-
Vanishing forest
Logging has destroyed large areas of Ghana’s tropical rainforest. However, the country’s 16 wildlife protection areas (covering approximately five percent of the land) are home to a huge diversity of mammal, bird and insect life.
-
A better education, a better life
Ghana invests in education. Have a look around the Hermann Gmeiner College with Audrey, a place she would love to attend. Audrey meets other students and finds out about their lives.
-
Gold and slaves
European traders flocked to this part of Africa in the 1600s, when slaves became as lucrative as gold. (Slavery was eventually abolished in Europe during the 1800s.) An official British colony from 1874, Ghana had to wait until 1957 for its independence.
-
Explore Ghana
Ghana has some interesting places to explore. Find out more about some of Ghana’s cities, such as Accra and Kumasi.
-
A host of dialects
There are over 40 languages and 70 different dialects spoken in Ghana, though the Akan languages of Twi, Ashante and Fante are the most common.
-
Inaccessible health service for many
Only around half of Ghanaians can afford to pay into the National Health Insurance scheme, so many people rely on the country’s 45,000 traditional healers. Malaria is the number one killer in Ghana due to the country’s wet, tropical climate which is ideal for mosquitoes.
-
Freshly baked bread
What is it like to feel helpless? What do you do when prevented from earning a living the only way you know how?
-
Bright and bold, meaningful designs
Despite western influence, Ghanaians still love to dress in their traditional clothes.
-
Weaving, a trade passed down
Discover all about one man's trade, weaving. He was taught his trade by his father. He sits every day weaving beautiful coloured cotton.
-
Hi, I'm Audrey. Welcome to Ghana.
I have been making videos with my friends about what life is like in Ghana. I'm really lucky to be living in a country which values education so highly. It's my ambition to go to college. In one of the videos, I visit my ‘dream college’ and video some of the students. There are young people here who have travelled all over Africa to come to study in Ghana.
-
Can be a hazardous ride
Most of Ghana’s major roads are now surfaced. But driving can still be hazardous in rural areas and at night, when many vehicles are driven without headlights.
-
Not just a family affair
Ghanaian funerals are well known for their importance to whole communities and for their flamboyancy. Some of the coffins are like nothing you will have ever seen before.
-
Cocoa is the top earner
Ghana is a low-lying country with a hot, tropical climate. Cocoa beans are the major export crop and are grown on more than half of the arable land.
-
It’s in their blood
The drums and dances performed throughout Ghana all have a significance that relates to Ghana’s rich culture.
-
A prospering country
Ghana has prospered over the last two decades. The economy has grown annually around six percent each year. The most important sector for Ghana remains agriculture and the country is the second largest producer of cocoa beans.
-
Government investment
Education is seen as the key to developing Ghana into a middle-income nation. The government has dedicated one-fifth of the national budget to the education sector.
-
Rising life expectancy
On average, people in Ghana now live to the age of 60.
-
'The fruits of honesty' and 'The Migration'
The children at the SOS Children’s Village in Tema, Ghana, learnt the complex skills of film-making, from professional cameramen. Once mastered they created their very own films.
-
City life
Over half of Ghana’s people now live in urban centres and the country’s coastal cities (such as Accra and Sekondi-Takoradi) are modern and bustling.
