Welcome to the official website of the Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Ghana in Colombia, Colombia. This website has been designed to reflect the desire to satisfy the needs of our numerous visitors and serve as a source of information on Ghana, a country endowed with unlimited opportunities in human capital, trade, investment and tourism.

The Embassy of the Republic of Ghana was inaugurated in Rio de Janeiro in 1962, as one of the first diplomatic missions in Africa to settle in the Federative Republic of Brazil. The Embassy moved to Brasilia in 1972 and is now recognized and present in (concurrently accredited) 11 other countries in South America: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela.

The Embassy works to coordinate, promote and protect the interests of Ghana, Brazil and other countries of accreditation in order to significantly contribute to the improvement of security and socio-economic prosperity of Ghana.

The Embassy also serves as a direct reference to obtain general information on Ghana, a market well informed about policies and procedures for the efficient promotion of trade, investment, tourism, immigration and consular services.

1. Climate: Tropical with temperatures generally between 21 and 32 degrees Celsius. It is usually breezy and sunny. Southern Ghana has two rainy seasons the first, from March to July and the last, from September to October. The rainy seasons are separated by a short, dry season in August and a relatively long dry season from mid-October to March. Northern Ghana has only one rainy season from July to September. It is humid in the southwest, with annual rainfall averaging 2,030mm. The extreme southwest around Axim, records the heaviest rainfall. The southeast coast is warm and comparatively dry. Lastly, the north is hot and dry. Ghana has about 550 kilometers of coastline with beautiful sandy beaches.

2. Location: Ghana is situated in West Africa, just above the Equator. The Greenwich Meridian passes through Tema, its main industrial and habour city. Ghana shares common borders with Togo in the East, La Cote d’Ivoire in the West, Burkina Faso in the North and the Atlantic Ocean is in the south.

Ghana is divided into 10 administrative regions and 135 district assemblies. The Regions are Greater Accra, Eastern, Western, Central, Volta, Brong Ahafo, Ashanti, Northern, Upper East, and Upper West. Below are the various regions and their capitals:

• Ashanti Region : Kumasi
• Brong-Ahafo Region : Sunyani
• Central Region : Cape Coast
• Eastern Region : Koforidua
• Greater Accra Region : Accra
• Northern Region : Tamale
• Upper East : Bolgatanga
• Upper West : Wa
• Volta Region : Ho
• Western Region : Sekondi-Takoradi

3. Capital: Accra

4. History: Ghana is a former British colony. With the name derived from the ancient Ghana Empire. The country was the first of the sub- Saharan countries to gain its independence on 6th March, 1957. She became a Republic on July 1, 1960.

5. Population: About 23.9 million

6. Area: 238,537 square kilometers

7. Ethnic groups: Twi and Fanti-speaking Akans (45.3 per cent), Mole-Dagombas (15.2 per cent), Ewes (11.7 per cent), others (27 per cent). Although there are no indigenous Hausa tribes in Ghana, it is a language widely spoken among the Muslim and northern communities of Ghana.

8. Religion: Christian (63 per cent), Muslims (16 per cent), traditional religion (21 per cent)

9. Languages: English is the official language. The main local languages are Twi, Ga, Ewe, Fanti, Dagbani and Hausa.

10. International Affiliation: Member of the UN, Commonwealth, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), African Union (AU), and Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)

11. Workforce: Primarily an agricultural country, with agriculture accounting for approximately 45% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employing about 60% of the labor force.

12. Government: Ghana has a Hybrid of both the Presidential and Parliamentary democracies. The Constitution of the Fourth republic was approved by a referendum held on 28th April, 1992 and came into force on 7th January, 1993. Single chamber of 230 Parliamentary members

13. Education: Ghana operates a 12-year pre-university education system with six years of primary school and three years each of Junior High School and Senior High School. Ghana has five public universities in addition to other private universities and eight Polytechnics.

14. Currency: Ghana Cedi / Pesewa. (100 Pesewas = One ¢ ). Flexible exchange rate

15. Economy: Main exports are gold, petroleum, cocoa, timber, bauxite, manganese, diamonds, horticultural products, handicraft, processed food, and manufactured goods.

16. Infrastructure:

Overview: The basic infrastructure in Ghana is generally good with good road links and a good supply of water and electricity.

Key Challenges: Due to the narrow nature and construction works on most roads in the city, traffic can be bad during rush hours in some parts of the country. Consistent supply of water and electricity all year through, still remain a challenge in most parts of the country.

Looking Ahead: Once the major construction of roads in Accra are done, the traffic may ease. There are also plans to introduce a commuter rail system to link commuters in and around Accra.