Ghana is a very varied country on the west coast of Africa. In colonial times, it was rules by the British and was known as The Gold Coast. The country was the first sub-Saharan state to gain independence from Britain in 1957.

In past times the country has been ravaged by the trade in slaves, ivory and gold. Thankfully the former are now things of the past but gold remains a valuable source of income for Ghana. Today Cocoa and timber are the other economic mainstays. 

A population of around 23 million people makes this the 48th largest country - but a GDP per capital of just $3,141 per year ranks its people the 130th richest! 

Much more information is available on Wikipedia