in 1957, Ghana became the first African nation to achieve freedom from colonial rule.
Ghana, officially called the Republic of Ghana, is a sovereign state and unitary presidential constitutional republic, located along the Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean, in West Africa. In 1957, Ghana became the first nation to declare independence from European colonization.
The country is bordered by the Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, Togo in the east and the Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean in the south. The word Ghana means "Warrior King".
Ghana has a 238,535 km2 land mass with 2,093 kilometres of international land borders. Ghana consists of ten administrative regions and some islands, parts of which are endowed with savannas, woodlands, forests, a coastal line, fertile lands, springs, waterfalls, streams, rivers, caves, lakes, esturaries, mountains, wildlife parks and nature reserves, industrial minerals, Precious metals and Fossil fuel. The coast of Ghana which has mainly sandy beaches stretches 560 kilometres (350 miles) with a peninsula at Cape Three Points. Also along the coastline are castles, forts, ports and harbours. These physical and human features are not evenly spread in the country however.
Ghana has in recent years attained rapid economic growth and rising human development. Ghana is a petroleum and natural gas producer, one of the world's largest gold and diamond producers, the second largest cocoa producer in the world, and Ghana is home to Lake Volta, the largest artificial lake in the world by surface area. Ghana is a regional power and has regional hegemony; and it is a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement and a member of both the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Group of 24 (G24).
The word Ghana means "Warrior King" and was the title accorded to the kings of the medieval Ghana Empire in West Africa, although this empire was further north than the modern-day country of Ghana in Guinea region.
The name "Ghana" was the source of the name "Guinea" (via French Guinoye) used to refer to the West African coast off Ghana (as in Gulf of Guinea).
Ghana was adopted as the legal name for the area comprising four separate parts which immediately before independence enjoyed distinct constitutional positions:
the Colony of the Gold Coast;
the Colony of Ashanti;
the Protectorate of the Northern Territories; and
the Trust Territory of Togoland (under British administration).
The minister responsible for shepherding through the independence legislation Charles Arden-Clarke Lord Listowel explained that the name was chosen "in accordance with local wishes".
Ghana was inhabited in the Middle Ages and the age of discovery by a number of ancient predominantly Akan kingdoms, including the Ashanti Empire, the Akwamu, the Bonoman, the Denkyira, and the Mankessim Kingdom. There is archaeological evidence showing that humans have lived in present-day Ghana since the Bronze Age. However, until the 11th century, the majority of modern Ghana's territorial area was largely unoccupied and uninhabited by humans. Although the area of present-day Ghana in West Africa has experienced many population movements, the Akans were firmly settled by the 10th century. By the early 11th century, the Akans were firmly established in the Akan state called Bonoman, for which the Brong-Ahafo region is named.
From the 13th century, Akans emerged from what is believed to have been the Bonoman area, to create several Akan states of Ghana, mainly based on gold trading. These states included Bonoman (Brong-Ahafo region), Ashanti (Ashanti region), Denkyira (Central region), Mankessim Kingdom (Western region), and Akwamu (Eastern region and Greater Accra region). By the 19th century; the territory of the southern part of Ghana was included in the Kingdom of Ashanti, one of the most influential states in sub-saharan Africa prior to the onset of colonialism. The Kingdom of Ashanti government operated first as a loose network, and eventually as a centralised kingdom with an advanced, highly specialised bureaucracy centred in the capital city of Kumasi. It is said that at its peak; the King of the Empire of Ashanti, Asantehene could field 500,000 troops, and it had strong degree of military influence over all of its neighbours within West Africa. Prior to Akan contact with Europeans, trade between the Akan and various West African states flourished due to Akan gold wealth. Trade with European states began after contact with Portuguese in the 15th century. Early European contact by the Portuguese people, who came to the Gold Coast region in the 15th century to trade then established the Portuguese Gold Coast (Costa do Ouro), focused on the extensive availability of gold. The Portuguese first landed at a south coastal city, and named the place Elmina as the Portuguese Gold Coast's capital city. In 1481, King John II of Portugal commissioned Diogo d'Azambuja to build Elmina Castle, which was completed in three years. By 1598, the Dutch people had joined the Portuguese people in gold trading, establishing the Dutch Gold Coast (Nederlandse Bezittingen ter Kuste van Guinea) and building forts at Komeda and Kormantsi. In 1617, the Dutch captured the Olnini Castle from the Portuguese, and Axim in 1642 (Fort St Anthony). Other European traders had joined in gold trading by the mid-17th century, most notably the Swedish people, establishing the Swedish Gold Coast (Svenska Guldkusten), and the Danish people, establishing the Danish Gold Coast (Danske Guldkyst or Dansk Guinea). Portuguese merchants, impressed with the gold resources in the area, named it Costa do Ouro or Gold Coast.
More than thirty forts and castles were built by the Portuguese, Swedish, Danish, Dutch and German merchants; the latter German people establishing the German Gold Coast (Brandenburger Gold Coast or Groß Friedrichsburg). In 1874 England established control over some parts of the country assigning these areas the status of British Gold Coast. Many military engagements occurred between the British colonial powers and the various Akan nation-states and the Akan Kingdom of Ashanti defeated the British a few times in a warfare against the United Kingdom that lasted for 100 years, but eventually lost with the War of the Golden Stool in the early 1900s. In 1947, the newly formed United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) by The Big Six called for "self-government within the shortest possible time". Dr.h.c. Kwame Nkrumah is the first Prime Minister of Ghana and President of Ghana and formed the Convention People's Party (CPP) with the motto "self-government now". The coastal Gold Coast region declared independence from the United Kingdom in 1957 and established the nation of Ghana. This made it the first African country to gain independence from colonization.
Within West Africa until the establishment of Ghana in March 1957, the territory of modern Ghana, excluding the Volta Region (British Togoland), was known as the Gold Coast region. On 6 March 1957 at 12 a.m Kwame Nkrumah declared Ghana's establishment and autonomy as the first Prime Minister of Ghana and on 1 July 1960, Nkrumah declared Ghana as a republic as the first President of Ghana. The flag of Ghana, consisting of the colours red, gold, green, and the black star, became the new flag in 1957. Designed by Theodosia Salome Okoh, the red represents the blood that was shed towards independence, the gold represents the industrial minerals wealth of Ghana, the green symbolises the rich grasslands of Ghana, and the black star is the symbol of the Ghanaian people and African emancipation.
The first Prime Minister of Ghana and President of Ghana Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah won a majority in the Gold Coast Legislative Assembly in 1952, Nkrumah was appointed leader of the Gold Coast's government business. Kwame Nkrumah, first Prime Minister of Ghana, and then President of Ghana, was the first African head of state to promote Pan-Africanism, an idea he came into contact with during his studies at Lincoln University, Pennsylvania in the United States, at the time when Marcus Garvey was becoming famous for his "Back to Africa Movement". Nkrumah merged the teachings of Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King, Jr. and the naturalized 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 his life achievements were recognised by Ghanaians during his centenary birthday celebration, and the day was instituted as a public holiday. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah's government was subsequently overthrown by a military coup while he was abroad with Zhou Enlai in the People's Republic of China in February 1966.
A series of alternating military and civilian governments from 1966 to 1981 ended with the ascension to power of Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings of the Provisional National Defense Council (NDC) in 1981. These changes resulted in the suspension of the constitution in 1981, and the banning of political parties. The economy suffered a severe decline soon after, Kwame Darko negotiated a structural adjustment plan changing many old economic policies, and economic growth soon recovered from the mid-2000s. A new constitution restoring multi-party politics was promulgated in 1992; Rawlings was elected as president then, and again in 1996. Winning the 2000 elections, John Agyekum Kufuor of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was sworn into office as president in January 2001, and attained the presidency again in 2004, thus also serving two terms as president and thus marking the first time that power had been transferred to one legitimately elected head of state and head of government to another, and securing Ghana's status as a stable democracy.
Ghana is a unitary presidential constitutional republic with a parliamentary multi-party system and former alternating military occupation. Following alternating military and civilian governments in January 1993, the Ghana military government gave way to the Fourth Republic of Ghana after presidential and parliamentary elections in late 1992. The 1992 constitution divides powers among a president, parliament, cabinet, council of state, and an independent judiciary. The government is elected by universal suffrage. The Electoral Commission of Ghana announced that fomer Vice-President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama won the Ghana presidential election, 2012 on 7 December 2012 and John Dramani Mahama was sworn in as the reigning President of Ghana on 7 January 2013 serving a 4-years term length that expires approximately on Saturday 7 January 2017 amidst announcement of electoral fraud.
The 2012 Failed States Index indicated that Ghana is ranked the 67th least failed state in the world and the 5th least failed state in Africa after Mauritius, 2nd Seychelles, 3rd Botswana, and 4th South Africa. Ghana ranked 112th out of 177 countries on the index.Ghana ranked as the 64th least corrupt and politically corrupt country in the world out of all 174 countries ranked and Ghana ranked as the 5th least corrupt and politically corrupt country in Africa out of 53 countries in the 2012 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index. Ghana was ranked 7th 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 a number of different variables which reflect the success with which governments deliver essential political goods to its citizens.
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.
Ghana has a great relationship with the United States, all of the last three U.S persidents, Bill Clinton, George W Bush and Barack Obama have all made diplomatic trips to Ghana. Many Ghanaian diplomats and politicians hold positions in international organisations. These include Ghanaian diplomat and former Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan, International Criminal Court Judge Akua Kuenyehia, former President Jerry John Rawlings and former President John Agyekum Kuffour who have both served as diplomats of the United Nations.
In September 2010, Ghana's former 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 on 20 September 2010. China reciprocated with a 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 Dramani Mahama.
Ghana is located on the Gulf of Guinea, only a few degrees north of the Equator, therefore giving it a warm climate. Ghana spans an area of 238,535 km2 (92,099 sq mi), and has an Atlantic coastline that stretches 560 kilometres (350 miles) on the Gulf of Guinea in Atlantic Ocean to its south. lies between latitudes 4° and 12°N, and longitudes 4°W and 2°E; and the Prime Meridian passes through Ghana, specifically through the industrial port town of Tema. Ghana is geographically closer to the "centre" of the world than any other country in the world; even though the notional centre, (0°, 0°) is located in the Atlantic Ocean approximately 614 km (382 mi) off the south-east coast of Ghana on the Gulf of Guinea. Grasslands mixed with south coastal shrublands and forests dominate Ghana, with forest extending northward from the south-west coast of Ghana on the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean 320 kilometers (200 miles) and eastward for a maximum of about 270 kilometers (170 miles) with the Kingdom of Ashanti or the southern part of Ghana being a primary location for mining of industrial minerals and timber. Ghana encompasses plains, low hills, rivers, Lake Volta, the world's largest artificial lake, Dodi Island and Bobowasi Island on the south Atlantic Ocean coast of Ghana. The northernmost part of Ghana is Pulmakong and the southernmost part of Ghana is Cape three points.
In 1957, the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) consisted of its headquarters, support services, three battalions of infantry and a reconnaissance squadron with armoured vehicles. Ghanaian Prime Minister and President Kwame 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.
Today, Ghana is a regional power and regional hegemony. In his book Shake Hands with the Devil, Canadian Forces commander Roméo Dallaire highly rated the GAF soldiers
The Ghana Police Service (GPS) is the main law enforcement agency of the Republic of Ghana and responsible for the detection of crime, maintenance of law and order and the maintenance of internal peace and security. The Ghana Police Service has eleven specialized police units including a Rapid Deployment Force (RDF) and Marine Police Unit (MPU). The Ghana Police Service operates in twelve divisions: ten covering the ten regions of Ghana, one assigned specifically to the seaport and industrial hub of Tema, and the twelfth being the Railways, Ports and Harbours Division. 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 in Ghana. Ghana retains and exercises the death penalty for treason, corruption, robbery, piracy, drug trafficking, rape, and homicide. 27 convicts (all men) were sentenced to death in Ghana in 2012 and the Ghana Prisons Service statistics of the total number of convicts sentenced to death in Ghana as at December 2012 was 162 men and 4 women, with a total prison inmate population of 13,983 convicts as at 22 July 2013.
Ghana is a relatively wealthy natural resource rich country possessing a great abundance of industrial minerals, hydrocarbons and other vast array of natural resources and is an emerging designated digital economy with mixed economy hybridization and an emerging market with 8.7% GDP growth in 2012 and an economic plan target known as the "Ghana Vision 2020" that will see Ghana become the first country on the Africa continent to become a developed country from the years 2020 to 2029 followed by a newly industrialised country from the years 2030 to 2039 onwards excluding fellow Group of 24 (G24) member and Sub-Saharan African country South Africa which is a newly industrialised country, and the economy of Ghana is tied to the Chinese Yuan Renminbi along with Ghana's vast gold reserves and in 2013 the Bank of Ghana (BoG) began circulating the Renminbi throughout Ghanaian state-owned banks and to the Ghana public as hard currency along with the national Ghana cedi for second national trade currency.
Ghana, a wealthy country with vast natural resources has a current Middle Income country rank and is an Emerging Economy. Services account for 50% of Ghanaian gross domestic product, followed by manufacturing (24.1%), extractive industries (5%), and taxes (20.9%).
The Ghana economy is an emerging digital-based mixed economy hybrid modelled towards that of Taiwan with an increasing primary manufacturing and exportation of digital technology goods along with assembling and exporting automobiles and ships, diverse resource rich exportations of industrial minerals, agricultural products primarily cocoa, petroleum and natural gas, and industries such as information and communications technology primarily via Ghana's state digital technology corporation Rlg Communications which manufactures tablet computers with smart phones and various electronics, electricity generation primarily via Ghana's state-owned hydropower company Volta River Authority and state-owned hydrocarbon corporation Ghana National Petroleum Corporation. The Akosombo Dam, which was built on the Volta River in 1965, Bui Dam, Kpong Dam with several other hydroelectric dams and renewable energy sources provides hydro-electricity and sustainable energy for Ghana. Known for its industrial minerals, Ghana was the world's 7th largest producer of gold in 2012; producing 102 metric tons of gold and the 10th largest producer of gold in the world in 2012; producing 89 metric tons of gold and Ghana is the designated 2nd largest producer of gold on the Africa continent behind the designated first South Africa. Ghana has the 9th largest reserves of diamonds in the world and Ghana is the 9th largest producer of diamonds in the world with Brazil having the 10th largest reserves of diamonds in the world and being the 10th largest producer of diamonds in the world. The Parliament of Ghana has drawn plans to nationalize Ghana's entire mining industry for greater revenues for Ghana. Ghana is the designated 2nd largest producer of cocoa in the world, and other hydrocarbon exports such as crude oil and natural gas. The 100% state-owned filling station company of Ghana, Ghana Oil Company (GOIL) is the number 1 petroleum and gas filling station of Ghana and the 100% state-owned state oil company Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) administrates hydrocarbon exploration and production of Ghana's entire petroleum and natural gas reserves and Ghana aims to further increase output of oil to 2.2 million barrels per day and gas to 1.2 billion cubic feet per day. Ghana's Jubilee Oilfield which contains up to 3 billion barrels (480,000,000 m3) of sweet crude oil was discovered in 2007, among the many other offshore and inland oilfields in Ghana. Ghana is believed to have up to 5 billion barrels (790,000,000 m3) to 7 billion barrels (1.1×109 m3) of petroleum in reserves, which is the sixth largest in Africa and the 25th largest proven reserves in the world and Ghana has up to 6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in reserves. Oil and gas exploration off Ghana's eastern coast on the Gulf of Guinea is ongoing, and the amount of both crude oil and natural gas continues to increase. The Parliament of Ghana has drawn plans to nationalize Ghana's entire petroleum and natural gas reserves for greater revenues for the government of Ghana. In addition, the government has sought to build the second nuclear power plant in Africa.
In July 2013, International Enterprise Singapore (IE) Singapore opened its 38th global office in Accra, Ghana to develop trade and investment on logistics, oil and gas, aviation, transportation and consumer sectors. Singapore and Ghana also signed four bilateral agreements to promote public sector and private sector collaboration, as Ghana aims to predominantly shift its economic trade partnership to East Asia and Southeast Asia.The economic centre is IE Singapore's second office in Africa, coming six months after opening in Johannesburg, South Africa in January 2013. Ghana's labour force in 2008 totalled 11.5 million Ghanaian citizens. Tema harbour is Africa's largest manmade harbour and Takoradi harbour along with Tema harbour in Ghana handles goods and exports for Ghana, they are also a traffic junctions, where goods are transhipped, the Tema harbour handles the majority of the nation's export cargo and most of the country's chief exports is shipped from Takoradi harbour. The Takoradi harbour and Tema harbour are operated by the state-owned Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority.
The real estate and housing market of Ghana has become an important and strategic economic sector, particularly in the urban centers of south Ghana such as Accra, Kumasi, Sekondi-Takoradi and Tema. Kumasi is growing at a faster rate than Accra, and there is less competition in its real estate market. The gross rental income tax of Ghana is withheld at 10%, capital gains are taxed at 15% with a 5% gift tax imposed on the transfer of properties and Ghana’s real estate market is divided into 3 areas: public sector real estate development, emerging private sector real estate development, and private individuals. The activities of these 3 groups are facilitated by the Ghanaian banks and the primary mortgage market which has demonstrated enormous growth potential. Recent developments in the Ghanaian economy has given birth to a boom in the construction sector, including the housing and public housing sector generating and injecting millions of dollars annually into the Ghanaian economy. The real estate market investment perspective and attraction comes from Ghana's tropical location and robust political stability. An increasing number of the Ghanaian populace are investing in properties and the Ghana government is empowering the private sector in the real estate direction.
According to Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index of 2013, out of 177 countries, Ghana ranked 63rd with Cuba and Saudi Arabia. Ghana had a score of 46 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.
Previously in 2012, the country ranked 64 and scored 45. Thus, Ghana's public sector is seen as more corrupt in 2013 than in 2012, according to CPI's scores.
Aside international reports of corruption in Ghana, local reports have also claimed that Ghana loses US$4.5 billion every year (annually) from gross domestic product (GDP) growth as a result of economic corruption and economic crime by the incumbent National Democratic Congress (NDC) government of Ghana led by John Dramani Mahama. It is also said Ghana has lost an additional US $2.5 billion from gross domestic product (GDP) growth between the months of January 2013 to October 2013 through economic corrupt practices under the Mahama administration. There is public call from Ghanaians for the impeachment of John Dramani Mahama.
The incumbent president is however seen to be fighting corruption by some government members and a fellow politician of an opposition party after ordering investigations into scandals. Nonetheless others believe his actions aren't satisfactory in some cases.
Ghana has been used as a key narcotics industry transshipment point by traffickers. There is not wide popular knowledge about the narcotics industry and intercepted narcotics in Ghana due to the involvement of the black 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 within the Atlantic Ocean – only a few degrees north of the Equator – makes Ghana an attractive country for the narcotics business.
The Narcotic Control Board (NACOB), in collaboration with an internal counterpart, has impounded container ships at the Sekondi Naval Base within the Takoradi Harbour. These ships were carrying millions of kilograms of the narcotic cocaine, with a street value running into billions of Ghana cedis. However, drug seizures saw a decline in 2011. Drug cartels and drug lords of Ghana are using new methods in narcotics production and narcotics exportation, worth billions of Ghana cedis annually, in order to avoid Ghanaian security agencies. Income inequality, underdeveloped institutions and criminal justice system, porous open borders, and the existence of established smuggling organizations contribute to Ghana's position in the narcotics industry.
John Atta Mills, president between 2009 and 2012, initiated ongoing efforts to reduce the role of airports in Ghana's drug trade.
Ghana is a multiethnic country and Ghana's territorial area within West Africa was unoccupied and uninhabited by humans until the 10th century A.D. In the 10th century A.D. Akans became first settlers and established Bonoman (Brong Ahafo region) in the 11th century prior to establishing the Akan Kingdom of Ashanti then Akans were joined and followed by African settlers and inhabitants in the 16th century A.D and the Akan created an advanced economy based on principally gold and gold bar commodities then traded with the states of West Africa. There are 15 million inhabitants with Ghanaian passports (Ghanaian people with Ghanaian citizenship) while there are 375,000 registered legal skilled workers (permanent residents) or foreign workers/students (i.e. Ghana card holders) inhabitants with an annually 1.5 million transited airport layovers and Ghana's first post-independence population census, in 1960, counted about 6.7 million inhabitants. The median age of Ghanaian citizens is 30 years old and the average household size is 3.6 persons. 60% (15 million) of the Ghana legal resident population are Ghanaian nationals and whom the majority are Akans. The Akans are the majority inhabitants and 11.5 million (76.6%) of the 15 million Ghanaian citizenry (Ghanaian people) inhabiting population are Akans with a small number (2.5 million) of African minorities from over the centuries (16.7%). The official language is English and is spoken by 90% of the inhabiting population; however, 75% of the inhabiting population also speak the Akan language, and 100% of the inhabiting population speak the Niger–Congo languages.
Fertility rate declined from 3.99 (2000) to 3.28 (2010) with 2.78 in Urban region and 3.94 in rural region.
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