Ghana

Africa
Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Cote d'Ivoire and Togo.

		8.1353672N 1.6479492W
President John Atta Mills

Capital
Accra

Government
Constitutional presidential republic

Religion
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%

Population
24,339,838

Ethnic group
Akan 45.3%, Mole-Dagbon 15.2%, Ewe 11.7%, Ga-Dangme 7.3%, Guan 4%, Gurma 3.6%, Grusi 2.6%, Mande-Busanga 1%, other tribes 1.4%, other 7.8%

National Language
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 36.1% (includes English (official).

National Day
6 March 1957 (from the UK)

Currency
Ghanaian cedi (GHS)
 
Anthem
God Bless Our Homeland Ghana

Attractions
Cape Coast Castle,  Kakum National Park,  Makola market,  National Museum of Ghana,  Saint George’s Castle,  The Bui National Park 

Website

Art & Cultural

The ICON

Cape Coast Castle                         Cape Coast Castle is a fortification in Ghana built by Swedish traders. The first timber construction on the site was erected in 1653 for the Swedish Africa Company and named Carolusborg  after King Charles X of Sweden. It was later rebuilt in stone. In April 1663 the whole Swedish Gold Coast was seized by the Danes, and integrated in the Danish Gold Coast. In 1664 the Castle was conquered by the English and was extensively rebuilt by the Committee of Merchants (whose Governors administered the entire British colony) in the late 18th century. In 1844, it became the seat of the colonial Government of the British Gold Coast. The Castle was built for the trade in timber and gold. Later the structure was used in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The Castle, or Castle and Dungeon, to give it its official name, was first restored in the 1920s by the British Public Works Department. In 1957, when Ghana became independent, the castle came under the care of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board (GMMB). In the early 1990s, the building was restored by the Ghanaian Government, with funds from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United States Aid for International Development [USAID], with technical assistance from the Smithsonian Institution and other NGOs.

Accra