🇬🇭 Ghana

Ghana is West Africa's second-largest economy with a GDP of about $75 billion and a population of 33 million. It was the first sub-Saharan African country to gain independence (1957) and has been one of the continent's most stable democracies, with multiple peaceful transfers of power. Ghana is the world's second-largest cocoa producer and Africa's largest gold producer. Oil production, which began in 2010 from the Jubilee field, added a new revenue stream. Accra has become a hub for the African tech scene, and the "Year of Return" campaign in 2019 successfully attracted African diaspora tourism and investment.

Gold, cocoa, and oil are the three main exports. The country went through a severe debt crisis in 2022-23, defaulting on its external debt and seeking a $3 billion IMF bailout. Inflation spiked above 50% and the cedi lost about 60% of its value. The debt restructuring has been painful, with domestic bondholders taking significant losses. China, Switzerland (gold refining), and the EU are major trade partners. The tech sector is growing — Ghana hosts Google's first African AI research center.

Ghana's fantasy coffins — elaborate caskets shaped like cars, fish, airplanes, or Coca-Cola bottles — are a genuine art form that's been exhibited at major museums worldwide. The country's Lake Volta is the world's largest artificial lake by surface area. Ghana's Kakum National Park has a canopy walkway 40 meters above the rainforest floor that's become one of West Africa's top tourist attractions.

Ghana's debt crisis was a harsh reality check for what was supposed to be Africa's democratic success story. The fundamentals are still there — gold, cocoa, oil, a young English-speaking population — but fiscal discipline needs to improve dramatically.