Ghana Profile

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The Republic of Ghana is named from the word Ghana itself, meaning Warrior King, although at the time of independence from Britain in 1957 the area was known as the Gold Coast. The name Ghana was chosen as it reflected the ancient Ghana empire that thrived there in ancient times. The flag of Ghana is symbolised by a black star representing African emancipation, green representing agriculture, red representing the blood shed on the journey towards independence and gold reflecting the great mineral wealth of the nation.

As with many of the newly emerging African nations, Ghana's newly found independence was lost to the people in a succession of coups. In 1981 political parties were banned after Lt. Jerry Rawlings seized power, however in 1992 multi party elections were restored and Rawlings himself won that and a subsequent election in 1996. The new constitution preventing him from standing for a third time. John Mills then served as President of Ghana from 2009 until his death in 2012 when he was succeeded by his vice-president John Dramani Mahama. Mahama was the first Ghana president not to win a second term when he lost the 2016 election to opposition leader Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who was re-elected for his second term in 2020.

With its population of 30.42 million (2019), Ghana is today seen as one of the freest and most stable democracies in Africa, supported by an economy buoyed by gold and cocoa exportation. Oil reserves found off the coast are likely to boost the economy further in years to come. Despite this poverty remains an issue with 23% of the urban population living below the poverty line however this figure rises rapidly to 60% as you progress into the north of the country particularly the Rural Savannah and Rural Forests areas. Much of this is down to due to a short rainy season that barely allows for subsistence farming leading to malnutrition amongst many children who live there. Literacy rates are also as low as 1% in some northern areas and every year, malaria kills at least 20,000 children. 160,000 children in Ghana have been orphaned by AIDS and a further 17,000 children under the age of 15yrs are infected themselves out of a total child population of just over 10.5 million. Ghana is in 138th place out of 189 countries and territories in 2019 when ranked in terms of life expectancy, literacy, access to knowledge and the living standards of a country.

Ghana Profile: Volunteer in Ghana

Check out all the latest fee paying and free African volunteer work placements and charity work job opportunities abroad with local projects and volunteering organisations in Ghana.

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Ghana Profile: Children in Ghana