History
The first Europeans to arrive in present-day Ghana were the Portuguese. By the seventeenth century the Dutch, British and French had taken an interest in the country.

The British gained control in the latter part of the nineteenth century; Anglo-Ashanti wars followed British colonization.

Independence was achieved in 1957. Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the first Prime Minister, became President when Ghana was proclaimed a republic in 1960.

Military coups took place in 1966, 1972, 1979 and 1981. In 1992 and again in 1996 Jerry John Rawlings was elected President.

Economy
Subsistence agriculture accounts for over a third of the Gross Domestic Product and provides a livelihood for over half of the working population.

Cocoa is the main agricultural export. Produce includes rice, maize, cassava, groundnuts (peanuts), shea nuts, bananas and citrus fruit.

Gold and timber are important exports. Other industries are fishing, small commercial ship building, cement, aluminum smelting, light manufacturing and food processing.

Offshore oil production began at the end of 2010.

Money remitted from Ghanans working abroad is an important source of foreign exchange. (2010)

Arts
Art for art's sake is not a traditional Ghanaian concept. Objects were primarily created to fulfil a purpose with adornment a secondary consideration.

The ceremonial cloth, Kente, is woven in the village of Bonwire, near Kumasi. Today, the designs are particularly popular with tourists. The people of the village of Atwia, are famous for their wood carvings and drums.

Water drums and rectangular frame drums, as well as side-blown horns and brass instruments, are used in folk music.

Sport
Football is played at national level; the senior national team is called the Black Stars. The Ghanaian footballer Tony Yeboah is well known in the UK.

Holidays
All religious holidays are celebrated. The Ashanti celebrate the religious ceremony of Akwasidee. The national holiday for Independence Day takes place on 6 March.

News
News from Ghana is available in the Newslink.

Previous Page | Facts | Gallery