The Republic of Ghana extends inland from the Gulf of Guinea on the western 'bulge' of Africa, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the south, Togo to the east, Burkina Faso to the north and La Cote d’Ivoire to the west. The country is bisected by the Greenwich Meridian and lies entirely within the northern tropics 4.5 Celsius and 11 Celsius.
In other words Ghana is located on the Greenwich Meridian and the Equator which is in her territorial waters, thus making the country’s location at the center of the world. Another way to determine its location is flight time from other parts of the globe.
Most of the country is relatively flat and lies below an altitude of 150, but several peaks in the east rise to above 800m. It has a typical climate, warm to hot all year through, and can be divided into two broad geographic zones: the south and centre are moist and support a cover lush rainforest and grassland, whereas the north consists of a drier savannah environment.
A visitor can be in Ghana 9 hours after take-off from New York on North-American Air line or any other Air line (10 + hour); 6 ½ hours after leaving London, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Zurich or Geneva, Amsterdam or Rome on British Airways, KLM, Alitalia, Lufthansa or Swissair; 6 hours after leaving Harare, Addis Ababa, Johannesburg, Nairobi and Cairo/Beirut on Ghana Airways, South African Airways, Ethiopian Airways or Egyptair and MEA.
The coastal area of Ghana consists of plains and numerous lagoons near the estuaries of rivers. The land is relatively flat and the altitude is generally below 500m, with more than half of the country below 200m.
The Volta River basin dominates the country’s river system and includes the 400km largest artificial lake in the world (WORLD LAKE) formed behind the Akosombo Hydro-Electric Dam. In the north, the predominant vegetation is savannah and shrub, while the south has an extensive rain forest.
The Greater Accra region is the area with the least rainfall: the annual average seldom exceeds 600mm. The north is dry during greater part of the year.
Climate
Basically, Ghana’s climatic conditions are tropically characterized most of the year by moderate temperatures generally 21-32 (70-90), constant breeze and sunshine.
The country has two rainy seasons, from March to July and from September to October, separated by a short cool dry season in August and a relatively long dry season in the south from mid-October to March.
Annual rainfall in the south averages 2,030mm but varies greatly throughout the country, with the heaviest rainfall in Western Region and the lowest in the north.
The People and language
Ghana's population is estimated at 20 million, roughly ten percent of whom live in and around the capital city of Accra. Other major urban centres include Kumasi, Tamale, Tema, Takoradi and Cape Coast. More than 70 languages and major dialects are spoken countrywide, classified in four linguistic groups: Akan, Mole-Dagbani, Ewe and Ga. The most widespread Akan language is Twi which is spoken by roughly half the population, including the Asante (Ashanti) people of Kumasi and the coastal Fante.
While the Lingua Franca of the country is English, French and Hausa are also spoken as two major foreign languages.
