Week # 1: Ghana

Meet Ghana

The Republic of Ghana is named after the medieval Ghana Empire of West Africa. The actual name of the Empire was Wagadugu. Ghana was the title of the kings who ruled the kingdom. Before March 1957 Ghana was called the Gold Coast. The country’s neighbours include Togo, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali and Burkina Faso. The climate in Ghana is tropical. It’s relatively warm along the southeast coast, humid in the southwest and extremely hot and dry in the north. Apart from Gold, Ghana is rich in timber, bauxite, manganese, rubber and industrial diamonds. Ghana is famous for its weavers of Kente cloth; an Asante ceremonial cloth.

The Flag

The flag of Ghana consists of the Pan-African colours of red, yellow, and green, in horizontal stripes, with a black five-pointed star in the centre of the gold stripe. The black star was adopted from the flag of the Black Star Line (a shipping line incorporated by Marcus Garvey) as a symbol of African emancipation. The red represents the blood of those who died in the country's struggle for independence, the gold represents the mineral wealth of the country, the green symbolises the country's rich forests and natural wealth.

Language

The official language is English, but there are more than 70 ethnic languages and major dialects are spoken country-wide. 

There are 9 government-sponsored languages and 26 non-government sponsored languages. The government-sponsored languages are supported by the Bureau of Ghana Languages and during the periods when indigenous languages were used in primary education, these were the languages which were used.

Currency

The Ghana Cedi (GH₵) is derived from the Akan word for cowry shell. Cowry shells were once used in Ghana as a form of currency.

   

Population: 24,223,431 (2010 est.)

Capital City: Accra

Famous Ghanaians

Kofi Atta Annan - UN Secretary General

Kwame Nkrumah - Head of State

Did You Know That

• Ghana boasts the oldest university in sub-Saharan Africa at Legon in Accra.
• The first football match in Ghana (Gold Coast) took place under moonlight at the Victoria Park in Cape Coast in 1903 and was organized by a Jamaican.
• The Lake Volta in Ghana is the one of the largest man-made lakes in the world.
• Ghana is the world's second-largest producer of Cocoa.
• The motto of the country is “Freedom and Justice”.

Suggested for further reading:

History of Ghana

Ghana Tourism Homepage