Information About Ghana

                             

                                          Republic of Ghana

                                          

*three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green, with a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow band; red symbolizes the blood shed for independence, yellow represents the country's mineral wealth, while green stands for its forests and natural wealth; the black star is said to be the lodestar of African freedom
        

Country Name:
Conventional long form: Republic of Ghana Conventional short form: Ghana Former: Gold Coast

          

President: John Dramani Mahama (2012)

Population (2012 est.): 25,241,998

Life Expectancy: 61.45 years

Land area: 88,811 sq mi (230,020 sq km); total area: 92,456 sq mi (239,460 sq km)

*About the size of the state of Oregon.

Capital: Accra, 2.269 million (2009)

  

Other Large Cities: Kumasi, 1.773 million (2009)

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 67.3% male: 73.2% female: 61.2% (2010 census)  Education: Primary School: 6 years (*Kindergarten: 2 years); Junior Secondary School: 3 years; Senior Secondary School: 4 years

Monetary Unit: Cedi ( 1 Cedi = 0.528 U.S. Dollar)

Languages:
Asante 14.8%, Ewe 12.7%, Fante 9.9%, Boron (Brong) 4.6%, Dagomba 4.3%, Dangme 4.3%, Dagarte (Dagaba) 3.7%, Akyem 3.4%, Ga 3.4%, Akuapem 2.9%, other (includes English (official)) 36.1% (2000 census) Religions: Christian 68.8% (Pentecostal/Charismatic 24.1%, Protestant 18.6%, Catholic 15.1%, other 11%), Muslim 15.9%, traditional 8.5%, other 0.7%, none 6.1% (2000 census)

Government Type:
Constitutional democracy National Symbol(s): black star; golden eagle

Recent News: President Atta died in July 2012. His four years in office were marked by stability and an increase in oil production. Vice President John Dramani Mahama was sworn in shortly after Atta's death.