Ghana

Ghana is a country in West Africa. It covers the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean in the south, bordered by the Ivory Coast to the west, Burkina Faso to the north and Togo to the east. Ghana covers an area of ​​238,535 km2 (92,099 sq mi), encompassing a diverse geography and ecology, from coastal savannahs to tropical rainforests. Ghana, with a population of over 31 million, is the second most populous country in West Africa after Nigeria. The capital and largest city is Accra; other major cities include Kumasi, Tamale and Sekondi-Takoradi.

The first permanent state in modern Ghana was the 11th century Bono state. Over the centuries, many kingdoms and empires have sprung up, the most powerful of which were the Kingdom of Dagbon in the north and the Ashanti Empire in the south. Beginning in the 15th century, the Portuguese Empire, and later many other European powers, contested the territory for trade rights until the British took control of the coast by the end of the 19th century. After more than a century of indigenous resistance, Ghana's current borders took shape, encompassing four distinct British colonial territories: the Gold Coast, Ashanti, Northern Territories and British Togoland. They were merged into independent holdings within the Commonwealth of Nations on March 6, 1957, becoming the first colony in sub-Saharan Africa to gain sovereignty. Subsequently, Ghana became influential in decolonization efforts and the pan-African movement.

Ghana is a multinational state with many ethnic, linguistic and religious groups; while the Akans are the largest ethnic group, they only make up the multitude. The overwhelming majority of the inhabitants of Ghana are Christians (71.2%), almost a fifth are Muslims, and a tenth profess traditional beliefs or do not declare a religion. Ghana is a unitary constitutional democracy led by a president who is both head of state and head of government. Since 1993, he has supported one of the freest and most stable governments on the continent and has performed relatively well in health, economic growth and human development. Consequently, Ghana enjoys significant influence in West Africa and is highly integrated in international affairs, being a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Group of 24 (G24) and the Commonwealth of Nations.