Publishing and broadcast media

• Main national newspapers: There are 2 daily newspapers, the Ghanaian Times and the Daily Graphic
• Television stations: 3 services: 1 state-controlled, 2 independent
• Radio stations: 1 state-controlled service, many independent stations

There is an increasing degree of media freedom, and the many private weeklies and independent radio stations are often critical of government policy.

• Main languages spoken: Twi, Fanti, Ewe, Ga, Adangbe, Gurma, Dagomba (Dagbani)
• Population density: 93/km2 (241/mi2) (Population density medium)

The urban/rural population split

Religious persuasion

Ethnic makeup

Population age breakdown

The largest ethnic group is the coastal Akan, who include the Ashanti and Fanti peoples. Other important groups are the Mole-Dagbani in the north, Ga-Adangbe around Accra, and Ewe in the southeast. Though the north is less developed than the south, ethnic tensions are relatively rare.

• Dates of last and next legislative elections: 2004/2008
• Head of state: President John Kufuor

Ghana's return to multiparty rule in 1992 marked the legitimization of the military government of Jerry Rawlings. An air force flight-lieutenant of Ewe–Scottish descent and one of the great survivors of African politics, Rawlings staged coups in 1979 and 1981, and led the 1981–1992 Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC) military government. As the NDC candidate, Rawlings won 58% of the vote in the 1992 presidential election. Opposition parties boycotted the following parliamentary elections, which the NDC won easily. Elections in 1996 gave Rawlings a further and final term of office. In 2000 the opposition NPP gained a historic victory when it stripped the NDC of its parliamentary majority. NPP candidate John Kufuor won a second presidential term in 2004.