GHANA

Fishing boat / soccer game. Gulf of Guinea, El Mina, Ghana

Fishing boat / soccer game. Gulf of Guinea, El Mina, Ghana

icon

HISTORY

In 1957, led by Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana became the first African nation to declare its independence from European colonization.

Ghana means “Warrior King,” a title given by the kings of the medieval Empire in West Africa, although modern-day Ghana is located further south in the Guinea region.

Ghana man walking
Vendor / goat herder. Accra
Ghana Independence Stamp

LANGUAGE

While there are over 100 languages spoken in Ghana, English is the official language of the state. French is also widely spoken. The Akan language, Ashanti Twi is also officially recognized and is considered the most used indigenous language of Ghana.

Woman walking in front of a sign for medical clinic in Kumasi
Sign announcing medical services. Kumasi
Crowded street during Makola Market in Accra
Makola market. Accra

GEOGRAPHY

The Republic of Ghana is located along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is just a few degrees north of the equator and is warm! It has lots of grasslands mixed with coastal shrub lands and an abundance of wildlife parks.

Man standing on a beach in Cape Coast
Man overlooking Gulf of Guinea. Cape Coast
Map illustrated by Wes Fjeldheim


ECONOMY

Ghana is the 6th largest economy on the African continent and has the highest per capita income throughout Western Africa. It is an active member of the United Nations and the African Union.

A little bit of added text on this page as an example of what can be done.

Stylish man in Elmina
Business man. El Mina
A fishing village in Elmina
Fish market. Benya Lagoon, El Mina

Population

Over 27 million

four hands graphic

Men on canoes on Lake Volta
Boats and lily pads. Aylos Bay, Lake Volta

graphic tree symbol

Natural Resources

Ghana has played a major part in production of petroleum and natural gas.

It is also one of the world's top producers for gold and diamonds and is the largest producer of cocoa globally.

Ghana is also home to Lake Volta, the largest artificial lake in the World with a surface area of 8,502 square kilometers.

FASHION

Dress shop. Accra

Adinkra are traditional symbols that are often created from woodcut printing and screen printing applied to fabrics and pottery among the Ashantis of Ashanti Kingdom.

MUSIC

Violist national symphony. Accra

The music of Ghana is diverse and varies between different ethnic groups and regions.

FILM

Television camera man Panafest. Accra

Ghana has a budding and thriving film industry.

Woman carrying food on her head on the Tawala beach.
Tawala beach, Accra

Ghana was the litmus test.

After years of planning panAFRICAproject, the studio had to prove that what we had in mind  would be possible conceptually, financially, physically and time-wise. For photography to work you have to “be” at every place you take pictures which meant logistics and associations were a major factor. The country was originally chosen because it was as close to USA and its time zone as possible. Since social networking, Skyping, etc. were so important, we needed to communicate back and forth in the same day. Also size and infrastructure were factors.

We made a lot of mistakes that need to be corrected. But sharing English as a common language was a tremendous surprise and weighed heavily on getting access to many of the more eclectic communities. We had a lot of internal help to meet potential subjects. We got a more comprehensive idea about tribal delineations.  And street photography was relatively easy.

Ghana Gallery

Following is our gallery of Ghana images. Click any to see it larger; then use arrows to see next images. You may SAVE images for academic use simply by right-clicking the images. Contact us for access to full resolution images and terms for publishing.