Located on the coast of West Africa, Ghana occupies a total land area of 228,000 square kilometers (88,000 square miles). The population, estimated in 2004 to be approximately 20.3 million, is comprised of several tribal groups, including the Akan, Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga. According the World Bank, the gross national income per capita in 2002 was $270. The climate is tropical; the weather is warm and comparatively dry along the southeast coast, hot and humid in the southwest, and hot and dry in the north. The terrain consists mostly of low plains, with a dissected plateau in the south-central area. Ghana is home to Volta Lake, the world's largest artificial lake.

A former British colony, Ghana became the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to gain its independence in 1957 under the leadership of Kwame Nkrumah (1909–1972). Beginning in 1964, a series of coups resulted in the suspension of three constitutions until a fourth was approved in 1992, which...