Facts about Ghana

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Flag_of_Ghana.svg

1.Ghana is not on the Equator
Ghana has the Greenwich Meridian passing through it. The country does not sit on the equator. The country’s geographical location misses the equator by an approximate 380 miles. Ghana is located on the western bulge of the African Continent at the Gulf of Guinea.

2.The Ghana Empire
Ghana is a term that means a warrior king. It is traced back to the Ghana Empire that existed between the ninth and thirteenth centuries.  The Empire was built on gold and salt trade. This is the reason why the British merchants referred to Ghana as the Gold Coast. Ghana’s present day territory resulted from a merger of the Togoland trust and the British colony of Gold Coast territories.

 3.Independence
Of all the countries in the sub-Saharan Africa region, Ghana was the first to gain become a republic. Ghana gained independence from the British colonialists on 6th March, 1957. After independence, the country experienced a series of political coups until 1981 when Lt. Jerry Rawlings ascended to power and banned all political parties. In 1992, a new constitution was passed and multiparty politics restored.

 4.Home to the Largest Market
The Kejetia Market is the largest open air market in the West Africa Region. This market is located in Ghana’s town of Kumasi, which is the capital of the Ashanti region. One can find anything under Ghana’s hot sun in this market including local crafts like sandals, cloth, beads, fruits, meats, vegetables and second hand clothing such as jeans.

 5.Ghana’s Flag
Ghana’s flag has four colors. Three colors, red, yellow and green appear as bold lines on the flag. A black star sits at the center of the flag. This black star was adopted from the African Communities League and Universal Negro Improvement Association initiated by Marcus Garvey, a legendary Pan African Leader. These organizations had a Steamship company that had the Black Star line.

 6.Ghana’s Currency
The Ghanian currency unit is known as the cedi. One cedi has 100 pesewas. The term cedi is derived from a Ghanian word that means a cowry shell. Cowry shells, which house sea snails, were once used as a medium of exchange or money in Ghana.

 7.Ghana’s Economy
Ghana’s economy is dependent on agriculture and oil. An approximated 20% of the land in the country is arable.  Ghana is the second largest producer of cocoa beans in the world. Ivory Coast is the largest cocoa bean producer. Oil was discovered off Ghana’s coast in 2007 which can potential generate approximated 200,000 barrels per day. In a year, oil can generate an estimated 1.6 billion US dollars.

 8.The World’s Biggest Man-Made Lake
Ghana is home to the world’s biggest man-made lake. Lake Volta coves about 3,283 square miles and occupies about 3.6% of Ghana’s land area. Located in Ghana’s Volta region, Lake Volta has a length of 250 miles.

 9.Language
The people of Ghana live in 10 regions and speak more than 40 languages. It is the most peaceful country in Africa based on the Global Peace Index. Though the country’s official language is English, most Ghanaians speak a few other languages, Kwashiorkor, the name used to refer to a wasting disease, is the only English name that is derived from the Ga language, one of Ghana’s languages.

10.International Competition
Ghana has 3 silver medals, 1 bronze medal but has never gotten a gold medal from Olympic Games. However, Ferdi Ato Aboboe, a Ghanaian, set the world record in 1991 by running 100 metres in 13.6 seconds, backwards.

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