


It is a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Group of 24 (G24) and the Commonwealth of Nations. Ghana's growing economic prosperity and democratic political system have made it a regional power in West Africa. Ghana's economy is one of the strongest and most diversified in Africa, following a quarter century of relative stability and good governance. Ghana is a democratic country led by a president who is both head of state and head of the government. Its diverse geography and ecology ranges from coastal savannahs to tropical jungles. Five percent of the population practices traditional faiths, 71.2% adhere to Christianity and 17.6% are Muslim. Ī multicultural nation, Ghana has a population of approximately 27 million, spanning a variety of ethnic, linguistic and religious groups. On 6 March 1957, it became the first sub-Saharan African nation to become independent of European colonisation. Following over a century of native resistance, Ghana's current borders were established by the 1900s as the British Gold Coast. Beginning in the 15th century, numerous European powers contested the area for trading rights, with the British ultimately establishing control of the coast by the late 19th century. Numerous kingdoms and empires emerged over the centuries, of which the most powerful was the Kingdom of Ashanti. The territory of present-day Ghana has been inhabited for a millennium, with the first permanent state dating back to the 11th century. Ghana means "Warrior King" in the Soninke language. Spanning a land mass of 238,535 km², Ghana is bordered by the Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, Togo in the east and the Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean in the south.

Ghana ( i / ˈ ɡ ɑː n ə/), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a unitary presidential constitutional democracy, located along the Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean, in the subregion of West Africa.
