什麼是迦納

正式名稱迦納共和國（Republic of Ghana）

舊稱黃金海岸（Gold Coast）

非洲西部國家。面積238,533平方公里。人口約19,894,000（2001）。首都︰阿克拉。有七十五個不同的部族。數量最多的是阿坎人，其次是摩爾－達格巴尼（莫西）人。語言︰英語（官方語）。宗教：基督教（新教和天主教）和本土宗教。貨幣︰塞地（）。全境地勢偏低，以伏塔河盆地爲主。北部以草地平原爲特徵，南部森林茂密。南部沿海平原稱爲黃金海岸，向內陸延伸50～80公里。野生動物有獅子、豹和大象。屬開發中的混合型經濟，以農業和礦業爲基礎。經濟以可可爲主；出口的礦產有黃金、鑽石。政府形式是共和國，一院制。國家元首暨政府首腦是總統。

現代迦納系以古代迦納帝國之名命名，該帝國在13世紀前正處於興盛時期，其中心位於今迦納西北約800公里處。後來阿坎人在今迦納建立起他們的第一個國家。14世紀時，尋找金礦的曼德人到達。16世紀時，豪薩人也來到此地。15世紀期間，曼德人在北半部區域建立達貢巴國和曼普魯西諾國。阿善提人爲阿坎人一支，原居住在中部森林地區，後建立起一個強大的中央集權帝國，18和19世紀爲該帝國鼎盛時期。15世紀初期，葡萄牙人登陸黃金海岸，歐洲人遂開始到該地區探險，隨後他們在埃爾米納建立一個居民點，作爲奴隸買賣的大本營。到18世紀中葉，黃金海岸被荷蘭、英國或丹麥商人的幾個碉堡控制着。1874年黃金海岸成爲英國殖民地。1901年英國在阿善提和北部地區建立了保護地區。1957年黃金海岸獨立，改名迦納。自獨立後，發生多次政變。1981年成立的政府一直持續到1990年代。

Ghana

formerlyGold CoastRepublic, western Africa. Area: 92,098 sq mi (238,533 sq km). Population (1997 est.): 18,101,000. Capital: Accra. Ghana is home to some 75 different tribes; the most numerous are the Akan, followed by the Mole-Dagbani (Mossi). Language: English (official). Religions: Christianity (both Protestantism and Roman Catholicism) and indigenous religions. Currency: cedi. The land is generally flat, dominated by the Volta River basin. The north is characterized by grassland plains; the south is heavily forested. The southern coastal plain, called the Gold Coast, extends inland for 30-50 mi (50-80 km). Its varied wildlife includes lion, leopard, and elephant. It has a developing mixed economy based largely on agriculture and mining. Cacao is the mainstay of the economy; mineral exports include gold and diamonds. It is a republic with one legislative house; its head of state and government is the president. The modern state of Ghana is named after the ancient Ghana empire that flourished until the 13th century AD in the western Sudan, about 500 mi (800 km) northwest of the modern state. The Akan peoples then founded their first states in modern Ghana. Gold-seeking Mande traders arrived by the 14th century and Hausa merchants by the 16th century. During the 15th century the Mande founded the states of Dagomba and Mamprussi in the northern half of the region. The Ashanti, an Akan people, originated in the central forest region and formed a strongly centralized empire that was at its height in the 18th-19th century. European exploration of the region began early in the 15th century, when the Portuguese landed on the Gold Coast; they later established a settlement at Elmina as headquarters for the slave trade. By the mid-18th century the Gold Coast was dominated by numerous forts controlled by Dutch, British, and Danish merchants. Britain made the Gold Coast a crown colony in 1874, and British protectorates over the Ashanti and the northern territories were established in 1901. In 1957 the Gold Coast became the independent state of Ghana. Since independence, numerous political coups have occurred, but that of 1981 produced a government that lasted into the 1990s.