Ghana
Formed from the merger of the British colony of the Gold Coast and the Togo
land trust territory, Ghana became the first country in colonial Africa to gain
its independence in 1957.

Population: 19,894,014

Location: Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Cote
d’Ivoire and Togo

Climate: tropical; warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast;
hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north.

Religions: indigenous beliefs 38%, Muslim 30%, Christian 24%, other 8%

Economy: Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has twice the per capita output of the poorer countries in
West Africa. Even so, Ghana remains heavily dependent on international financial and technical assistance. Gold,
timber, and cocoa production are major sources of foreign exchange. The domestic economy continues to revolve
around subsistence agriculture, which accounts for 36% of GDP and employs 60% of the work force, mainly small
landholders.

HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS Information): Estimated adults with HIV, end of 2001 – 360,000 (three percent) Estimated
number of orphans under age 15 at the end of 2001 – 200,000.

Street Children: According to Unicef, in 1999, there were 15,000 street children in Accra, Ghana.