According to Countryaah website, Ghana has around 31 million residents, who are correctly called Ghanaians rather than Ghanaians. In the past 25 years, the country’s population has almost doubled. With an average life expectancy of 57 years, Ghana can be proud of the fifth highest in West Africa. But the high child mortality rate is alarming; it is currently 11.2 percent and infant mortality 6.8 percent. However, child mortality has decreased due to improved medical development. Many Ghanaians leave the country and go to the city or abroad in order to receive a better education and later to be able to support their families.
Ethnic composition
The population of Ghana is very heterogeneous and is made up of different African tribes, especially Kwa groups, Gur groups, Mande, Haussa and Fulbe. The individual ethnic groups are represented very differently in terms of size. In the recent past, these ethnic groups have also been intermingled through marriage, so that the smaller ethnic groups are slowly being absorbed by the larger ones. This also means that it is becoming increasingly difficult to determine the individual ethnic groups. Depending on how you make the assignments, you get different information. Roughly, one can assume that the Akan form the largest group with about 44%, followed by the 16% Dagbone-Dagomba, the 13% Ewe, the 8% Ga-Adangme and the 6% Gurma. The rest of the population is from Europe, Asia or other parts of Africa.
Religion
45% of the population are Protestants and 13% are Roman Catholic. About 18% are Muslims in the country, whereby it should be noted that the south of the country is more Christian and the north more Muslim.
The rest and also the members of other religions in Ghana adhere to natural religions, but one must point out that (especially the Christian) religious ideas can be very mixed, so that the boundaries between the individual religions are quite fluid.
National languages
The official language of Ghana is English. Colloquial languages are different African languages. Above all, these include Akan languages (including Twi, Fanti), Ewe, Ga, Haussa and around 40 other languages and dialects. There are around 80 different languages and idioms in the country. In general, most Ghanaians grow up multilingual and, if they cannot already do so, learn the dominant language Akan and/or English in school. Many Ghanaians speak up to five languages fluently.
Capital and other cities
Accra (Akanname: Nkran)
Accra, the largest and capital city of Ghana with around 2.5 million residents, not only functions as the seat of government, but also as the country’s economic and administrative center. The city, located on the coast in the south, is a conglomerate of foreigners and almost all ethnicities living in Ghana. According to Abbreviation Finder, GHA stands for Ghana in English. Click to see other meanings of this 3-letter acronym.
Its reputation as a regional cultural center is confirmed by institutions such as the National Museum, the Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Archives, the University of Ghana and the Central Library.
Accra also has one of the most modern clinics in West Africa, the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.
CapeCoast (gahn. Oguaa)
Cape Coast, the capital of the Central Region on the Gulf of Guinea, currently has around 143,000 people. The traditional education center houses the University of Cape Coast and one of the country’s most important high schools. The city is also known for its city festivals Fetu Afahye and the Panafest. Then many African-American tourists come to the city and make it even more lively than it already is.
Elmina (Akannamen: Ak)
About 25,560 people live in Elmina, capital of the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abirem district in Ghana’s Central Region. Certainly the most striking building in the city is the Portuguese Fort São Jorge da Mina, which was built directly on the beach. Together with Fort St. Jago da Mina (also Fort Conraadsburg) built by the Dutch in 1652, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979.
Kumasi
The centrally located city of Kumasi is the second largest city in Ghana with around 1.5 million residents. It is located inland and acts as the capital of the Ashanti, the largest ethnic group in Ghana. The traditional city is not only famous for its 300-year history, but also because of the many green spaces. This is why the Ghanaians like to call Kumasi the Gardentown. The Asantehene, the head of the Ashanti, also lives in the administrative capital of the Ashanti region.
Sekondi and Takoradi
These two places are very often referred to as a twin city, because in recent years they have grown together in such a way that the two city centers are only less than ten kilometers apart. Takoradi can also be proud of one of the only two overseas ports in Ghana.
Tamale
Tamale is the most important city in northern Ghana with around 360,000 residents and is predominantly inhabited by Muslims. With Tamale Port, the city has an important traffic junction as well as numerous higher educational institutions such as the Technical University College of Tamale or the University for Development Studies.
Tema
Tema is Ghana’s most important port city and is only 25 km from Accra. The 300,000-resident city can be proud of the largest deep-sea port in the country, via which Ghana’s export hit cocoa is shipped.
Winneba (Akannamen: Simpa)
The coastal city of Winneba in Ghana’s Central Region, inhabited by 45,000 people, does not only act as the capital of the Awutu-Effutu-Senya district. The university city also has Ghana’s only sports college and is known for the Aboakyer Hunting Festival, during which talented hunters have to catch an antelope with their bare hands.
Ghana: geography, map
Ghana is located in western Africa on the Gulf of Guinea (Atlantic Ocean). The country covers a total area of 238,537 km². Check topmbadirectory for politics, flags, famous people, animals and plants of Ghana. Thereof:
ForestAround 30% of the country is forested.
Meadow and pasture landAround 14% of the land is used as meadow or pasture land.
Dry savannahAround 25% of the country is dry savannah.
Arable land and fieldsAround 26% of the land is used as arable land or fields, especially for growing cocoa.
Ghana shares a border with the following three countries:
Burkina Faso with a length of 549 km
Ivory Coast with a length of 668 km
Togo with a length of 877 km.
The length of the coast to the Gulf of Guinea is around 540 km.
Longitude and latitude
Ghana extends over the following geographical latitude (abbreviation Δφ) and geographical longitude (abbreviation Δλ), it is therefore completely in the tropics:
Δφ = from 4 ° 44 ‘to 11 ° 10’ north latitude Δλ = from 003 ° 15 ‘west to 001 ° 12’ east longitude
You can find detailed information on this subject under Longitude and Latitude.
Time
For Ghana, the following value applies to Central European Time (CET), i.e. the time (without daylight saving time). A minus sign means that it is earlier there, a plus sign that it is later than CET:
Δt (MEZ) = – 1 h (= GMT)
Further and detailed explanations of the time can be found under Time zones, time.
Highest sun in Accra
Accra lies at a northern latitude of around φ = 5.5 ° (5 ° 30 ‘). If the declination δ of the sun has the value of 05 ° 30 ‘N, and so the image point of the sun is exactly above the city, the sun is perpendicular there. This happens exactly twice a year, roughly 3 weeks after March 21st and 3 weeks before September 21st (for details see position of the sun).
Attention
If the image point of the sun and thus the declination δ is north of the latitude of Accra, the sun is not in the south at noon, as in our latitudes, but in the north. The sun then moves from east to north to west, where, like us, it sets.
mountains
The highest mountain in the country is the Afadjoto with a height of 885 m. Further surveys are:
Djebobo with a height of 876 m
Avegbadje with a height of 863 m
Akwawa with a height of 788 m
Kwamisa with a height of 767 m.
Rivers
The longest river in the country is the Volta, which is made up of the White and Black Volta. The total length of the river is about 1,600 km. Smaller rivers in the country are: Oti, Daka, Ankobra, Olin, Tain, Tano, Bia, Pra, Afram, Birim, Anum and Todzie.
Lakes
The largest lake in Ghana is the Volta Reservoir in the east of the country with an area of around 8,460 km². In addition, there are only a few smaller lakes in the country.
Gulf of Guinea, Atlantic
Ghana borders in the south of the country with a length of 540 km on the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic.
