ghana

• republic of ghana, country in western africa
the republic of ghana is a country in western africa, formerly known as the gold coast. it was a british colony from 1874 until 1957, when the gold coast merged with british togoland to form ghana. dr kwame nkrumah of the convention people's party (cpp) was the first president. he was overthrown in 1966. in 1981 flight-lieutenant jerry rawlings established the provisional national defence council (pndc) and outlawed all political parties. the ban on political parties was lifted in 1992. jerry rawlings resigned from the armed forces and formed the national democratic congress (ndc) to contest presidential elections in 1992, which he won. ghana is a member of the commonwealth and the organization of african unity. it exports cocoa, timber, and gold. large foreign debts and high inflation are serious economic problems.