About Ghana

Few facts about Ghana

Location

Ghana’s coordinates of Longitude 0 and latitude 4 N   literally places it at the centre of the world. Indeed, although the real centre (0,0) falls in the sea, Ghana is the nearest habitable land thus earning it the right to be called the centre of the earth.

Local Time

Ghana uses the Greenwhich Meantime and its time is generally the same as in London or 4-5 hours ahead of the USA.

Currency

The cedi is the country’s currency and comes in both notes and coins.  The notes come in 1, 2, 5, 10, 20,and 50 denominations. The coin denominations are 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p and 1 Cedi.

Religion

Ghana is a mix of many religious beliefs with Christianity and Islam accounting for 90% of the population.

Language

English is the official language spoken but other languages frequently used include Akan, Ewe, Hausa, Ga and Dagbani

Passport and Visa

All travelers into the country require a valid passport.  For visas, ECOWAS nationals are exempt. You can consult the Ghana mission or consular office near you.

Health

The Yellow fever vaccination is required. The only exemptions are infants under one year. Talking of fever, you can also pack some mosquito repellents and some anti-malarial drugs as a preemptive precaution.

Weather and clothing

Ghana is essentially a tropical country meaning it records high temperatures almost all year round. This means long, loose, clothing with light sneakers or sandals are the most appropriate. Remember that most communities in the country consider revealing clothes are inappropriate.

Cash and payments

Ghana has a rich range of international financial institutions so all major credit cards are acceptable. Otherwise many transactions are undertaken by cash or more recently, mobile money. There are equally many forex bureaux which can offer you competitive exchange rates for your currency, be it the Dollar, Pound or Euro.

Security

Crime is generally low in Ghana but as is everywhere in the world, carelessness might have dire consequences.

Mileage Chart – Intercity road distance in kilometers

	Accra	Kumasi	Koforidua	Takoradi	Sunyani	Tamale	Cape Coast	Wa	Ho	Bolga
Accra	0	270	85	218	400	658	144	740	165	810
Kumasi	270	0	194	242	130	388	221	470	356	558
Koforidua	85	194	0	303	324	582	229	664	162	752
Takoradi	218	242	383	0	372	683	74	765	362	853
Sunyani	400	130	324	372	0	300	351	378	486	470
Tamale	658	388	582	683	300	0	609	314	476	170
Cape Coast	144	221	229	74	351	609	0	691	309	779
Wa	740	470	664	765	378	314	691	0	790	368
Ho	165	356	162	362	486	476	309	790	0	914
Bolga	810	558	752	853	470	170	779	368	914	0