Population: 24,339,838 (July 2010 estimate)

Capital: Accra

Bordering Countries: Burkina Faso, Cote dIvoire, Togo

Land Area: 92,098 square miles (238,533 sq km)

Coastline: 335 miles (539 km)

Highest Point: Mount Afadjato at 2,887 feet (880 m)

Ghana is a country located in western Africa on the Gulf of Guinea. The country is known for being the second largest producer of cocoa in the world as well as its incredible ethnic diversity.

Ghana is currently has more than 100 different ethnic groups in its population of just over 24 million.

History of Ghana

Ghanas history prior to the 15th century is concentrated primarily on oral traditions, however it is believed that people may have inhabited what is present day Ghana from about 1500 B.C.E. European contact with Ghana began in 1470. In 1482, the Portuguese built a trading settlement there. Shortly thereafter for three centuries, the Portuguese, English, Dutch, Danes and Germans all controlled different parts of the coast.

In 1821, the British took control of all of the trading posts located on the Gold Coast. From 1826 to 1900, the British then fought battles against the native Ashanti and in 1902, the British defeated them and claimed the northern part of todays Ghana.

In 1957, after a plebiscite in 1956, the United Nations determined that the territory of Ghana would become independent and combined with another British territory, British Togoland, when the entire Gold Coast became independent.

On March 6, 1957, Ghana became independent after the British gave up control of the Gold Coast and the Ashanti, the Northern Territories Protectorate and British Togoland. Ghana was then taken as the legal name for the Gold Coast after it was combined with British Togoland in that year.

Following its independence, Ghana underwent several reorganizations which caused the country to be divided into ten different regions.

Kwame Nkrumah was the first Prime Minister and President of modern Ghana and he had goals of unifying Africa as well as freedom and justice and equality

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