10 Fasinating Facts About Ghana, Africa

There are many factor to consider when visiting Africa while there are some fascinating facts about Ghana in Africa.   Ghana is one of the famous countries in Africa in terms economy, culture and other activities. It was established in 1957 and became the very first sub-Saharan country in the colonial Africa to get its independence. Ghana has come a long way in terms of politics, culture, and economics. In this regard, the following are the best top ten interesting facts about this great Ghana in Africa. 

1. Freedom of Worship

Freedom of worship is a fascinating fact in Ghana since it is a constitutional right and there is no dispute among the Muslims, Christians, the traditionalists and other several minority religions. Ghanians have developed habits of respecting different religions. 

2. The Magic Behind the Name "John" 

It was believed that if your name is not John, it is better to forget about being a president or even running for presidency. Since 1992, Ghanians have habits of electing presidents with their names including John. For example, Jerry John Rawlings ruled from 1992 to 2000, John Agyekum Kufuor from 2000 to 2008 and John Evans Atta Mills took over after Kufuor. This is really amazing and interesting history. 

Oil Discovery Ghana

3. Oil Discovery

In 2007, the Kosmos Energy of US and the Tullow Oil of UK discovered oil in the coastal region of Ghana. This was a great sign of economical growth hence improving the living standards of many people living in the country. 

4. Peace Maintenance

Ghana is believed to be number one in Africa in terms of peace maintenance and this is according to the Global Peace Index. It is also ranked position 40 internationally. Peace is something that contributes to most of developments of a country in all aspects. 

5. Cocoa Production

In the whole world, Ghana produces about 17 percent of cocoa. It comes second in the whole world after Ivory Coast, which produces over 40 percent of the world's total production.

6. Strength of a Woman 

Joyce Adeline Bamford-Addo is the first female to become the speaker of parliament in Ghana and Ms Georgia Theodora Wood became the first Chief Justice in Ghana as well. 

7. Corruption

In terms of corruption, Ghana has for several years been fighting against it and this being the main reason why it is in number 67 in terms of corruption worldwide. Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International did the ranking in 2008. 

8. Languages

In Ghana, there are over 40 languages spoken all over its ten regions. However, English is a recommended official language despite most people speaking different languages. 

9. The Cedi- The Official Ghana Currency

The Cedi is the official currency of Ghana where 1 GC equals to 0.80 US dollars, but it varies with stability of the dollar value. Even though the re-denomination of this currency happened in mid 2007, many of the street traders are still talking in terms of the previous Cedi, where they are needed to quote prices in thousands. This means that they equate 1 GC to ten thousands. 

10. Mahamas For Vice Presidents

As the name of Ghanians presidents has always remained the same (John), vice presidents are not exceptional. It has also been their culture to have their vice presidents called Mahama too. This has been happening since 2001 where Mr. Aliu Maham was the vice president up to 2008 and then Mr. John Dramani Mahama succeeded him.

Besides the above-discussed interesting facts about Ghana, there are also other several things about culture and the habits of Ghanaian people.

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