Ghana
Ghana, the black star of Africa
Ghana, which calls itself the 'black star of Africa' because it was the first decolonised country in Africa to introduce that symbol in its flag at independence in 1957, positions itself as one of Africa's future stronger industrial states. Its main exports are gold, petroleum and cocoa. As Africa's first producer of the precious metal and second in the world in terms of cocoa, its economy has been experiencing strong growth since 2024 and the surge in world prices of both commodities.
Ghana, however, does not want its economy to be defined by a few export products and is therefore firmly investing in its 'one district, one factory' economic policy, which requires each of the 16 regions to have at least one industrial production at the national level, such as car assembly, food, pharma production or textiles, for example. For several years, the capital Accra has had the ultra-modern, intermodal port for container ships in Tema, linking it to its landlocked neighbours Burkina Faso. Press freedom in Ghana ranks 3rd best in Africa and the country has had a democratic consultative structure for several decades.