An overview of Ghana

Ghana is a country in the western part of Africa. It is also known as the Republic of Ghana. The capital of Ghana is Accra, which is along the Atlantic Coast of West Africa. The official currency of Ghana is the Ghanaian cedi.

Historical overview of Ghana
The region of Ghana was formerly known as the Gold Coast. In the late 15th century, around 1482, settlers from Portugal arrived and found that the land was rich in gold and other minerals. They took this opportunity and started trading.

• In the early 16th century, slavery became predominant, and other Dutch traders also arrived in the region.
• However, in 1642 the previous settlers left the Gold Coast and handed the land to the Dutch.

Slavery was banned by the British in 1807 and came under its administration. In 1957, Gold Coast succeeded in gaining independence with the help of Kwame Nkrumah, and in 1960 Ghana became part of commonwealth republics. In 1966, Kwame Nkrumah became the president until he was overthrown by a coup that resulted in military rule from 1964-1992. In 1992, a multi-party system was announced and approved. In 2010, the economic growth rocketed because of offshore oil production.

Terrestrial features
Ghana shares its borders with several countries. The northern and northwestern boundaries are bordered by Burkina Faso, which is a landlocked country. Togo bounds the eastern part of the country, and the great Atlantic surrounds the Southern and western part, and Côte d'Ivoire, respectively.

• The region does not have many high plateaus.
• There are some highlands in the region, but they are not over 3000 feet. The western part of Ghana is covered in tropical rainforests.
• There are many lakes and rivers in the eastern part of the region, such as Lake Volta.

Lake Volta is an artificial lake and is located behind the Akosombo Dam. The Dam is one of the prime sources of electricity in Ghana.

Weather
Being close to the equator, Ghana is a tropical region, and so it has tropical weather all year round. The scorching sun makes the daytime very hot. The temperatures in the day can rise to 31° C. However, being a coastal region, the nights are cool, with the temperature varying between 20° C-21° C. Moreover, some of the highland regions near the Basin are always hot irrespective of day or night. The Monsoon season is from March-July and September-October. The southern part experiences the most rain while the north usually remains dry. The south experiences an average rainfall of about 1,270 to 2,180 mm, while the north experiences only about 600mm rainfall per annum.

People, language, and religion
There are between 50-75 ethnic groups in Ghana. Most of them have different languages as well. Some of the popular ethnicities living in Ghana are Akan, Gurma, and Ewe. The people of Akan mainly occupy the land. People live in villages and do farming, fishing, and agriculture to support their families. Some of the major languages that are spoken in Ghana are Akan, Dagbani, and Dagaare. However, the official language of Ghana is English. Christianity and Islam are the most practiced religions in Ghana. Many people in Ghana are also involved in traditional indigenous religions, including believing in the dead ancestors that they are alive and can hear your prayers.

References

• Geonames
• Wikipedia

Other Databases

• World Continents, Countries, States, and Cities
• Cities of Guinea
• Cities of Cameroon