Ghana
The Republic of Ghana is a country in West Africa. It borders Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to the east. The word “Ghana” means “Warrior King”, and was the source of the name “Guinea” that is used to refer to the West African coast (as in Gulf of Guinea). Ghana is a country located on the Gulf of Guinea, only a few degrees north of the Equator, therefore giving it a warm climate. More than 250 languages and dialects are spoken in Ghana. English is the country’s official language and pre-dominates government and business affairs. It is also the standard language used for educational instruction.
Ghana was inhabited in pre-colonial times by a number of ancient kingdoms, including the Ga Adangbes on the eastern coast, inland Empire of Ashanti and various Fante states along the coast and inland. Trade with European states flourished after contact with the Portuguese in the 15th century, and the British established a crown colony, Gold Coast, in 1874.
Upon being the first African nation to achieve independence from the United Kingdom in 1957, the name Ghana was chosen for the new nation to reflect the ancient Empire of Ghana that once extended throughout much of western Africa. In the Ashanti language it is spelled Gaana.
Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has twice the per capita output of the poorer countries in West Africa. Even so, Ghana remains somewhat dependent on international financial and technical assistance as well as the activities of the extensive Ghanaian diaspora. Gold, timber, cocoa, diamond, bauxite, and manganese exports are major sources of foreign exchange. An oilfield which is reported to contain up to 3 billion barrels (480,000,000 m3) of light oil was discovered in 2007. Oil exploration is ongoing and, the amount of oil continues to increase.
The domestic economy continues to revolve around subsistence agriculture, which accounts for 50% of GDP and employs 85% of the work force, mainly small landholders. Ghana made progress under a three-year structural adjustment program in cooperation with the IMF. On the negative side, public sector wage increases and regional peacekeeping commitments have led to continued inflationary deficit financing, depreciation of the Cedi, and rising public discontent with Ghana’s austerity measures. Even so, Ghana remains one of the more economically sound countries in all of Africa.
