Ghana

By Prof. Raju Vatsavayi

Name

Official name	Republic of Ghana
Former names	The Gold Coast — the British colony (1867–1957); the Dominion of Ghana (1957–1960)
Demonym	Ghanaian
Meaning of the name	From the Ghana Empire of the 4th to 13th centuries in Mauritania and Mali — "warrior king" in Soninke — chosen by Nkrumah for the new nation
Motto	"Freedom and Justice" — on the coat of arms

Quick facts

Capital	Accra — the capital since 1877; about 2.6 million in the city, 5.5 million in the Greater Accra region
Largest cities	Accra; Kumasi, about 3.5 million in its area; Tamale; Sekondi-Takoradi; Ashaiman; Cape Coast; Sunyani; Ho
Official language	English; eleven government-sponsored languages — Akan in its Twi and Fante forms, Ewe, Ga, Dagbani, Dagaare, Gonja, Kasem, Nzema and others; some 80 languages
Currency	Ghanaian cedi — ISO code GHS, GH₵; 100 pesewas; about 11 to the U.S. dollar
Time zone	Greenwich Mean Time, UTC±0, all year — the prime meridian through Tema
Calling code	+233
Internet domain	.gh
ISO 3166 codes	GH · GHA · 288
Vehicle registration code	GH
Driving side	Right — switched from the left on 4 August 1974
Electricity	230 V, 50 Hz; plug types D and G
Independence	6 March 1957, from the United Kingdom — the first colony of sub-Saharan Africa to win it; Kwame Nkrumah; the republic 1 July 1960
National days	6 March, Independence Day; 1 July, Republic Day; 21 September, Founders' Day, Nkrumah's birthday; 7 January, Constitution Day; 4 August, Founders' Day of the movement; 1 August, Emancipation; the Christian and Muslim feasts
Constitution	7 January 1993 — the Constitution of the Fourth Republic, approved by referendum 28 April 1992; a president of two four-year terms
Population	30,832,019 at the census of 2021; about 35 million (Statistical Service and UN, 2025–26 est.)
Area	238,533 km² (92,098 sq mi) — land 227,533 km², water 11,000 km², most of it Lake Volta

Flag & national symbols

National flag	A horizontal tricolor of red, gold and green — the blood of the independence struggle, the wealth of the land, the forests and farms — with a black star at the center for African freedom, the star of Marcus Garvey's Black Star Line; designed by Theodosia Okoh and hoisted at independence on 6 March 1957, the first African flag in the pan-African colors after Ethiopia's.Flag of Ghana
Coat of arms	A shield quartered by a green St. George's cross edged in gold: a sword and a linguist's staff for the traditional and the national authorities, Osu Castle on the sea, a cocoa tree and a gold mine; a black star above, two tawny eagles beside, the motto below — granted 4 March 1957
National anthem	"God Bless Our Homeland Ghana" — music by Philip Gbeho, 1957; the words rewritten by Michael Kwame Gbordzoe after the coup of 1966
National motto	"Freedom and Justice"
National colors	Red, gold, green and black
National bird	The tawny eagle — the eagles of the arms; widely cited
National tree	The cocoa tree of the arms; widely cited
National cloth	Kente — the woven silk and cotton of the Asante and Ewe; the adinkra symbols; the smock of the north
National dish	Jollof rice, in the war with Nigeria over whose is best; fufu with light soup; banku with tilapia; waakye; widely cited
Symbol status	The flag, arms and anthem are fixed by law; the bird and tree by the arms; the cloth and dishes widely cited

Geography

Location	West Africa on the Gulf of Guinea — between Côte d'Ivoire and Togo, with Burkina Faso to the north; a few degrees north of the equator, on the prime meridian
Land borders	2,420 km (1,504 mi) with three countries
Border with Togo	1,098 km (682 mi)
Border with Côte d'Ivoire	720 km (447 mi) — the maritime boundary settled by the tribunal of 2017 for the oil
Border with Burkina Faso	602 km (374 mi)
Coastline	539 km (335 mi)
Highest point	Mount Afadja, 885 m (2,904 ft), in the Volta Region
Lowest point	The Atlantic Ocean, 0 m
Mean elevation	190 m (623 ft)
The Volta	The Black, White and Red Volta joining in Lake Volta, about 8,500 km² — the largest artificial lake in the world by area, behind the Akosombo Dam of 1965, 520 km long; the Volta below it to the sea at Ada; the Pra, the Ankobra and the Tano to the west
Terrain	The coastal plain with its lagoons; the forest belt of the Ashanti and Western regions; the Kwahu plateau; the Volta basin and the lake; the savanna of the north; the Akwapim-Togo hills
Climate	Tropical — two rainy seasons in the south, April to July and September to November; one in the north; the harmattan of December and January; Accra dry, the southwest wet
Natural hazards	Drought in the north; floods — the Akosombo spillage of 2023 that displaced 30,000; coastal erosion at Keta; the harmattan
Natural resources	Gold — the Gold Coast; oil and gas offshore since 2007; bauxite, manganese, diamonds; timber; hydropower; the cocoa land; lithium found at Ewoyaa
Land use	Agricultural land about 69%; forest about 35%, shrinking with the galamsey mines
National parks	Mole, the largest, with the elephants of the north; Kakum, the canopy walkway of the forest; Bui; Digya on the lake; the Ankasa forest; the hippos of Wechiau; the crocodiles of Paga
UNESCO World Heritage	2 — the forts and castles of Volta, Greater Accra, Central and Western Regions (1979), Elmina and Cape Coast among the 30, the gates of the slave trade; the Asante traditional buildings (1980)
Administrative divisions	16 regions since 2019 — Greater Accra, Ashanti, Northern and the rest, the six new ones carved from the old ten; 261 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies

People

Population	30,832,019 (census of 2021); about 35 million (2025–26 est.)
Population density	About 145 per km² (375 per sq mi)
Population growth	About 2% a year
Median age	About 22 years
Life expectancy	About 65 years
Fertility rate	About 3.5 births per woman
Urban population	About 59%
Adult literacy	About 80%
Ethnic groups	Akan about 46% — the Asante, Fante, Akyem, Akuapem and Bono; Mole-Dagbani about 18%, in the north; Ewe about 13%; Ga-Dangme about 7%; Gurma, Guan, Grusi, Mande (census of 2021)
Languages	English official; Twi the lingua franca of the south, Fante on the coast, Ewe in the Volta Region, Ga in Accra, Dagbani in the north, Hausa in the zongos
Religion	Christian about 71% — Pentecostal and charismatic above all, with Catholics, Methodists, Presbyterians and Anglicans; Muslim about 20%, in the north and the zongos; traditional beliefs about 3% (census of 2021)
Human Development Index	0.628 (2023 data, 2025 report) — medium; about 145th of 193
Sport	Football — the Black Stars, African champions four times, the last in 1982, and the quarterfinal of the World Cup of 2010, a handball from the semifinal; Abedi Pele, Michael Essien, Asamoah Gyan, the Ayew brothers; boxing — Azumah Nelson; the Kumasi and Accra derbies of Kotoko and Hearts of Oak
Diaspora	About a million abroad — in the United States, Britain, Nigeria, Italy, Germany and Canada; the Year of Return of 2019 and the diaspora of the Atlantic; remittances about US$4 billion a year

Government

Form of government	Unitary presidential republic under the Constitution of 1992 — the president head of state and government, elected for four years, twice; the Fourth Republic since 1993
President	John Dramani Mahama (National Democratic Congress), since 7 January 2025 — the 14th head of state; president 2012–2017 after the death in office of John Atta Mills, and now the first elected to a second term after leaving office; born 29 November 1958 at Damongo; ineligible in 2028 under the two-term limit
Vice President	Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang (NDC), since 7 January 2025 — the first woman in the office; a professor of literature and former vice-chancellor of the University of Cape Coast
The 2024 election	Held 7 December 2024: Mahama 56.6%, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia of the New Patriotic Party 41.6% — Bawumia conceding before the official count; the NDC 183 of the 276 seats of Parliament, a two-thirds majority; observers calling the vote free, fair and a landmark for democracy on the continent; the incumbents punished for the economic crisis
Parliament	A single chamber of 276 members elected for four years by district; Alban Bagbin the speaker; the two parties of the Fourth Republic, the NDC and the NPP, alternating in power since 2001
The next election	Due 7 December 2028 — with the presidency open on both sides
The Chief Justice	Gertrude Torkornoo, the Chief Justice since 2023, suspended by the president in April 2025 on three petitions and removed in September 2025 on a committee's finding of misconduct — the first removal of a chief justice under the Fourth Republic, contested by her and the opposition as political
Legal system	Common law from England with customary law; the Supreme Court; the chiefs and their courts under the National House of Chiefs; the Asantehene the greatest of the traditional rulers
Regions	16, each under a minister appointed by the president; the assemblies with elected members and appointed chief executives
Politics	The alternations of 2001, 2009, 2017 and 2025 — every one peaceful, the model of the region; the coups of 1966, 1972, 1979 and 1981 behind it; the Rawlings era of 1981–2001 the bridge; the galamsey, the illegal gold mining that poisons the rivers, the issue of the 2024 campaign; the LGBT bill of 2024 lapsed and reintroduced
United Nations	Member since 8 March 1957; Kofi Annan secretary-general 1997–2006, the Nobel Peace Prize of 2001
Regional memberships	ECOWAS, whose parliament sits in Abuja and whose founding treaty was signed in 1975; the African Union; the Commonwealth; the Non-Aligned Movement; the African Continental Free Trade Area, headquartered in Accra since 2020; a Security Council seat five times, the last in 2022–23

Economy

GDP (nominal)	About US$100 billion (2025, IMF) — up sharply in dollar terms with the cedi's rally, about US$118 billion forecast for 2026
GDP per capita	About US$3,000 (2025)
GDP per capita (PPP)	About US$8,000 (2025)
GDP growth	5.8% in 2024 and 6% in 2025 — inflation from a peak of 54% in December 2022 to 3.3% in February 2026; the cedi up some 40% against the dollar in 2025, the best-performing currency in the world that year
Economy by sector	Services about 45%, industry about 30% — mining and oil — agriculture about 20%, employing a third
Currency	Ghanaian cedi (GHS)
Gold	The largest producer in Africa since 2019 — about 4.5 million ounces a year from Obuasi, Tarkwa, Ahafo and the small mines; some US$11 billion of exports; the Ghana Gold Board of 2025 buying the small-scale output; the galamsey of the illegal diggers
Cocoa	The second producer in the world after Côte d'Ivoire — about 500,000 to 700,000 metric tons a year, sold through the Cocoa Board since 1947; the harvest collapse of 2023–24 and the record prices
Oil	The Jubilee field found 2007 and producing since 2010, with TEN and Sankofa — about 150,000 barrels a day; Tullow, Kosmos and ENI; the gas to the power plants
The crisis of 2022	The default of December 2022 on the Eurobonds — a debt of 92.4% of GDP, inflation above 50%, the cedi halved; the domestic debt exchange of 2023; the IMF program of US$3 billion agreed May 2023; the Eurobond restructuring of October 2024 and the official-creditor deal; the debt down to about 53% of GDP by 2026
Other exports	Cashews, timber, bauxite, manganese, tuna, shea; the textiles; the remittances of US$4 billion
Public finances	The fiscal squeeze of the program — the E-levy on mobile money scrapped in 2025; the "24-hour economy" of the Mahama plan; the National Cathedral halted
Income classification	Lower-middle income (World Bank)

Transport & infrastructure

Main airport	Kotoka International Airport, Accra — the hub of the region with Lagos; Kumasi; Tamale; Takoradi
Airline	No national carrier since Ghana Airways collapsed in 2004 and Ghana International Airlines in 2010; a new Ghana Airlines planned; Africa World Airlines and Passion Air within
Main ports	Tema, the country's port, with the Meridian terminal of 2019 among the largest in West Africa; Takoradi for the oil, the manganese and the bauxite
Railways	About 950 km (590 mi) of the colonial network, most of it out of use; the Tema–Mpakadan standard-gauge line of 2024 to the lake; the Western Line rebuilding from Takoradi to Kumasi; the Accra–Tema shuttle
Roads	About 110,000 km (68,000 mi), about a quarter paved; the Accra–Kumasi highway; the Accra–Tema motorway of 1965, the first; the road north to Paga
The lake	The ferries of Lake Volta from Akosombo to Yeji and Buipe — the highway of the interior; the Adomi bridge of 1957

History in dates

c. 11th century	The Bono state — the first Akan kingdom
1471	The Portuguese reach the coast; Elmina Castle built 1482 — the oldest European building south of the Sahara
1701	Osei Tutu founds the Asante Empire — the Golden Stool descends at Kumasi
1807	Britain abolishes its slave trade; the castles turn to other cargo
1874	The Gold Coast Colony
1900	The War of the Golden Stool — Yaa Asantewaa; the Asante annexed 1902
1948	The Accra riots, 28 February — the veterans shot
1951	Nkrumah wins from prison
1957	Independence, 6 March — the first in sub-Saharan Africa
1960	The republic, 1 July
1965	The Akosombo Dam
1966	The coup against Nkrumah, 24 February
1979	Rawlings's first coup, 4 June
1981	Rawlings's second, 31 December — twenty years
1992	The Constitution of the Fourth Republic
2001	John Kufuor inaugurated, 7 January — the first peaceful handover between parties
2007	Oil found at Jubilee, 18 June; the new cedi
2012	Atta Mills dies in office, 24 July; Mahama president
2017	Nana Akufo-Addo president, 7 January
2019	The Year of Return; the sixteen regions
2022	The default, 19 December
2024	Mahama elected, 7 December
2025	Mahama inaugurated, 7 January; the Chief Justice removed, September

Records & firsts

The first sub-Saharan colony to independence	6 March 1957
The largest artificial lake by area	Lake Volta, about 8,500 km²
Africa's largest gold producer	Since 2019
The second cocoa producer	After Côte d'Ivoire
The oldest European building south of the Sahara	Elmina Castle, 1482
The nearest land to the center of the map	Where the equator meets the meridian, off Tema
Four peaceful handovers	2001, 2009, 2017 and 2025
A UN secretary-general	Kofi Annan, 1997–2006, Nobel Peace laureate 2001
The best-performing currency of 2025	The cedi
The Golden Stool	Never touched the ground, since 1701
The Year of Return	2019 — the diaspora called home
Kente	The cloth the world wears

Frequently asked questions

What is the official name of Ghana?

The Republic of Ghana — since 1 July 1960, three years after independence on 6 March 1957 as the Dominion of Ghana. Kwame Nkrumah took the name from the medieval Ghana Empire of the Sahel, which lay far to the northwest and had no direct link to the land, as a name for a nation reborn; the colony had been the Gold Coast, named by the Portuguese for the gold that brought them to Elmina in 1471.

What is the capital of Ghana?

Accra, on the Gulf of Guinea — a Ga fishing town grown around the forts of the Dutch, Danes and British, and the capital of the Gold Coast since 1877, with about 2.6 million people in the city and some 5.5 million in the Greater Accra region. Kumasi, the seat of the Asantehene and the capital of the Asante, is the second city and by some counts the larger; Tamale in the north, Sekondi-Takoradi the oil port, and Cape Coast, the old capital, follow.

How big is Ghana, and how many people live there?

About 238,533 km² (92,098 sq mi) — a little smaller than Britain, about the size of Oregon — on the Gulf of Guinea between Côte d'Ivoire and Togo, with Burkina Faso to the north. The census of 2021 counted 30,832,019 people; the Ghana Statistical Service and the UN estimate about 35 million for 2025–26, a population doubled since 1990 and among the most urban in West Africa.

What are the highest and lowest points of Ghana?

Mount Afadja — Afadjato — 885 m (2,904 ft), in the Volta Region on the Togolese border, the highest hill in a low country; and the Atlantic. Lake Volta, behind the Akosombo Dam of 1965, covers about 8,500 km², the largest artificial lake in the world by surface area; and the prime meridian passes through Tema, so that the point where the equator crosses it, off the coast, makes Ghana the country nearest the center of the map.

What currency does Ghana use?

The Ghanaian cedi (ISO code GHS, GH₵), of 100 pesewas, issued by the Bank of Ghana — redenominated in 2007 at 10,000 old cedis to one — at about 11 to the U.S. dollar after its rise of 2025, when it was the best-performing currency in the world on the gold exports and the recovery. The name is the Akan word for cowrie, the shell money of old. Clocks keep Greenwich Mean Time, UTC±0, all year.

Who governs Ghana?

President John Dramani Mahama of the National Democratic Congress, the 14th president, in office since 7 January 2025 — the first Ghanaian elected to a second term after leaving office, having served from 2012 to 2017; he won the election of 7 December 2024 with 56.6 percent of the vote against Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, who conceded before the official count, in a vote observers called a landmark for the continent. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang is the first woman vice president. His party holds a two-thirds majority in Parliament; he cannot stand again in 2028, when the next election is due.

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