Facts about Ghana
Ghana brings together the coastal energy of Accra, the Asante traditions of Kumasi and the savannas of the north. Kente weaving, highlife music and a lively food culture sit alongside gold, cocoa and a democracy shaped by peaceful transfers of power.
- Capital
- Accra
- Population (2021 census)
- 30.8 million
- Area
- 238,533 km²
- Currency
- Ghanaian cedi (GH₵)
- Official language
- English
- Divisions
- 16 regions
- Highest point
- Mount Afadja, 885 m
Ghana · 0 of 20 rounds passed
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Ghana sits on the Gulf of Guinea between Côte d’Ivoire and Togo, with Burkina Faso to the north. Most people live in the south, a belt of coastal plain and tropical forest, while the north is open savanna. Lake Volta, one of the largest reservoirs in the world, runs up the middle between the two. The country is divided into sixteen regions, six of them created in 2019.
Accra is the capital and the commercial center, spreading along the coast into the port city of Tema. Kumasi, inland in the forest, is the seat of the Asante kingdom and the second city, and Tamale is the main city of the north. Most visitors start on the coast, at the castles of Cape Coast and Elmina and the canopy walkway in Kakum National Park, before heading inland toward Kumasi or north to the elephants of Mole.
Geography of Ghana
Ghana sits on the Gulf of Guinea, a few degrees north of the equator. Tropical forest covers the south and savanna the north, with Lake Volta between them.
- How big is Ghana?
- About 238,500 km², a little smaller than the United Kingdom. It borders Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Togo, with the Atlantic to the south.
- What is Lake Volta?
- A reservoir formed behind the Akosombo Dam in the 1960s. By surface area, about 8,500 km², it is one of the largest artificial lakes in the world.
- Where do the equator and the Greenwich meridian meet?
- In the Gulf of Guinea, a few hundred kilometers off Ghana’s coast. The meridian itself runs through Tema, just east of Accra.
- What is the highest point in Ghana?
- Mount Afadja, on the Togo border in the Volta region, at 885 meters. Most of the country is low plateau and plain.
History of Ghana
Akan states grew rich on gold, and European forts along the coast traded in gold and then in enslaved people. The Gold Coast became Ghana in 1957.
- Why is it called Ghana?
- After the medieval Ghana Empire, which lay hundreds of kilometers to the northwest in what is now Mauritania and Mali. The name was chosen at independence to connect the new state to a great African past.
- Why was it called the Gold Coast?
- For the gold that Akan states traded on the coast. The Portuguese built Elmina Castle in 1482 to buy it, and other European powers followed.
- What was the Asante empire?
- An Akan state centered on Kumasi that dominated much of the region from the late 1600s. It fought several wars with Britain before being annexed in 1902.
- Who was Kwame Nkrumah?
- The independence leader who became Ghana’s first prime minister in 1957 and president in 1960. He championed Pan-Africanism and was overthrown in a coup in 1966.
Languages of Ghana
English is the official language, but more than 70 languages are spoken. Akan, in its Twi and Fante forms, is the most widely spoken.
- What is the official language of Ghana?
- English, a legacy of British rule. It is the language of government, the courts and schooling from the upper primary years.
- What is Twi?
- The main spoken form of Akan, in Asante and Akuapem varieties. It is a first or second language for most people in the south and the usual language of markets.
- Which other languages are widely spoken?
- Ewe in the Volta region, Ga around Accra, Dagbani around Tamale and Dagaare in the northwest, among many others. The government sponsors eleven languages for schools and broadcasting.
- Is Twi a tonal language?
- Yes. The pitch of a syllable can change a word’s meaning, though standard spelling does not mark tone.
Culture of Ghana
Ghana is known for kente cloth, adinkra symbols, highlife music and fantasy coffins. Chiefs and festivals remain central to community life, as do funerals that can last for days.
- What is kente?
- A cloth woven on narrow looms in bright strips that are sewn together. It comes from the Asante and the Ewe and was once reserved for royalty.
- What are adinkra symbols?
- Akan symbols that each stand for a proverb or idea, stamped on cloth and used in architecture. Gye Nyame, meaning except for God, is the best known.
- What are Akan day names?
- Names given for the day of the week a child is born. A boy born on Saturday is Kwame and a girl born on Friday is Afua.
- What are fantasy coffins?
- Coffins carved in the shape of something tied to the dead person’s life, such as a fish, a car or a cocoa pod. The tradition comes from the Ga of the Accra coast.
Economy of Ghana
Gold and oil lead Ghana’s exports with cocoa close behind, and services make up the largest share of output. A debt crisis in 2022 led to a program with the IMF.
- What does Ghana export most?
- Gold, followed by crude oil and cocoa. Ghana is one of Africa’s leading gold producers.
- How much cocoa does Ghana grow?
- Ghana and neighboring Côte d’Ivoire are major global cocoa producers. Cocoa was brought from Fernando Po in 1879 and spread quickly through the forest belt.
- What currency does Ghana use?
- The cedi, from the Akan word for cowrie shell. A new cedi was introduced in 2007, worth 10,000 of the old ones.
- What is galamsey?
- Small-scale gold mining without a license, from the phrase gather them and sell. It employs many people but has polluted rivers and cleared forest.
Politics of Ghana
Ghana is a presidential republic under its 1992 constitution. Two parties dominate, and power has changed hands peacefully at several elections.
- Who leads Ghana?
- An elected president who is both head of state and head of government. John Mahama took office in January 2025 after winning the December 2024 election.
- What are the main parties?
- The National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party. Between them they have won every election since 1992.
- How long can a president serve?
- Two terms of four years each. Presidents have stepped down at the limit, which is rare in the region.
- What role do chiefs play?
- Chiefs lead communities and settle disputes, and they hold much of the land in trust. The constitution protects the institution and bars chiefs from party politics.
Nature of Ghana
Ghana’s protected areas range from rainforest in the south to savanna in the north. Much of the original forest has been lost to farming and mining.
- Where can you see elephants in Ghana?
- In Mole National Park, in the northern savanna. It is the country’s largest protected area, and visitors can walk with armed rangers.
- What is the Kakum canopy walkway?
- A chain of rope bridges strung between trees in Kakum National Park, north of Cape Coast. It hangs up to about 40 meters above the forest floor.
- What is Lake Bosomtwe?
- A round lake in a meteorite crater about a million years old, southeast of Kumasi. It is the only natural lake of any size in Ghana.
- What threatens Ghana’s nature?
- Deforestation for farms and logging, and illegal gold mining that muddies and poisons rivers such as the Pra and the Ankobra.
Food of Ghana
Ghanaian meals pair a starch such as fufu or banku with a soup or stew. Jollof rice and spiced street food fill the rest of the day.
- What is fufu?
- Boiled cassava and plantain pounded into a smooth, stretchy dough. It is served with soup and eaten with the right hand.
- What are banku and kenkey?
- Banku is usually made from fermented corn and cassava dough, while kenkey uses fermented corn dough. Banku is stirred in a pot, and kenkey is wrapped in leaves and boiled, and both go well with fried fish and pepper sauce.
- What is the jollof rivalry?
- A friendly, long-running argument between Ghana and Nigeria over whose jollof rice, cooked in a spiced tomato sauce, is better.
- What is waakye?
- Rice and beans cooked together with sorghum leaves, which turn it reddish brown. It is sold at roadside stalls as a breakfast dish.
Landmarks of Ghana
The best-known sights are the slave castles of the coast. Inland, royal palaces and old mud mosques tell the rest of the country’s story.
- What is Cape Coast Castle?
- A fort expanded by the British that held enslaved Africans in its dungeons before shipment across the Atlantic. It is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site.
- How old is Elmina Castle?
- The Portuguese began it in 1482, making it the oldest European building south of the Sahara. The Dutch took it in 1637.
- What is the Door of No Return?
- The gate through which captives left the castles for the ships. Visitors of African descent now pass back through it in remembrance.
- What is the Larabanga Mosque?
- A small mud-and-timber mosque in the Savannah region, said to date from the 1400s. It is one of the oldest mosques in West Africa.
People of Ghana
Ghana counted 30.8 million people in its 2021 census, with just over a third under 15. The Akan are the largest of many ethnic groups.
- What are Ghana’s main ethnic groups?
- The Akan, at about 46 percent in the 2021 census, followed by the Mole-Dagbani, the Ewe and the Ga-Dangme.
- What religions do Ghanaians follow?
- About 71 percent are Christian and about 20 percent Muslim, according to the 2021 census. Traditional beliefs often continue alongside both.
- What was the Year of Return?
- A 2019 campaign marking 400 years since enslaved Africans were recorded arriving in Virginia. It invited the African diaspora to visit and settle in Ghana.
- How young is Ghana’s population?
- In the 2021 census, 35.3 percent of Ghanaians were under 15.