Republic of Ghana
CAPITAL: Accra
FLAG: The national flag is a tricolor of red, yellow, and green horizontal stripes, with a five-pointed black star in the center of the yellow stripe.
ANTHEM: Hail the Name of Ghana.
MONETARY UNIT: The cedi (¢) is a paper currency of 100 pesewas. There are coins of 1/2, 1, 21/2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 pesewas and 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 cedis, and notes of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1,000 cedis. ¢1 = $0.000118 (or $1 = ¢8450) as of May 2003.
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES: The metric system is the legal standard.
HOLIDAYS: New Year's Day, 1 January; Anniversary of the Inauguration of the Fourth Republic, 7 January; Independence Day, 6 March; Labor Day, 1 May; Republic Day, 1 July; Christmas, 25 December; Boxing Day, 26 December; Movable religious holidays include Good Friday and Easter Monday.
TIME: GMT.
Plants and animals are mainly those common to tropical regions, but because of human encroachment, Ghana has fewer large and wild mammals than in other parts of Africa. Most of the forest is in the south and in a strip along the border with Togo. Except for coastal scrub and grassland, the rest of Ghana is savanna.
Of the 56 indigenous languages and dialects spoken in Ghana, 31 are used mainly in the northern part of the country. The languages follow the tribal divisions, with the related Akan languages of Twi and Fanti being most prominent. Also widely spoken are Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga. English is the official language and is the universal medium of instruction in schools. It is officially supplemented by five local languages.
In 2002, Ghana's active defense forces numbered 7,000. The army numbers 5,000 including the presidential guard. The 1,000-member navy operates six vessels, and the air force 1,000 flies 19 combat aircraft. The Ghanaian military provides support to UN and peacekeeping missions in Croatia, Lebanon, Iraq, Kuwait, Sierra Leone, Tajikistan, and the Western Sahara. Ghana spent $35.2 million on defense in 2001, or 0.7% of GDP.
Ghana has no territories or colonies.