Ghana: Gold Coast

Ghana is a West African country on the Gulf of Guinea.  Portuguese explorers landed in what is now Ghana in 1471.  They found so much gold there that they called it the “Gold Coast”.  Later, European merchants came to the Gold Coast to compete for profits in the gold and slave trades.  In the late 1800’s the Gold Coast became a British colony.  It gained its independence in 1957 and took the name “Ghana”, the name of an ancient African kingdom.  In 1960 the people voted to become a republic and elected Kwame Nkrumah president.  His “socialist” experiment was a disaster.  After his overthrow in 1966, there have been five military regimes and three short-lived civilian governments.  The revolutionary military government of Jerry Rawlings eventually opened up the way for multi-party elections in 1992.  He was democratically returned to power and serves as President today.

 Leading exports from Ghana are cocoa, gold and timber.  After an almost total economic collapse in 1982, they are now making a steady recovery with an average GDP growth of 5% per annum.  Average income per person per year is $380.00.

There are about 100 different ethnic groups in Ghana which speak 72 different languages.  Primary, secondary, and technical education is government subsidized and most children can attend school until they are about 12 years old.  53% of the population (in the cities) can read and write, however the percentage in the rural areas is quite low.  There are five universities plus a large number of teacher colleges and technical institutes.

Ghana is an agricultural country.  Although it has important mineral deposits, over half the people live in rural areas and are farmers.  There are grasslands in the north, farmlands and forests in the south and the center is dominated by 312-mile long Lake Volta.  The temperature varies from an average of 80 degrees F (27 degrees C) in Accra, the south, to higher temperatures in the north.  There is a dry season and a rainy season and northern and eastern Ghana have severe dry spells November to March.

Ghana is a secular state with religious freedom.  Although 64% of the people claim to be Christian, only 44.3% are affiliated with any Christian church.  Of the 27.9% who are Protestant, 20.3% are affiliated with a church.  African traditional religions are practiced by 20% of the people and the other 16% of the population is Muslim. In most of the North, where Paganism and Islam are even more prominent, the percentage of Christians is drastically less than the South. 

Baptist work in Ghana began with the first missionary under the International Mission Board (then Foreign Mission Board) in 1947.  The Ghana Baptist Convention is a strong entity with trained leadership – the Convention has approximately  800 churches and has last year celebrated its  37th anniversary. IMB missionaries work very closely with the Convention in its goal of reaching Ghana for Christ.