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Ghana is a West African country. Located in the Gulf of
Guinea, it covers an area of 239 460 km2. Ghana
has borders with Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Togo to the
east and Burkina Faso to the north, bathed in the south
by the Gulf of Guinea. The main cities are Accra, the
capital, with 1 719 100 residents (2004), Kumasi (663
100 residents), Tamale (290 300 residents), Tema (26 300
residents), Takoradi (1 719 100 residents) and Sekonde (84 400
residents). Ghana is predominantly marked by extensive
plains and more arid plateaus in the far north of the
country, but covered by savannas immediately to the
south. Tropical forests develop further south, thanks to
the greater amounts of precipitation. It has a high
number of lakes, including Lake Volta, with 8500 km2,
artificially created by the Akozombo dam, on the Volta
River, in the interior of the country.
Climate
The climate is dry tropical in the North and humid
tropical in the South (where there are two rainy
seasons: from May to July and from October to November).
Economy
Ghana is a country rich in natural resources, with gold
mining (45% of total exports), diamonds, manganese and
bauxite, lime and iron stone reserves, marine oil and
natural gas reserves, salt, wood tropical forests and
huge water resources for the production of
electricity. Agriculture, which occupies about 59% of
the active population, is the most important economic
activity. In some areas it is an activity practiced with
very modern techniques and using machinery, as in
industrialized countries. But its greatest asset is the
production of cocoa, since, in addition to occupying
more than half of the arable land, it represents 40% of
total export earnings, which also include products such
as sugar, coffee and tropical fruits.
Ghana has experienced strong industrial growth since
the late 1970s and early 1980s, fueled by foreign
capital, which has favored the tobacco, textiles,
beverages, footwear and wood and wood products
industries. With regard to fishing activity, with the
exception of tuna, it is basically intended for domestic
consumption. Currently, tourism is the country's 3rd
source of foreign exchange. Ghana's main trading
partners are the United Kingdom, the United States of
America, Italy and France.
Environmental indicator: the value of carbon dioxide
emissions, per capita (metric tons, 1999), is
0.3.
Population
In 2006, there were 22 409 572 residents, with a
population density of 87.82 residents/km2. It is
one of the countries with strong demographic growth that
will double the population in 23 years. The birth and
death rates are respectively 30.52% and 9.72%. Average
life expectancy is 58.87 years. The value of the Human
Development Index (HDI) is 0.567 and the value of the
Gender-adjusted Development Index (IDG) is 0.564
(2001). The main ethnic groups are the Akan (52%), the
Mossi (16%), the Ewe (12%) and the Ga-Adangme (8%). In
religious terms, traditional beliefs (38%), Muslims
(30%) and Catholics (12%) predominate. The official
language is English.
History
The country has its origins in the former empire of
Ghana (7th century - 13th century), which was 800
kmnorthwest of the current territory and which was the
first major commercial empire in West Africa, dedicated
mainly to the gold trade and winning this, the name of
Gold Coast. It was, in fact, the gold that aroused the
interest of Portuguese navigators and explorers - the
first Europeans to reach this geographical point, in
1471. The reinforcement of the Portuguese presence was
made through the construction of the Fortress of Elmina
in 1482, but, from From the 17th century, with the
increase in slave trade, traders from France, England,
Denmark and the Netherlands began to dominate the gold
and slave trade routes. In 1874, the then Gold Coast
became an English colony, and in 1901 it became part of
the Ashanti territories (Central Ghana). In 1957 it
became the first independent state of colonial Black
Africa, and from then on it included part of the
territories of Togo. The main protagonist of the
independence movement was Kwame Nkrumah, the first
president and responsible for the renaming of the
country from Gold Coast to Ghana. However, until the
current regime was imposed in 1982, Ghana suffered five
coups d'état: in 1966, the coup that overthrew Kwame Nkrumah and in 1972, 1978,
1979 and 1981 (the latter under the leadership of Jerry
Rawlings). A Provisional National Defense Council was
formed under the presidency of Rawlings, who would be
elected President of the Republic in 1992, already under
a new Constitution that established a multiparty
political system. For Ghana democracy and rights, please check getzipcodes.
However, in February 1994, Ghana suffered a severe
setback when there were ethnic clashes between the
Konkomba (migrants from Tongo) and the Nanumba, in
Napayili, in the north of the territory. Peace would be
signed on June 9, not without first Rawlings remodeling
his office. These ethnic conflicts would serve as a
pretext for Rawlings to withdraw Ghana from the
peacekeeping force of the Economic Community of West
African States (of which he became president) located in
Liberia.
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