Ghana

John Agyekum Kufuor The Republic of Ghana is located in West Africa. It borders Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. The capital of Ghana is Accra. The country's population is about 21,000,000.

After being colonized by the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ghana became independant in 1957. Ghana is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The current president is John Agyekum Kufuor (see photo).

Ghana's history centers on the once-great Ashanti empire. The Ashanti empire rose to power during the late 17th century and continued to prosper as a center of the 18th century slave trade. During this period the Ashanti capital, Kumasi, was one of the finest and most advanced cities in Africa, and the Ashanti state even employed significant numbers of Europeans as advisors and administrators. The European presence in Ghana is marked by the multitude of colonial forts that can be found along its coastline. Ghana, then known as the Gold Coast, was largely considered a British territory by the latter half of the 19th century, it wasn't until 1900 that the British succeeded in defeating the Ashanti and the area's other strong kingdoms.

Some well known people from Ghana are: Kofi Annan (former Secretary-General of the United Nations), Michael Essien (footballer, currently Chelsea) and Rhian Benson (soul and jazz singer, songwriter, and composer).