August 7, 2022
Brief History of Ghana
The Republic of Ghana (formerly Gold Coast, a name given to her by the European merchants due to the country’s abundance in gold), lies on the Gulf of Guinea on the western coast of tropical Africa. Ghana is bordered by Burkina Faso in the north, Cote d’Ivoire in the west, Togo in the east and the Atlantic Ocean in the south. Ghana covers an area of 239,460 sq km (similar size as that of Great Britain and the state of Oregon in the USA). The country has an average maximum daily temperature of 30oC and a minimum of 23OC. August is the coolest month of the year with March being the hottest. Ancient Ghana was part of the Empire that flourished in the north-western part of Africa (i.e. present day Mali) from around 400 AD to the latter part of the century. Modern Ghana is an industrial and agricultural country with more than 20 million people with over 100 ethnic groups with the major ones being the Akan, Guan, Ewe, and Ga. English is the official language although there exist over 100 different spoken languages.
Ghana was the first black African country to gain its independence on the 6th of March 1957. The first ever successful civilian political transfer of power from one government to another occurred on January 7th 2001. The country is divided into 10 administrative regions with Accra as the national capital and each region is divided into districts. Presently, there are 138 administrative districts for local governance purposes. Ghana is endowed with many natural resources such as gold, industrial diamond, bauxite, manganese, cocoa, timber, fish and rubber. Ghana’s Anglogold – Ashanti (formerly Ashanti Goldfields) is the single richest gold mines in the world with listings on both the New York and the London Stock Exchange. Ghanaians are known to be Africa’s most friendliest people, who will always greet you with the warm ‘Akwaaba’ which means welcome. The hospitality and warmth alone will make your stay a memorable one.