It has maintained since 1993 one of the freest and most stable governments on the continent, and it performs relatively well in healthcare, economic growth, and human development, so that it has a significant influence in West Africa and Africa as a whole. For political stability in Africa, Ghana ranked 7th in the 2012 Ibrahim Index of African Governance and 5th in the 2012 Fragile States Index. Ghana is a unitary constitutional democracy led by a president who is head of state and head of government. Most Ghanaians are Christians (71.3%) almost a fifth are Muslims a tenth practise traditional faiths or report no religion. Ghana is a multi-ethnic country with linguistic and religious groups while the Akan are the largest ethnic group, they constitute a plurality. Ghana subsequently became influential in decolonisation efforts and the Pan-African movement. On 6th March 1957, Ghana became the first country in Sub-Saharan Africa to achieve sovereignty. These were unified as an independent dominion within the Commonwealth of Nations. Following over a century of colonial resistance, the current borders of the country took shape, encompassing 4 separate British colonial territories: Gold Coast, Ashanti, the Northern Territories, and British Togoland.

Beginning in the 15th century, the Portuguese Empire, followed by other European powers, contested the area for trading rights, until the British ultimately established control of the coast by the 19th century. Kingdoms and empires such as Kingdom of Dagbon in the north and the Ashanti Empire in the south emerged over the centuries. The Bono state existed in the area that is modern day Ghana during the 11th century.

The earliest known kingdoms to emerge in modern Ghana were the Mole-Dagbani states.

The capital and largest city is Accra other major cities are Kumasi, Tamale, and Sekondi-Takoradi. With over 32 million inhabitants, Ghana is the second-most populous country in West Africa, after Nigeria. Ghana covers an area of 238,535 km 2 (92,099 sq mi), spanning diverse biomes that range from coastal savannas to tropical rainforests. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Togo in the east. Ghana ( / ˈ ɡ ɑː n ə/ ( listen) GAH-nə Twi: Gaana, Ewe: Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa.

Fair trades forge of empires