10 Interesting Facts About Ghana

Ten Interesting Facts About The Republic of Ghana (sent from Avery Mann):

1. In 1957, Ghana became the first sub-Saharan country to gain its independence. A constitutional democracy has been prevalent since April of 1992.

2. Comparatively, Ghana is slightly smaller than the state of Oregon.

3. The color of red in the flag represents the blood shed for independence, the yellow represents the country’s mineral wealth, the green stands for its forests and natural wealth, the black star is said to be the lodestar of African freedom.

4. The median age of the population of Ghana is about 20.5 years.

5. Approximately 50% of the population is urbanized, growing at a rate of 3.5% per year.

6. The technical term for the people of Ghana is Ghanaians.

7. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Ghana was known as the world's center for gold, ivory, and slave trade.

8. Some culture groups like the Asante have a matrilineal family organization where inheritance is passed down through the wife’s family rather than the husband’s, and the wife holds most of the chief responsibilities in the family.

9. As a result of its rich natural resources, Ghana has roughly twice the per capita output of the poorest countries in West Africa.

10. The per capita income of Ghana is $1,500, which ranks 199 (out of 261) compared to the other countries of the world.

Bonus: Also, Ghana is the world's leading exporter of Cocoa and their currency is called Cedis (1 cedi=.98 US dollars).