333/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2091.html |archive-date=19 November 2012 |url-status=dead}} Sources vary on life expectancy at birth; the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated 62 years for men and 64 years for women born in 2016.{{cite web |url=https://www.who.int/countries/gha/en/ |title=Ghana Statistics |publisher=World Health Organization |year=2019 |access-date=9 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190927001635/https://www.who.int/countries/gha/en/ |archive-date=27 September 2019 |url-status=live}} The fertility rate declined from 3.99 (2000) to 3.28 (2010) with 2.78 in urban region and 3.94 in rural region. The United Nations reports a fertility decline from 6.95 (1970) to 4.82 (2000) to 3.93 live births per woman in 2017.{{cite web |title=Fertility rate, total (births per woman), Ghana, 1960 – present |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.TFRT.IN?locations=GH |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190622190721/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.TFRT.IN%3Flocations%3DGH |archive-date=22 June 2019 |access-date=22 June 2019 |website=World Bank}}

{{As of|2012}}, the HIV/AIDS prevalence was estimated at 1.40% among adults aged 15–49.{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2155rank.html |title=Library publications |access-date=13 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141221190412/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2155rank.html |archive-date=21 December 2014 |url-status=dead}}

{{Main|Education in Ghana}}

File:Wikimedia Outreach in Ghana 6.jpeg at the University of Ghana]]

The education system is divided into three parts: basic education, secondary cycle, and tertiary education. "Basic education" lasts 11 years (ages 4‒15). It is divided into kindergarten (two years), primary school (two modules of three years) and junior high (three years). Junior high school ends with the Basic Education Certificate Examination.{{cite web |url=http://www.ges.gov.gh/?q=content/basic-education-curriculum-1 |title=Basic Education Curriculum |publisher=Ghana Education Service |access-date=6 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140525195225/http://www.ges.gov.gh/?q=content%2Fbasic-education-curriculum-1 |archive-date=25 May 2014}}{{cite web |url=http://www.ges.gov.gh/?q=content/basic-education-curriculum |title=Basic curriculum Education: The junior High Education |publisher=Ghana Education Service |access-date=6 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140605133413/http://ges.gov.gh/?q=content%2Fbasic-education-curriculum |archive-date=5 June 2014}} Once certified, the pupil can proceed to the secondary cycle.{{cite web |url=http://www.ghanawaec.org/EXAMS/BECE.aspx |title=BECE |access-date=6 June 2014 |author=West African Examinations Council(corporate site: Ghana) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140519130523/http://www.ghanawaec.org/EXAMS/BECE.aspx |archive-date=19 May 2014}} Hence, the pupil has the choice between general education (offered by the senior high school) and vocational education (offered by the technical senior high school or the technical and vocational institutes). Senior high school lasts 3 years and leads to the West African Senior School Certificate Examination, which is a prerequisite for enrollment in a university bachelor's degree programme.{{cite web |url=http://www.nuffic.nl/international-organizations/docs/diploma-recognition/country-modules/country-module-ghana.pdf |title=Country module Ghana |access-date=18 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120605171810/http://www.nuffic.nl/international-organizations/docs/diploma-recognition/country-modules/country-module-ghana.pdf |archive-date=5 June 2012}}{{rp|7}} Polytechnics are open to vocational students.{{cite web |url=http://www.unevoc.unesco.org/worldtvetdatabase1.php?ct=GHA |title=Vocational Education in Ghana |publisher=UNESCO-UNEVOC |date=July 2012 |access-date=23 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140523230631/http://www.unevoc.unesco.org/worldtvetdatabase1.php?ct=GHA |archive-date=23 May 2014 |url-status=live}}

A bachelor's degree requires four years of study. It can be followed by a one- or two-year master's degree programme, which can be followed by a PhD programme of at least three years.{{rp|9}} A polytechnic programme lasts two or three years. Ghana possesses colleges of education.{{cite journal |title=A Descriptive Assessment of Higher Education Access, Participation, Equity, and Disparity in Ghana |publisher=SageOpen |date=23 July 2013 |author=Atuahene, Ansah |journal=SAGE Open |volume=3 |issue=3 |page=2 |doi=10.1177/2158244013497725 |doi-access=free }} Some of the universities are the University of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, and University of Cape Coast.{{cite web |date=2019-09-27 |title=Top 10 Best Universities in Ghana |url=https://www.pulse.com.gh/news/local/top-10-best-universities-in-ghana/6pncyms |access-date=2020-09-12 |website=Pulse Gh |language=en-US |archive-date=29 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029163953/https://www.pulse.com.gh/news/local/top-10-best-universities-in-ghana/6pncyms |url-status=live}}

There are more than 95% of children in school.{{cite web |url=http://www.unicef.org/wcaro/wcaro_GHA_MTSP2.pdf |title=UNICEF – Basic Education and Gender Equality |publisher=unicef.org |access-date=1 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120803061043/http://www.unicef.org/wcaro/wcaro_GHA_MTSP2.pdf |archive-date=3 August 2012 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/a-fragile-island-of-stabilityin-a-sea-of-turbulence/article1214628/ |title=Africa |work=The Globe and Mail |access-date=26 June 2010 |location=Toronto |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107054024/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/a-fragile-island-of-stabilityin-a-sea-of-turbulence/article1214628/ |archive-date=7 November 2012 |url-status=live}} The female and male ages 15–24 years literacy rate was 81% in 2010, with males at 82%,{{cite web |title=Literacy rate, youth male (% of males ages 15–24) |url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.ADT.1524.LT.MA.ZS/countries |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130813172150/http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.ADT.1524.LT.MA.ZS/countries |archive-date=13 August 2013 |access-date=29 July 2013 |publisher=World Bank}} and females at 80%.{{cite web |title=Literacy rate, youth female (% of females ages 15–24) |url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.ADT.1524.LT.FE.ZS |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130902192409/http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.ADT.1524.LT.FE.ZS |archive-date=2 September 2013 |access-date=29 July 2013 |publisher=World Bank}} An education system annually attracts foreign students particularly in the university sector.{{cite web |url=http://www.modernghana.com/news/500636/1/plight-of-foreign-students-in-ghana.html |title=Plight of Foreign Students in Ghana |publisher=modernghana.com |date=2 November 2013 |access-date=10 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813101531/http://www.modernghana.com/news/500636/1/plight-of-foreign-students-in-ghana.html |archive-date=13 August 2014 |url-status=live}}Nyarota, Geoffrey; Against the Grain; pp. 101–102.

Ghana has a free education six-year primary school education system beginning at age 6.{{cite web |date=16 February 2012 |title=Ghana Lauded for Free Primary School Program |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/ghana-lauded-for-free-primary-school-program-139525918/159622.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606211948/http://www.voanews.com/content/ghana-lauded-for-free-primary-school-program-139525918/159622.html |archive-date=6 June 2014 |access-date=6 June 2014 |publisher=Voice of America}} The government largely funds basic education comprising public primary schools and public junior high schools. Senior high schools were subsidised by the government until September 2017/2018 academic year that senior high education became free.{{cite web |url=http://www.ghana.gov.gh/index.php/media-center/news/3870-free-shs-begins-in-september |title=Free SHS Begins in September – Government of Ghana |website=www.ghana.gov.gh |access-date=16 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216210954/http://www.ghana.gov.gh/index.php/media-center/news/3870-free-shs-begins-in-september |archive-date=16 December 2018 |url-status=live}} At the higher education level, the government funds more than 80% of resources provided to public universities, polytechnics and teacher training colleges. As part of the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education, Fcube, the government supplies all basic education schools with all their textbooks and other educational supplies, like exercise books. Senior high schools are provided with all their textbook requirements by the government. Private schools acquire their educational material from private suppliers.{{cite book |first1=Thomas |last1=Koinzer |first2=Rita |last2=Nikolai |first3=Florian |last3=Waldow |title=Private Schools and School Choice in Compulsory Education: Global Change and National Challenge |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=seAqDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA143 |year=2017 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-658-17104-9 |page=143 |access-date=26 October 2018 |archive-date=7 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407064508/https://books.google.com/books?id=seAqDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA143 |url-status=live}}

File:FB 20151104 19 47 22 Saved Picture(1).jpg in the Volta Region]]{{Main|Culture of Ghana}}

Ghanaian cuisine includes an assortment of soups and stews with varied seafoods; most Ghanaian soups are prepared with vegetables, meat, poultry or fish. Fish is important in the diet, with tilapia, roasted and fried whitebait, smoked fish and crayfish, all being common components of Ghanaian dishes. Banku (akple) is a common starchy food made from ground corn (maize), and cornmeal 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 green chillies, onions and tomatoes (pepper sauce). Banku and tilapia is a combo served in most restaurants.{{cite web |url=http://www.kadirecipes.com/2011/10/22/banku-and-okra-soup/ |title=Ghanaian cuisine, dokonu, banku, okra and soup |publisher=kadirecipes.com |first=Oumoupoo |last=Bah |date=22 October 2011 |access-date=1 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130121174204/http://www.kadirecipes.com/2011/10/22/banku-and-okra-soup/ |archive-date=21 January 2013 |url-status=dead}} Fufu is the most common exported Ghanaian dish and is a delicacy across the African diaspora. Rice is an established staple meal across the country, with various rice-based dishes serving as breakfast, lunch and dinner, the main variants are waakye, plain rice and stew (either kontomire or tomato gravy), fried rice and jollof rice.{{cite web |title=Ghana's rice market |url=https://www.ifpri.org/publication/ghanas-rice-market |access-date=17 February 2022 |website=www.ifpri.org |archive-date=17 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217010120/https://www.ifpri.org/publication/ghanas-rice-market |url-status=live}}

{{Excerpt|Ghanaian Literature}}

File:Adinkra motifs Rattray 1927.jpg by Robert Sutherland Rattray]]

During the 13th century, Ghanaians developed their unique art of adinkra printing. Hand-printed and hand-embroidered adinkra clothes were made and used exclusively by royalty for devotional ceremonies. Each of the motifs that make up the corpus of adinkra symbolism has a name and meaning derived from a proverb, a historical event, human attitude, ethology, plant life-form, or shapes of inanimate and man-made objects. The meanings of the motifs may be categorised into aesthetics, ethics, human relations, and concepts.{{cite web |title=Ghana |url=http://www.amadeus.net/home/destinations/es/guides/gh/cul.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150223225901/https://www.amadeus.net/home/destinations/es/guides/gh/cul.htm |archive-date=23 February 2015 |access-date=1 August 2013 |work=Amadeus |language=es |df=dmy-all}} The Adinkra symbols have a decorative function as tattoos but also represent objects that encapsulate evocative messages that convey traditional wisdom, aspects of life, or the environment. There are many symbols with distinct meanings, often linked with proverbs. In the words of Anthony Appiah, they were one of the means in a pre-literate society for "supporting the transmission of a complex and nuanced body of practice and belief".{{cite book |last=Appiah |first=Kwame Anthony |title=In my father's house : Africa in the philosophy of culture |year=1993 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-19-506852-8 |edition=1.paperbackedition 1993. |author-link=Anthony Appiah}}File:Kent wove.jpg, the Ga, and the Ewe.]]

Along with the adinkra cloth, Ghanaians use many cloth fabrics for their traditional attire. The different ethnic groups have their own individual cloth. The most well known is the Kente cloth. Kente is a very important national costume and clothing, and these clothes are used to make traditional and modern Kente attire.{{cite web |url=http://www.kentecloth.net/ghanaian-kente-cloth/ |title=Ghanaian Kente Cloth |date=19 October 2009 |publisher=kentecloth.net |access-date=6 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140607002652/http://www.kentecloth.net/ghanaian-kente-cloth/ |archive-date=7 June 2014 |url-status=live}} Different symbols and different colours mean different things. Kente is the most famous of all the Ghanaian clothes. Kente is a ceremonial cloth hand-woven on a horizontal treadle loom and strips measuring about 4 inches wide are sewn together into larger pieces of cloths. Cloths come in various colours, sizes and designs and are worn during very important social and religious occasions. In a cultural context, kente is more important than just a cloth as it is a visual representation of history and also a form of written language through weaving. The term kente has its roots in the Akan word kɛntɛn which means a basket and the first kente weavers used raffia fibres to weave cloths that looked like kenten (a basket); and thus were referred to as kenten ntoma; meaning basket cloth. The original Akan name of the cloth was nsaduaso or nwontoma, meaning "a cloth hand-woven on a loom"; however, "kente" is the most frequently used term today.

Kente is also woven by the Ewe people (Ewe Kente) in the Volta Region. The main weaving centres are Agortime area and Agbozume. Agbozume has a vibrant kente market attracting patrons from all over west Africa and the diaspora.

{{multiple image

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}}

Contemporary Ghanaian fashion includes traditional and modern styles and fabrics and has made its way into the African and global fashion scene. The cloth known as African print fabric was created out of Dutch wax textiles. It is believed that in the late 19th century, Dutch ships on their way to Asia stocked with machine-made textiles that mimicked Indonesian batik stopped at 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 established market for cloths and textiles—the client base grew and it was changed to include local and traditional designs, colours and patterns to cater to the taste of the new consumers.{{cite web |url=http://www.thewrendesign.com/the-story-behind-african-wax-print-cloth/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100925182125/http://thewrendesign.com/the-story-behind-african-wax-print-cloth/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 September 2010 |title=The Story Behind African Wax Print Cloth |publisher=Thewrendesign.com |date=10 July 2008 |access-date=24 January 2015}} Today outside of Africa it is called "Ankara", and it has a client base well beyond Ghana and Africa as a whole. It is popular among Caribbean peoples and African Americans; celebrities such as Solange Knowles and her sister Beyoncé have been seen wearing African print attire.{{cite web |url=http://www.fashionmagazine.com/scene/red-carpet-society/2013/04/05/beyonce-vs-solange-prints// |first=Erin |last=Wilson |title=Beyonce vs. Solange: Which Sister Wears Bold Prints Best |work=Fashionmagazine.com |date=5 April 2013 |access-date=24 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216230934/http://www.fashionmagazine.com/scene/red-carpet-society/2013/04/05/beyonce-vs-solange-prints/ |archive-date=16 December 2014 |url-status=live}} Many designers from countries in North America and Europe are now using African prints, and they have gained a global interest.{{cite web |url=http://munaluchibridal.com/african-inspired-spring-2012-collections-takes-over-lfw-nyfw/ |title=African-Inspired Spring 2012 Collections Takes Over LFW & NYFW |author=ChiomaChinweoke |publisher=munaluchibridal.com |date=21 September 2011 |access-date=24 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216214432/http://munaluchibridal.com/african-inspired-spring-2012-collections-takes-over-lfw-nyfw/ |archive-date=16 December 2014 |url-status=live}} British luxury fashion house Burberry created a collection around Ghanaian styles.{{cite web |url=http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/26/african-style-finds-global-following-but-little-support-from-african-leaders/ |title=African Style Goes Global, Despite Little Tangible Support From African Leaders |first=Frankie |last=Edozien |work=The New York Times |date=26 May 2012 |access-date=24 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910140503/http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/26/african-style-finds-global-following-but-little-support-from-african-leaders/ |archive-date=10 September 2015 |url-status=live}} American musician Gwen Stefani has repeatedly incorporated African prints into her clothing line and can often be seen wearing it.{{cite web |url=http://www.okayafrica.com/news/design-gwen-stefanis-l-a-m-b-spring-2011-collection/ |title=Design: Gwen Stefani's L.A.M.B Spring 2011 Collection |publisher=Okayafrica.com |date=3 August 2011 |access-date=24 January 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216220100/http://www.okayafrica.com/news/design-gwen-stefanis-l-a-m-b-spring-2011-collection/ |archive-date=16 December 2014}} Internationally acclaimed Ghanaian-British designer Ozwald Boateng introduced African print suits in his 2012 collection.{{cite web |url=http://www.africanprintinfashion.com/2012/09/african-icons-show-at-nyfw-ozwald.html |title=African Icons Show at NYFW: Ozwald Boateng |publisher=Africanprintinfashion.com |date=10 September 2012 |access-date=24 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216215105/http://www.africanprintinfashion.com/2012/09/african-icons-show-at-nyfw-ozwald.html |archive-date=16 December 2014 |url-status=live}}

{{Main|2 = Azonto|3 = Kpanlogo}}

File:Traditional Adowa dance form and music performance.ogv form and music performance.]]

Music incorporates types of musical instruments 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 used in asonko music. African jazz was created by Kofi Ghanaba.{{cite news |url=http://allafrica.com/stories/200902120888.html |title=Ghana: Kofi Ghanaba – Influential Drummer Who Emphasised the African Origins of Jazz |date=12 February 2009 |publisher=Ghanaian Chronicle |access-date=30 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008182524/http://allafrica.com/stories/200902120888.html |archive-date=8 October 2012 |url-status=live}} A form of secular music is highlife.{{cite web |url=http://www.worldmusic.net/guide/ghana-from-highlife-to-hiplife/ |title=Ghana: From Highlife to Hiplife |publisher=worldmusic.net |access-date=6 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140607004721/http://www.worldmusic.net/guide/ghana-from-highlife-to-hiplife/ |archive-date=7 June 2014 |url-status=dead}} Highlife originated in the 19th and 20th centuries and spread throughout West Africa.

In the 1990s, a genre of music was created incorporating the influences of highlife, Afro-reggae, dancehall and hip hop. This hybrid was called hiplife.

There are dances for occasions.{{cite web |work=Temple |url=http://www.temple.edu/studyabroad/students/fulbright/documents/mfa_dance_ghana.pdf |title=Dance, Ghana |access-date=6 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111226065738/http://www.temple.edu/studyabroad/students/fulbright/documents/mfa_dance_ghana.pdf |archive-date=26 December 2011 |url-status=dead}} Dances for celebrations include the Adowa, Kpanlogo, Azonto, Klama, Agbadza, Borborbor and Bamaya. The Nana Otafrija Pallbearing Services, also known as the Dancing Pallbearers, come from the coastal town of Prampram. The group was featured in a BBC feature story in 2017, and footage from the story became part of an Internet meme in the wake of the COVID-19 world pandemic.{{cite web |date=17 April 2020 |title=How Prampram pallbearers became an international sensation – and a meme |url=https://www.theghanareport.com/how-prampram-pallbearers-became-an-international-sensation-and-a-meme/ |access-date=11 June 2020 |website=The Ghana Report |archive-date=2 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200502190849/https://www.theghanareport.com/how-prampram-pallbearers-became-an-international-sensation-and-a-meme/ |url-status=live}}

{{Main|Mass media in Ghana}}

File:Ghana Trustworthiness of Media.jpg

Chapter 12 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana guarantees freedom of the press and independence of the media, while Chapter 2 prohibits censorship.{{cite web |url=http://ghana.gov.gh/ghana/constitution_republic_ghana.jsp |title=Constitution of Ghana |access-date=18 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080324233340/http://ghana.gov.gh/ghana/constitution_republic_ghana.jsp |archive-date=24 March 2008}}, Government of Ghana. Post-independence, private outlets closed during the military governments, and media laws prevented criticism of government.Anokwa, K. (1997). In Press Freedom and Communication in Africa. Erbio, F. & Jong-Ebot, W. (Eds.) Africa World Press. {{ISBN|978-0-86543-551-3}}. Press freedoms were restored in 1992, and after the election in 2000 of Kufuor, the tensions between the private media and government decreased. Kufuor supported press freedom and repealed a libel law, and maintained that the media had to act responsibly.[http://www.pressreference.com/Fa-Gu/Ghana.html Basic Data] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116031932/http://www.pressreference.com/Fa-Gu/Ghana.html |date=16 January 2009}}. pressreference.com The media have been described as "one of the most unfettered" in Africa.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/1023355.stm#media BBC Country Profile: Ghana] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060615131247/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/1023355.stm#media |date=15 June 2006}}, BBC News.

In 1948, the Gold Coast Film Unit was set up in the Information Services Department.{{cite web |title=Gold Coast Film Unit |url=http://www.colonialfilm.org.uk/production-company/gold-coast-film-unit |publisher=Colonialfilm.org.uk |access-date=2 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141117123221/http://colonialfilm.org.uk/production-company/gold-coast-film-unit |archive-date=17 November 2014 |url-status=live}}

{{Further|Architecture of Ghana}}

{{see also|Ghana's material cultural heritage|List of museums in Ghana|l2=Ghanaian museums}}

File:A drone footage of Accra central, Ghana.jpgs in Accra, the capital]]

There are two types of construction: the series of adjacent buildings in an enclosure around a common, and the round huts with grass roof.{{cite web |work=Countriesquest |url=http://www.countriesquest.com/africa/ghana/culture/art_and_architecture.htm |title=Culture, Art and Architecture: Ghana |access-date=10 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150304203925/http://www.countriesquest.com/africa/ghana/culture/art_and_architecture.htm |archive-date=4 March 2015 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}} The round huts with grass roof architecture are situated in the northern regions, while the series of adjacent buildings are in the southern regions. Postmodern architecture and high-tech architecture buildings are in the southern regions, while heritage sites are evident in the more than 30 forts and castles in the country, such as Fort William and Fort Amsterdam. Ghana has museums that are situated inside castles, and two are situated inside a fort. The Military Museum and the National Museum organise temporary exhibitions.{{cite web |url=http://www.ghanamuseums.org/index.php |title=Ghana Museums and Monuments Board |access-date=10 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140130235605/http://www.ghanamuseums.org/index.php |archive-date=30 January 2014 |url-status=live}}

Ghana has museums that allow an in-depth look at specific regions, with a number of museums providing insight into the traditions and history of the geographical areas. The Cape Coast Castle Museum and St. Georges Castle (Elmina Castle) Museum offer guided tours. The Museum of Science and Technology provides its visitors with a look into the domain of scientific development, through exhibits of objects of scientific and technological interest.

{{main|Sports in Ghana}}

File:2010 Opening Ceremony - Ghana entering.jpgs Olympic team at the opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics]]

Association football is the top spectator sport in Ghana. Ghana has won the Africa Cup of Nations four times, the FIFA U-20 World Cup once, and has participated in four FIFA World Cups (2006, 2010, 2014 and 2022) and has also won the FIFA U-17 World Cup twice.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/8311948.stm |title=Ghana thrilled by historic title |publisher=BBC Sport |date=17 October 2009 |access-date=6 June 2014 |archive-date=16 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230216171504/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/8311948.stm |url-status=live }} The International Federation of Football History and Statistics crowned Asante Kotoko SC as the African club of the 20th century.{{cite web |url=http://www.iffhs.de/?c813f0e03790c443e0f40390b41be8b01f05fdcdc3bfcdc0aec70aeedb883dcfc5ff0b |title=Africa's club of the Century |work=IFFHS official website |access-date=21 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921110231/http://www.iffhs.de/?c813f0e03790c443e0f40390b41be8b01f05fdcdc3bfcdc0aec70aeedb883dcfc5ff0b |archive-date=21 September 2013 |url-status=live}}

Ghana competes in the Commonwealth Games, sending athletes in every edition since 1954 (except for the 1986 games). Ghana has won 57 medals at the Commonwealth Games, including 15 gold, with all but one of their medals coming in athletics and boxing. The country has also produced a number of boxers, including Azumah Nelson a three-time world champion,{{cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/07/sport/azumah-nelson-boxing-ghana/ |title=Is Azumah Nelson Africa's greatest boxer? |first=Errol |last=Barnett |author-link=Errol Barnett |publisher=CNN |date=10 August 2012 |access-date=6 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606213758/http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/07/sport/azumah-nelson-boxing-ghana/ |archive-date=6 June 2014 |url-status=live}} Nana Yaw Konadu also a three-time world champion, Ike Quartey, and Joshua Clottey.{{cite news |url=http://www.proboxing-fans.com/boxing-101/best-of-a-nation/top-5-ghanaian-boxers/ |title=Top 5 Ghanaian Boxers |publisher=proboxing-fans.com |access-date=6 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606222940/http://www.proboxing-fans.com/boxing-101/best-of-a-nation/top-5-ghanaian-boxers/ |archive-date=6 June 2014 |url-status=live}}

{{Clear}}

{{portal|Africa}}

• Index of Ghana-related articles
• Outline of Ghana{{Clear}}

{{notelist}}

{{reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book |last=Dankwa |first=Serena |title=Knowing Women: Same-Sex Intimacy, Gender, and Identity in Postcolonial Ghana |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/knowing-women/0EEF984E4BEEE02AC7258F48A6760794 |year=2021 |isbn=9781108863575 |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}
• {{cite book |last=Nott |first=John |title=Between Feast and Famine: Food, health, and the history of Ghana's long twentieth century |url=https://uclpress.co.uk/book/between-feast-and-famine/ |year=2025 |isbn=978-1-80008-794-1 |publisher=UCL Press}}
• Birmingham, David, Kwame Nkrumah: Father Of African Nationalism (Ohio University Press, 1998)
• Boafo-Arthur, Kwame, Ghana: One Decade of the Liberal State (Zed Books, 2007)
• Briggs, Philip, Ghana (Bradt Travel Guide) (Bradt Travel Guides, 2010)
• Clark, Gracia, African Market Women: Seven Life Stories from Ghana (Indiana University Press, 2010)
• Davidson, Basil, Black Star: A View of the Life and Times of Kwame Nkrumah (James Currey, 2007)
• Falola, Toyin, and Salm, Stephen J, Culture and Customs of Ghana (Greenwood, 2002)
• Grant, Richard, Globalizing City: The Urban and Economic Transformation of Accra, Ghana (Syracuse University Press, 2008)
• Hadjor, Kofi Buenor, Nkrumah and Ghana (Africa Research & Publications, 2003)
• Hasty, Jennifer, The Press and Political Culture in Ghana (Indiana University Press, 2005)
• James, C.L.R., Kwame Nkrumah and the Ghana Revolution (Allison & Busby, 1977)
• Kuada, John, and Chachah Yao, Ghana. Understanding the People and their Culture (Woeli Publishing Services, 1999)
• Miescher, Stephan F, Making Men in Ghana (Indiana University Press, 2005)
• Milne, June, Kwame Nkrumah, A Biography (Panaf Books, 2006)
• Nkrumah, Kwame, Ghana: The Autobiography of Kwame Nkrumah (International Publishers, 1971)
• Utley, Ian, Ghana – Culture Smart!: the essential guide to customs & culture (Kuperard, 2009)
• Various, Ghana: An African Portrait Revisited (Peter E. Randall Publisher, 2007)
• Younge, Paschal Yao, Music and Dance Traditions of Ghana: History, Performance and Teaching (Mcfarland & Co Inc., 2011)
• {{cite book |first1=Laura |last1=Burke |author2=Armando García Schmidt |title=Ghana: Staying on Track in a Challenging Environment |publisher=Verlag Bertelsmann Stiftung, Gütersloh |year=2013 |isbn=978-3-86793-491-6 |pages=127–147}}

{{refend}}

{{Sister project links|b=y|commons=Ghana|n=y|q=y|s=y|v=y |voy= y}}

• {{Official website|https://www.ghana.gov.gh/}}, Government of Ghana
• [http://www.parliament.gh/ The Parliament of Ghana]
• [http://www.ghanaculture.gov.gh/ National Commission on Culture]
• [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/1023355.stm Country Profile] from BBC News
• [https://www.britannica.com/place/Ghana Ghana] from Encyclopædia Britannica
• [https://ecowap.ecowas.int/country/Ghana Ghana] profile from ECOWAS
• [https://www.aljazeera.com/where/ghana/ News headline links] from Al Jazeera.
• {{Wikiatlas|Ghana}}
• The [http://africanactivist.msu.edu/ African Activist Archive Project] website has photographs of the All Africa People's Conference held in Accra, Ghana, 5–13 December 1958 including [http://africanactivist.msu.edu/image.php?objectid=476 Kwame Nkrumah, Prime Minister of Ghana], addressing the conference, the [http://africanactivist.msu.edu/image.php?objectid=85 American Committee on Africa delegation] meeting with Nkrumah, and of [http://africanactivist.msu.edu/image.php?objectid=470 Patrick Duncan and Alfred Hutchinson] of South Africa at the conference.

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