10 Interesting Facts About Ghana | People, Culture & History

Ghana, officially known as the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It spans the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with the Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Togo in the east. Ghana covers an area of 238,535 km2, spanning diverse biomes that range from coastal savannas to tropical rain forests. With over 31 million people, Ghana is the second-most populous country in West Africa, after Nigeria. The capital and largest city is Accra; other major cities are Kumasi, Tamale, and Sekondi-Takoradi. Ghana is a multinational state, home to a variety of ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups; while the Akan are the largest ethnic group, they constitute only a plurality. The vast majority of Ghanaians are Christian (71.3%), with close to a fifth being Muslim and a tenth practicing traditional faiths or reporting no religion. Ghana is a unitary constitutional democracy led by a president who is both head of state and head of government. Since 1993, it has maintained one of the freest and most stable governments on the continent and performs relatively well in metrics of healthcare, economic growth, and human development. Ghana consequently enjoys significant influence in West Africa and is highly integrated into international affairs, being a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Group of 24 (G24), and the Commonwealth of Nations.