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Ghana's population is about 22.5 million and more than half live outside the cities in rural villages.

The Republic of Ghana is on the coast of West Africa. On its borders are Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Togo, and the Gulf of Guinea. Ghana gained its independence from Great Britain in 1957 and is now a functioning democracy. The capital of Ghana is Accra.

Ghana is considered an 'island of peace and stability' in the West Africa Sub-Region. Since 2000, Ghana has sustained a period of economic stability and has seen one of the fastest rates of poverty reduction in Africa in recent years – less than a third of Ghanaians now live below the poverty line.

About 60% of the working population rely on subsistence agriculture for their income which accounts for about a third of the Gross Domestic Product. Unemployment is at about 11% and over 45% of the population live on less than $1USD a day. Inflation is very high at 11%.

The average life expectancy is about 60 years, and Ghana’s primary school enrolment is thought to be at around 91%. In 2007, it was thought that 2.6% of people aged 15-49 were living with HIV / AIDS. Currently, 53% of people are thought to have access to safe, clean water.

Nearly 69% of Ghanaian people are Christian, the highest percentage of Christians in West Africa. 16% are Muslim and 9% believe in traditional animist religions. Religious tolerance in Ghana is very high. The major Christian celebrations of Christmas and Easter are recognised as national holidays and Ramadan is observed by Muslims across the country.

Festivals are very popular in Ghana and there are several rituals that are performed throughout the year in various parts of the country covering the rites of passage – child-birth, puberty, marriage and death.

Ghana is a pretty flat country, with areas of dense rain forest, and dry savannah. It is also home to one of the world’s largest artificial lakes, Lake Volta, which was created in 1964.