Ghana
A West African country bordering on the Gulf of Guinea, Ghana is bounded by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It compares in size to Oregon, and its largest river is the Volta.
History
Several major civilizations flourished in the general region of what is now Ghana. The ancient empire of Ghana (located 500 mi northwest of the contemporary state) reigned until the 13th century. The Akan peoples established the next major civilization, beginning in the 13th century, and then the Ashanti empire flourished in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Called the Gold Coast, the area was first seen by Portuguese traders in 1470. They were followed by the English (1553), the Dutch (1595), and the Swedes (1640). British rule over the Gold Coast began in 1820, but it was not until after quelling the severe resistance of the Ashanti in 1901 that it was firmly established. British Togoland, formerly a colony of Germany, was incorporated into Ghana by referendum in 1956. Created as an independent country on March 6, 1957, Ghana, as the result of a plebiscite, became a republic on July 1, 1960.
Info
Current government officials
Languages: 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 (includes English (official)) 36.1% (2000 census)
Ethnicity/race: 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% (2000 census)
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)
National Holiday: Independence Day, March 6
Literacy rate: 57.9% (2000 est.)
Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2011 est.): $74.77 billion; per capita $3,100. Real growth rate: 13.5%. Inflation: 8.8%. Unemployment: 11% (2000 est.). Arable land: 18%. Agriculture: cocoa, rice, coffee, cassava (tapioca), peanuts, corn, shea nuts, bananas; timber. Labor force: 11.44 million (2011 est.); agriculture 56%, industry 15%, services 29% (2005 est.). Industries: mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food processing, cement, small commercial ship building. Natural resources: gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish, rubber, hydropower, petroleum, silver, salt, limestone. Exports: $13.13 billion (2011 est.): gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, bauxite, aluminum, manganese ore, diamonds. Imports: $14.03 billion (2011 est.): capital equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs. Major trading partners: Netherlands, UK, France, U.S., Belgium, Ukraine, Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria, China (2009).
Member of Commonwealth of Nations
Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 277,900 (2009); mobile cellular: 17.436 million (2009). Broadcast media: state-owned TV station, 2 state-owned radio networks; several privately-owned TV stations and a large number of privately-owned radio stations; transmissions of multiple international broadcasters are accessible; several cable and satellite TV subscription services are obtainable (2007). Internet hosts: 60,282 (2010). Internet users: 1.297 million (2009).
Transportation: Railways: total: 947 km (2008). Highways: total: 62,221 km; paved: 9,955 km; unpaved: 52,266 km (2004). Waterways: 1,293 km; note: 168 km for launches and lighters on Volta, Ankobra, and Tano rivers; 1,125 km of arterial and feeder waterways on Lake Volta (2011). Ports and harbors: Takoradi, Tema. Airports: 10 (2012).
First Contact
ADB is a universal bank offering a full range of banking products and services in retail, commercial, corporate and investment banking. Its business focus is universal banking with development focus. Set up in 1965 by Act 286, ADB is wholly publicly-owned. The Government owns 52% of the shareholding, with the remaining 48% held by the Financial Investment Trust on behalf of the Bank of Ghana. ADB traces its origins to 1964, when the central bank, Bank of Ghana, set up a Rural Credit Department to prepare the necessary legislation, plans and procedures for the establishment of a specialized bank for the provision and administration of credit and other banking facilities in the agricultural sector. This culminated in the passage of The Agricultural Credit and Co-operative Bank Act, 1965 (Act 286) to incorporate a bank under that name. The name was changed to Agricultural Development Bank in 1967 under the National Liberation Council Decree (NLCD 182). The Decree also amended certain sections of the original Act to allow ADB to undertake the acceptance of deposits on current and savings accounts and transact banking business normally carried out by commercial banking institutions, including raising loans from foreign sources.
