Ghana

Ghana is a country in West Africa on the Gulf of Guinea, bordered by Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Togo. Its 239,567 km2 (92,497 sq mi) run from low coastal plains through forested hills to savanna in the north.

Accra is the capital and largest city, and English is the official language, alongside 11 languages backed by the government. The name recalls the old empire of Wagadu, which Arab traders called Ghana after its rulers' title Kaya Maghan, ruler of gold. The first kingdoms in the area were Bonoman in the south, present by the 11th century, and Dagbon in the north, and from the 17th century Akan states such as the Asante Empire grew rich on the gold trade. From the 15th century the Portuguese and other Europeans competed for the coast, which Britain held by the 19th century. The Gold Coast, Ashanti, the Northern Territories and British Togoland were joined, and independence followed on 6 March 1957, earlier than for any other colony south of the Sahara, under Kwame Nkrumah, a leading figure of the Pan-African movement.

The state is a unitary constitutional democracy whose president leads both the state and the government. Cocoa is a primary commodity, the country has industrial minerals and precious metals, and since the Jubilee oil field was found in 2007 it has exported crude oil and natural gas. The Akosombo Dam, finished on the Volta in 1965, created Lake Volta, the largest reservoir on earth by surface area, and with the Bui and Kpong dams supplies hydropower. The Prime Meridian crosses the country at Tema, near Accra.

Adinkra printing dates to the 13th century, when its symbols, each tied to a proverb or an event, decorated royal cloth, and kente weaving is treated as a visual record of history. Kofi Ghanaba created Afro-jazz, and in the 1990s hiplife mixed highlife with reggae, dancehall and hip-hop. Adowa, kpanlogo and azonto are among the dances for celebrations. Banku, made from ground corn, waakye rice and fish such as tilapia are common foods, and Wli and Kintampo are known for their waterfalls. The diplomat Kofi Annan, a former UN Secretary-General, came from Ghana.