An Introduction to Ghana
Ghana was inhabited in pre-colonial times by a number of ancient kingdoms of the Akan people including the inland Ashanti Empire. Prior to contact with Europeans trade between the Akan and various African states flourished due to Akan's gold wealth. The British established the Gold Coast Crown colony in 1874 over parts of the country but not all. See full country profile.Latest Research News from Africa
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GOVERNMENT: constitutional democracy
AREA: 238,533 sq km
POPULATION: 24,791,073 (July 2011 est.)
MAJOR LANGUAGE: Official Language: English
Some business and general info
The Market Research Industry
Trade and Industry in Ghana
In 1900 the Gold Coast's British Governor Sir Frederick Hodgson demanded to be allowed to sit on the Golden Stool, as the representative of the paramount power, and ordered a search for it. He thus triggered the armed rebellion known as the War of the Golden Stool, which resulted in the annexation of Ashanti to the British Empire, but preserved the sanctity of the artefact itself.
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Ghana was inhabited in pre-colonial times by a number of ancient kingdoms of the Akan people including the inland Ashanti Empire. Prior to contact with Europeans trade between the Akan and various African states flourished due to Akan's gold wealth. The British established the Gold Coast Crown colony in 1874 over parts of the country but not all.
The Gold Coast became the first sub-Saharan African nation to achieve independence from its colonial masters - in this case the UK - in 1957 under PM and then President Kwame Nkrumah. The name Ghana was chosen for the new nation to reflect the ancient Empire of Ghana, which once extended throughout much of West Africa. Ghana is the second largest producer of cocoa in the world and is home to Lake Volta, the largest artificial lake in the world by surface area. The economy of Ghana has been listed as The World's Fastest Growing Economy in 2011 with growth of about 20.146 % for the year 2011, in Economy Watch / IMF statistics.
GDP: $61.97 billion (2010 est.) - $2,500 per capita (2010 est.)
Religions 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% (2000 census)
Currency: Ghana Cedi (GHS) - $1 = GHS 2.53
Telephone Code: +233
Research Industry
The West Africa Region (Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Cameroon, Ghana, Benin, Togo and Mali) had an MR industry turnover of $US 51m in 2010, up 10.8% on 2009.Ghana has more than twice the per capita output of the poorer countries in West Africa, is one of the world's top producers of gold, and generates significant foreign exchange through sales of cocoa, oil, timber, electricity, diamond, bauxite and manganese. Oil was discovered in 2007 and is being commercially produced as of 2011, providing up to 6% of the country's revenue. Tourism is a rapidly growing sector - Ghana's political and economic stability, low crime rate, and wide use of English make the country an attractive entrypoint to West Africa for foreigners - as do its national parks and cultural celebrations such as Panafest.
Gold, tuna, aluminium and diamonds are among Ghana's primary export commodities. 2010 exports totalling $7.5bn went to countries including Belgium, Ukraine, the USA, France and the UK, but led by the Netherlands with 11.7% of trade. Imports had a higher value at just over $10bn and consisted of capital equipment, petrol and food - China topped the table of partners with 16.6% but Nigeria, the USA, Ivory Coast, the UK and France also figured.
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