Ghana Ghana Ghana (), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located along the Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean, in the subregion of West Africa. Spanning a land mass of , Ghana is bordered by the Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, Togo in the east and the Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean in the south. "Ghana" means "Warrior King" in the Soninke language. The first permanent state in the territory of present-day Ghana dates back to the 11th century. Numerous kingdoms and empires emerged over the centuries, of which the most powerful was
History of Liberia the country, who constitute the majority of the population. Years of civil war have disrupted the country and its economy. Historians believe that many of the indigenous peoples of Liberia migrated there from the north and east between the 12th and 16th centuries AD. Portuguese explorers established contacts with people of the land later known as "Liberia" as early as 1462. They named the area "Costa da Pimentia" (Pepper Coast), or Grain Coast, because of the abundance of melegueta pepper, which became desired in European cooking. In 1602 the Dutch established a trading post at Grand Cape Mount but destroyed