Discovering Ghana

Thursday 14 October 2010

Searching for an English speaking country is, indeed, a very hard task. I could have never imagined in how many countries English is an official language. In the end I chose Ghana. The Republic of Ghana is a West African country. It caught my attention because the word Ghana means “Warrior King”.

Independence Arch

Ghana was one of the British colonies but the country asserted its complete independence in 1960. The Portuguese people came to Ghana in the 15th century because of the extensive availability of gold.

Its flag has the colors red, gold, green and a black star. The red represents the blood that was shed towards independence, the gold represents the mineral wealth of Ghana, the green symbolizes the rich agriculture and the black star is the symbol of African emancipation.


Although Ghana has twice the per capita output of the poorer countries in West Africa, it remains dependent on trade and international assistance and its population lives below the international poverty line. This kind of phenomenon only happens because the economic growth doesn’t necessarily means human development. Nevertheless Ghana has amazing landscapes.

Ghana is an ethnically diverse country which is evident through its cuisine, arts and clothing. Ghana is also well-known by its sports. While men’s football is the most widely followed sport, the national women’s team, the Black Queens, is gaining exposure.

I hope you have learnt something about this country :)
Daniela