10 fun facts about Ghana
1. Ghana was once known as the Gold Coast because of the large amounts of gold found and traded there.
2. In 1957, Ghana became the first sub-Saharan African country to gain independence from European colonial rule.
3. The name Ghana comes from a Soninke word often translated as “Warrior King.”
4. In Ghana, children are often given names based on the day of the week they were born, such as Kwesi for a boy born on Sunday or Akosua for a girl born on Sunday.
5. Ghana’s flag features a black star, often described as the “lodestar of African freedom.”
6. Ghana is one of the world’s largest producers of cocoa beans, the crop used to make chocolate.
7. Kakum National Park in Ghana is home to more than 600 species of butterfly.
8. Kejetia Market in Kumasi is one of the largest markets in West Africa, with thousands of stalls and tens of thousands of workers.
9. Ghanaian athlete Ferdie Ato Adoboe set a world record in 1991 by running 100 meters backwards in 13.6 seconds.
10. Kofi Annan, one of Ghana’s most famous citizens, served as Secretary-General of the United Nations and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001.
Read more: Facts about Ghana
At a glance
Capital city: Accra
Population: 35 million
Area: 238,533 sq km
Major languages: English, Fante, Akuapem Twi, Asante Twi, Ewe, Dagaare, Dagbanli, Adangme, Ga, Gonja, Kasem, Nzema
Major religions: Christianity, Islam
Time zone: UTC +0 (Greenwich Mean Time)
Where is Ghana?
Continent: Africa
Region: West Africa
Neighboring countries: Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Togo
Highest point: Mount Afadja (885 m / 2,904 ft)
Geography of Ghana
Ghana is a coastal country in West Africa, bordered by the Gulf of Guinea to the south. Its landscapes include sandy beaches, tropical forests, rolling hills, savanna and one of the world’s largest artificial lakes.
Gulf of Guinea Coast
Ghana has a coastline on the Gulf of Guinea, with sandy beaches, lagoons and coastal cities including Accra, Cape Coast and Sekondi-Takoradi.
Lake Volta
Lake Volta stretches across eastern Ghana and is the world’s largest artificial lake by surface area. It was created after the Volta River was dammed at Akosombo.
Forests and Highlands
Southern Ghana includes tropical forest and hilly upland areas. This region is important for cocoa farming and includes forest reserves, waterfalls and mountainous scenery.
Northern Savanna
Northern Ghana is generally drier than the south and is mostly covered by savanna grassland and scattered trees. Mole National Park, one of Ghana’s best-known wildlife areas, is located in this region.
See article: Flag of Ghana
Ghana flag
The flag of Ghana was adopted when the country became independent from Britain in 1957. It was designed by Theodosia Salome Okoh, who used the pan-African colors of red, gold and green, with a black star at the center.
In 1964, Ghana briefly changed the flag by replacing the gold stripe with white. The original design was restored in 1966 after the overthrow of President Kwame Nkrumah, and it has remained Ghana’s national flag ever since.
Image credits:
Ghana (centered orthographic projection): Martin23230;* Derivative work: by Marcos Elias de Oliveira Júnior talk! + Marcos Elias de Oliveira Júnior fala!, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Fishing men in Africa (Lake Volta): Photo by eunikas via Depositphotos.
Village and road at Tarkwa (forests and highlands): finnish eye, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Caitriona Maria is an education writer and owner of The Facts Institute. With seven years of teaching experience and a background in educational content, she specialises in creating clear reference resources about countries, geography and global topics.