Ghana officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa.

It is bordered by Cte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south. The word Ghana means "Warrior King" and is derived from the ancient Ghana Empire. The Gold Coast achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1957, becoming the first subSaharan African nation to do so and 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 a member of the South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Economic Community of West African States, the African Union, and an associate member of La Francophonie. 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 an economic growth of about 20.146 % for the year 2011 in economic research led by Economy Watch with data coming from the IMF's tracker of GDP Growth in constant prices in the national currency. Government and Politics According to the 2009 Failed States Index, Ghana is ranked the 53rd least failed state in the world and the second least failed state in Africa after Mauritius. Ghana ranked 124th out of 177 countries on the index. Ghana also was placed 7th out of 48 sub-Saharan African countries in the 2008 Ibrahim Index of African Governance which was based on data from 2006. The Ibrahim Index is a comprehensive measure of African government, based on a number of different variables which reflect the success with which governments deliver essential political goods to its citizens Government Ghana was created as a parliamentary democracy at independence in 1957, followed by alternating military and civilian governments. In January 1993, military government gave way to the Fourth Republic after presidential and parliamentary elections in late 1992. The 1992 constitution divides powers among a president, parliament, cabinet, council of state, and an independent judiciary. Judicial System The legal system is based on British common law, customary (traditional) law, and the 1992 constitution. Court hierarchy consists of Supreme Court of Ghana (highest court), courts of appeal, and high courts of justice. Beneath these bodies are circuit, magisterial, and traditional courts. Extrajudicial institutions include public tribunals. Since independence, courts are relatively independent; this independence continues under Fourth Republic. Lower courts are being redefined and reorganized under the Fourth Republic. Politics Political parties became legal in mid-1992 after a ten-year hiatus. There are many political parties under the Fourth Republic; the major ones are the National Democratic Congress which won presidential and parliamentary elections in 1992, 1996 and 2008; the New Patriotic Party, the major opposition party which won elections in 2000 and 2004; the People's National Convention, and the Convention People's Party, successor to Kwame Nkrumah's original party of the same name.

Foreign relations Since independence, Ghana has been devoted to ideals of nonalignment and Pan-Africanism, both closely identified with Nkrumah. Ghana favours international and regional political and economic co-operation, and is an active member of the United Nations and the African Union. Many Ghanaian diplomats and politicians hold positions in international organisations. These include Ghanaian diplomat and former Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan, International Criminal Court Judge Akua Kuenyehia, former President Jerry Rawlings and former President John Agyekum Kuffour who have both been elected chairmen of the Economic Community of West African States. Economy The economy of Ghana was listed as The World's Fastest Growing Economy in 2011 in economic research led by Economy Watch with data coming from the IMF's tracker of GDP Growth in constant prices in the national currency (not converted to US dollars), with an economic growth predicted to be about 20% in 2011. Other countries have competing claims to be the fastest growing economy. Ghana is a Middle Income Economy. Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has more than twice the per capita output of the poorer countries in West Africa. Known for its gold in colonial times, Ghana remains one of the world's top gold producers. Other exports such as cocoa, oil, timber, electricity, diamond, bauxite, and manganese are major sources of foreign exchange. Geography Ghana is a country located on the Gulf of Guinea, only a few degrees north of the Equator, therefore giving it a warm climate. The country spans an area of 238,500 km2 (92,085 sq mi). It is surrounded by Togo to the east, Cte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north and the Gulf of Guinea (Atlantic Ocean) to the south. There are two main seasons in Ghana: the wet and the dry seasons. Northern Ghana experiences its rainy season from March to November while the south, including the capital Accra, experiences the season from April to mid-November. Southern Ghana contains evergreen and semi deciduous forests consisting of trees such as mahogany, odum and ebony. It also contains much of Ghana's oil palms and mangroves. Shea trees, baobabs and acacias are usually found in the Volta region and the northern part of the country. Religion Christianity is the main religion in southern areas and parts of the North, while Islam remains the most populous in the northern regions. Christian-Muslim relations in Ghana are peaceful, tolerant and bilateral, despite sectarian violence in neighboring countries with similar regional divides like Nigeria. In many parts of the country, there is still the practice of traditional religions and these are sometimes intermixed with Christianity or Islam. They generally involve belief in a supreme being along with a pantheon of lesser gods, similar to Hinduism or Classical religion. Ancestors and spirits also play a large role in these beliefs, as does animist aspects. Culture and Media Ghana is an ethnically diverse country; thus, Ghanaian culture is a mixture of all its ethnic groups, the Akan, Ga, Ewe, Mamprusi and Dagomba, among others but, the culture goes in line with the

demographics and is thus predominantly Akan. Ghana's cultural diversity is most evident in Ghanaian cuisine, the arts and clothing. Football is the most popular sport. The national men's football team is known as the Black Stars, with the under-20 team known as the Black Satellites. Ghana has participated in many championships including the African Cup of Nations, the FIFA World Cup and the FIFA U-20 World Cup. In the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Ghana became the third African country to reach the quarter final stage of the World Cup after Cameroon in 1990 and Senegal in 2002. There are several club football teams in Ghana, which play in the Ghana premier league and Division One league, both managed by the Ghana Football Association. The country has also produced quite a few quality boxers such as Azumah Nelson a three time world champion, Nana Yaw Konadu also a three time world champion, Ike Quartey, and Joshua Clottey. Ghana also has a successful hockey team winning tournaments such as the Afro-Asian cup. The media of Ghana is one of the most free in Africa and had previously undergone a series of government overthrows by military leaders and periods of severe restriction. Chapter 12 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana guarantees freedom of the press and independence of the media, while Chapter 2 prohibits censorship. Post independence, the government and media often had a tense relationship, with private outlets closed during the military coups and strict media laws that prevent criticism of government. The media freedoms were restored in 1992, and after the election in 2000 of John Kufuor the tensions between the private media and government decreased. Kufuor was a supporter of press freedom and repealed a libel law, though maintained that the media had to act responsibly. The Ghanaian media has been described as "one of the most unfettered" in Africa, operating with little restriction on private media. The private press often carries criticism of government policy.[62] The media were vigorous in their coverage of the 2008 Ghanaian presidential election, and the Ghanaian Journalists Association (GJA) praised John Atta Mills on his election, hoping to foster a good media-government relationship. Education The adult literacy rate in Ghana was 65% in 2007, with males at 71.7% and females at 58.3%. Ghana has a 6-year primary education system beginning at age six, and, under the educational reforms implemented in 1987 and reformed in 2007, they pass on to a 3-year junior high school system. At the end of the 3rd year of junior high, there is a mandatory Basic Education Certificate Examination. Those continuing must complete the 3-year senior high school program and take an admission exam to enter any university or tertiary programme. Presently, Ghana has 21,530 primary schools, 8,850 junior secondary schools, 900 senior secondary schools, 52 public training colleges, 5 private training colleges, 5 polytechnical institutions, 4 non-university public tertiary institutions, 8 public universities and over 45 private tertiary institutions. Most Ghanaians have relatively easy access to primary and secondary education. These numbers can be contrasted with the single university and handful of secondary and primary schools that existed at the time of independence in 1957. Ghana's spending on education has varied between 28-40% of its annual budget in the past decade. All teaching is done in English, mostly by qualified Ghanaian educators. Indians at Ghana This is a blog written by an Indian depicting his views on Ghana as a country and its people: Most of the Ghanaians, with whom I have met, have been very respectful of Indians. Some even said that they are doing a great service to their nation by helping to develop their economy. India and Ghana, have had very good ties since Ghana became independent. The presidential palace of Ghana is a gift given to the country by India. First president of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and first prime minister of

India, Jawaharlal Nehru were good friends and both tried to take the Non Aligned Movement further. The road opposite to presidential palace is called Jawaharlal Nehru Road. Many Ghanaians know about Gandhi, at least his name and he came from India. Having said these positive points about Indians in Ghana, I have to mention here some negative points or moreover points of concern. Ghana is considered as the friendliest country in whole of Africa. As I do not have much of experience about rest of Africa, I can surely say that people here are far friendlier than India. They like to smile and keep their conversations polite and lively. Talks always start here with greetings. Ghanaian society is not hierarchical as Indian society is and people cleaning the toilets can also proudly greet the super bosses in the office. I have not seen many Indians taking into consideration all these points and interacting with their Ghanaian employees or customers. When in an Indian shop, local helper was very polite and helpful in finding the right items, I found the shop owner unnecessarily barking at him. When I was invited in one house of an Indian, I found him speaking loudly and impolitely with his maid when she had not been able to attend to him immediately as she was busy in the kitchen. While the person did not even care to move from his couch to take the water which he seemed to urgently need. I have seen some Indian customers getting very bitter and crude during bargaining, while the shop keepers and taxi drivers though initially try to maintain their cool; do not do so after a while. Once I met an Indian executive who made some purely racist and bad remarks about black African people and was wondering how I have been able to live amongst them unprotected so long and moreover friends with them. When he was expressing that he also mentioned that he has been living in this country for last 4 years. He did not have any shame blundering this while he was earning his bread and butter by living here. Majority of the executives working for big companies here live in protected bungalows with watchmen and chauffer driven cars. They know little about the way common Ghanaians live. I wonder whether they at least care to know that. As against these examples, I found that some Indians have really mixed well with the local people. One shop manager whom I met has learned the local language well and has many local friends. His behavior with his staff in the shop was very good and most of the people seemed to like him a lot. I met one person whose son has been brought up in Ghana. His son has been given a Ghanaian name and it is their in all of his documents. I was told a story about Vic Baboos Caf, a 70 year old establishment run by an Indian. Seeing the way its founder Vic Baboo got mixed with the local people, the local chief helped him to establish his business and encouraged him to develop it further. Bringing an end to this subject, I shall like to write here that being from the typical Indian middle class and having little sources of my own to go to a distant country, volunteering has proved to be a great opportunity to experience a new culture and environment. What makes me sad though is that majority of my fellow countrymen living here and some wishing to fulfill their money making dream (which is not wrong at all but) do not try to even experience it. This is something Indians coming here should remain aware of and be respectful about the local culture. Only then can we say for sure that Indians and Ghanaians are friends of each other.