West Africa

Ghana

Ghana is a western African country of roughly 35.2M people, covering 238,533 km² with its capital at Accra. Its economy is worth about $76B in nominal terms, anchored by gold, cocoa, oil.

Population: 35.2M; Projected population, 2026
Source: UN World Population Prospects
Capital: Accra
GDP: $76B
Area: 238,533 km²
Currency: Cedi

Map

Interactive map of Ghana — West Africa

Overview

Ghana is a western African country of roughly 35.2M people, covering 238,533 km² with its capital at Accra. Its economy is worth about $76B in nominal terms, anchored by gold, cocoa, oil.

Government

Ghana operates as a presidential republic. Independence: 1957. Executive, legislative and judicial functions are exercised from Accra.

Economy

Nominal GDP is approximately $76B, or around $2,160 per capita. The currency in circulation is the Cedi. Leading sectors are gold, cocoa, oil.

Population

Ghana has a projected population, 2026 of 35,178,588 people (United Nations Population Division, World Population Prospects 2024 Revision, Online Edition — medium variant), a density of roughly 147 people per km². Values from 2024 onwards are medium-variant projections rather than live counts.

Cities

The largest urban centres are Accra, Kumasi, Tamale. Accra serves as the seat of government.

History

Modern Ghana took shape through pre-colonial states, the colonial partition of the late nineteenth century, and independence in 1957. Our History section covers each period in depth.

Languages

Widely used languages include English, Twi, Ewe. Official-language policy shapes schooling, courts and broadcasting.

Culture

Music, cuisine, film, textiles and sport in Ghana form part of a fast-growing creative economy with an expanding export footprint.

Education

Primary enrolment is near-universal in most of the region; the constraints sit at secondary completion, technical training and higher-education funding.

Healthcare

Health spending across Africa averages about 5.7% of GDP. Ghana's system combines public facilities, private providers and donor-funded programmes.

Business

Company registration, tax administration and access to finance are the practical determinants of doing business in Ghana. See our Business section for sector reporting.

Investment

Investors typically look at gold, infrastructure and consumer services. Regulatory clarity and FX access are the recurring diligence questions.

Tourism

Visitors come for landscape, heritage and city life. Entry requirements, seasonality and internal transport are covered in our Travel guides.

Transportation

Road remains dominant; rail, ports and aviation capacity vary sharply and are the focus of most current infrastructure investment.

Infrastructure

Electricity access, broadband coverage and logistics quality are the three infrastructure metrics most closely tied to Ghana's growth outlook.

Statistics

Full time series for population, GDP, trade, inflation, internet usage, education, health, tourism, agriculture and climate are published in The360Africa Data Center.