Ghana

Modern Ghana comprises the former British colony of the Gold Coast and the former mandated territory of British Togoland. It is bordered by the Côte d'Ivoire on the west, Burkina Faso on the north, and Togo on the east. The coastal region and the far north of Ghana are savanna areas; in between is a forest zone. The country's largest river is the Volta; the damming of the river for a hydroelectric station at Akosombo (1964) created the enormous Lake Volta. In addition to the capital (Accra), other important cities are Kumasi, Tema, Sekondi-Takoradi, Cape Coast, and Tamale.

Ghana's population is composed of many ethnolinguistic groups, the principal of which are the Akan (Ashanti and Fanti), Mole-Dagbani, Ewe, and Ga-Adangme. English is the official language with Ewe, Ga, Twi, Fantyi, Dagbani, Nzima, and Hausa also spoken. There are 100+ tribes and languages. According to the 2000 census 69% of the population is Christian and 16% is Muslim (living mainly in the north), with the remainder following traditional religions, but those figures are disputed by Muslim organizations in Ghana.

As of 2009, there were almost 24 million people living in Ghana, which has an area of 92,100 square miles, roughly the size of Oregon. The birth rate is 28.58/1,000 and the death rate is 9.24/1000 with 4.7 children in each family as of 2009. The life expectancy for males is age 58.9 and for females 60.75. Infant mortality is 51.09/1000 live births. The maternity mortality rate is 4.5/1000.

Men are more educated than women. As of 2000 the literacy rate for males is 66.4% and 49.8% for females, with a school dropout rate for girls at 44% in the primary grades, 50% in junior secondary, and 33% in senior secondary. (UNICEF stats on Ghana)

According to the World Bank, "Ghana is one of the best-performing economies in Africa. Its overall poverty has declined from 52% in 1992 to 28% in 2006, and Ghana is on course to exceed the 2015 MDG of halving her poverty. Its real GDP growth averaged 5% over 1983-2006. Since 2005, it has hovered at 6%. Following the successful HIPC debt relief in 2004, and further cancellations by donors, Ghana's external debt, about $6 billion at 2001, is almost entirely written off."

They go on to say that "At 50, Ghana is a nation with tremendous opportunity to grow. Compared with South Korea or Malaysia, her contemporaries at independence, Ghana's development story may not be exactly what Ghanaians wished it were. But viewed from another angle of recovery to democratic and economic stability among its African peers, Ghana's story is a shining example, and that is cause for celebration. In both cases one critical factor stands out: ATTITUDE. More about Ghana.