title: Friedrich Nietzsche

text: W. B. Yeats and Arthur Symons described Nietzsche as the intellectual heir to William Blake. Symons went on to compare the ideas of the two thinkers in "The Symbolist Movement in Literature", while Yeats tried to raise awareness of Nietzsche in Ireland. A similar notion was espoused by W. H. Auden who wrote of Nietzsche in his "New Year Letter" (released in 1941 in "The Double Man"): "O masterly debunker of our liberal fallacies ... all your life you stormed, like your English forerunner Blake." Nietzsche made an impact on composers during the 1890s. Writer Donald Mitchell noted that Gustav Mahler was "attracted to the poetic fire of Zarathustra, but repelled by the intellectual core of its writings". He also quoted Mahler himself, and adds that he was influenced by Nietzsche's conception and affirmative approach to nature, which Mahler presented in his Third Symphony using Zarathustra's roundelay. Frederick Delius produced a piece of choral music, "A Mass of Life", based on a text of "Thus Spoke Zarathustra", while Richard Strauss (who also based his "Also sprach Zarathustra" on the same book), was only interested in finishing "another chapter of symphonic autobiography". Writers and poets influenced by Nietzsche include André Gide, August Strindberg, Robinson Jeffers, Pío Baroja, D.H. Lawrence, Edith Södergran and Yukio Mishima.


title: Friedrich Nietzsche

text: Nietzsche was an early influence on the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke. Knut Hamsun counted Nietzsche, along with Strindberg and Dostoyevsky, as his primary influences. Author Jack London wrote that he was more stimulated by Nietzsche than by any other writer. Critics have suggested that the character of David Grief in "A Son of the Sun" was based on Nietzsche. Nietzsche's influence on Muhammad Iqbal is most evidenced in "Asrar-i-Khudi" ("The Secrets of the Self"). Wallace Stevens was another reader of Nietzsche, and elements of Nietzsche's philosophy were found throughout Stevens's poetry collection "Harmonium". Olaf Stapledon was influenced by the idea of the "Übermensch" and it is a central theme in his books "Odd John" and "Sirius". In Russia, Nietzsche influenced Russian symbolism and figures such as Dmitry Merezhkovsky, Andrei Bely, Vyacheslav Ivanov and Alexander Scriabin incorporated or discussed parts of Nietzsche philosophy in their works. Thomas Mann's novel "Death in Venice" shows a use of Apollonian and Dionysian, and in "Doctor Faustus" Nietzsche was a central source for the character of Adrian Leverkühn. Hermann Hesse, similarly, in his "Narcissus and Goldmund" presents two main characters as opposite yet intertwined Apollonian and Dionysian spirits. Painter Giovanni Segantini was fascinated by "Thus Spoke Zarathustra", and he drew an illustration for the first Italian translation of the book. The Russian painter Lena Hades created the oil painting cycle "Also Sprach Zarathustra" dedicated to the book "Thus Spoke Zarathustra".


title: Friedrich Nietzsche

text: By World War I, Nietzsche had acquired a reputation as an inspiration for right-wing German militarism and leftist politics. German soldiers received copies of "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" as gifts during World War I. The Dreyfus affair provided a contrasting example of his reception: the French antisemitic Right labelled the Jewish and leftist intellectuals who defended Alfred Dreyfus as "Nietzscheans". Nietzsche had a distinct appeal for many Zionist thinkers around the start of the 20th century, most notable being Ahad Ha'am, Hillel Zeitlin, Micha Josef Berdyczewski, A.D. Gordon and Martin Buber, who went so far as to extoll Nietzsche as a "creator" and "emissary of life". Chaim Weizmann was a great admirer of Nietzsche; the first president of Israel sent Nietzsche's books to his wife, adding a comment in a letter that "This was the best and finest thing I can send to you." Israel Eldad, the ideological chief of the Stern Gang that fought the British in Palestine in the 1940s, wrote about Nietzsche in his underground newspaper and later translated most of Nietzsche's books into Hebrew. Eugene O'Neill remarked that "Zarathustra" influenced him more than any other book he ever read. He also shared Nietzsche's view of tragedy. The plays "The Great God Brown" and "Lazarus Laughed" are examples of Nietzsche's influence on him. The First International claimed Nietzsche as ideologically one of their own. From 1888 through the 1890s there were more publications of Nietzsche works in Russia than in any other country. Nietzsche was influential among the Bolsheviks. Among the Nietzschean Bolsheviks were Vladimir Bazarov, Anatoly Lunacharsky and Aleksandr Bogdanov. Nietzsche's influence on the works of Frankfurt School philosophers Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno can be seen in the "Dialectic of Enlightenment". Adorno summed up Nietzsche's philosophy as expressing the "humane in a world in which humanity has become a sham".


title: Friedrich Nietzsche

text: Nietzsche's growing prominence suffered a severe setback when his works became closely associated with Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany. Many political leaders of the twentieth century were at least superficially familiar with Nietzsche's ideas, although it is not always possible to determine whether they actually read his work. It is debated among scholars whether Hitler read Nietzsche, although if he did, it may not have been extensively. He was a frequent visitor to the Nietzsche museum in Weimar and used expressions of Nietzsche's, such as "lords of the earth" in "Mein Kampf". The Nazis made selective use of Nietzsche's philosophy. Alfred Baeumler was perhaps the most notable exponent of Nietzschean thought in Nazi Germany. Baeumler had published his book "Nietzsche, Philosopher and Politician" in 1931, before the Nazis' rise to power, and subsequently published several editions of Nietzsche's work during the Third Reich. Mussolini, Charles de Gaulle and Huey P. Newton read Nietzsche. Richard Nixon read Nietzsche with "curious interest", and his book "Beyond Peace" might have taken its title from Nietzsche's book "Beyond Good and Evil" which Nixon read beforehand. Bertrand Russell wrote that Nietzsche had exerted great influence on philosophers and on people of literary and artistic culture, but warned that the attempt to put Nietzsche's philosophy of aristocracy into practice could only be done by an organization similar to the Fascist or the Nazi party.


title: Friedrich Nietzsche

text: A decade after World War II, there was a revival of Nietzsche's philosophical writings thanks to translations and analyses by Walter Kaufmann and R.J. Hollingdale. Georges Bataille was also influential in this revival, defending Nietzsche against appropriation by the Nazis with his notable 1937 essay "Nietzsche and Fascists". Others, well known philosophers in their own right, wrote commentaries on Nietzsche's philosophy, including Martin Heidegger, who produced a four-volume study, and Lev Shestov, who wrote a book called "Dostoyevski, Tolstoy and Nietzsche" where he portrays Nietzsche and Dostoyevski as the "thinkers of tragedy". Georg Simmel compares Nietzsche's importance to ethics to that of Copernicus for cosmology. Sociologist Ferdinand Tönnies read Nietzsche avidly from his early life, and later frequently discussed many of his concepts in his own works. Nietzsche has influenced philosophers such as Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre, Oswald Spengler, George Grant, Emil Cioran, Albert Camus, Ayn Rand, Jacques Derrida, Sarah Kofman, Leo Strauss, Max Scheler, Michel Foucault, Bernard Williams, and Nick Land.


title: Friedrich Nietzsche

text: Camus described Nietzsche as "the only artist to have derived the extreme consequences of an aesthetics of the absurd". Paul Ricœur called Nietzsche one of the masters of the "school of suspicion", alongside Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud. Carl Jung was also influenced by Nietzsche. In "Memories, Dreams, Reflections", a biography transcribed by his secretary, he cites Nietzsche as a large influence. Aspects of Nietzsche's philosophy, especially his ideas of the self and his relation to society, run through much of late-twentieth and early twenty-first century thought. Nietzsche's writings have also been influential to some advancers of Accelerationist thought through his influence on Deleuze and Guattari. His deepening of the romantic-heroic tradition of the nineteenth century, for example, as expressed in the ideal of the "grand striver" appears in the work of thinkers from Cornelius Castoriadis to Roberto Mangabeira Unger. For Nietzsche, this grand striver overcomes obstacles, engages in epic struggles, pursues new goals, embraces recurrent novelty, and transcends existing structures and contexts.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms "The Office" (2001–2003), "Extras" (2005–2007), and "An Idiot Abroad" (2010–2012). He also created, wrote and starred in "Derek" (2012–2014), and "After Life" (2019–2022). He has won seven BAFTA Awards, five British Comedy Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and the Rose d'Or twice (2006 and 2019). Gervais was listed in "The Observer" as one of the 50 funniest performers in British comedy in 2003. In 2007, he was placed at No. 11 on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups, and at No. 3 in their 2010 list. In 2010, he was included in the "Time 100" list of World's Most Influential People.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Gervais initially worked in the music industry. He attempted a career as a pop star in the 1980s as the singer of the new-wave act Seona Dancing, and managed the then-unknown band Suede before turning to comedy. He appeared on "The 11 O'Clock Show" on Channel 4 between 1998 and 2000, garnering a reputation as an outspoken and sharp-witted social provocateur. In 2000, he was given a Channel 4 spoof talk show, "Meet Ricky Gervais". He achieved greater mainstream fame the following year with his BBC television mock documentary series "The Office," followed by "Extras" in 2005, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with Stephen Merchant, and in which he played the lead roles of David Brent ("The Office") and Andy Millman ("Extras"). He wrote, directed and starred in the 2016 comedy film "".


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Gervais began his stand-up career in the late 1990s. He has performed five multi-national stand-up comedy tours, and he wrote the "Flanimals" book series. Gervais, Merchant, and Karl Pilkington created the podcast "The Ricky Gervais Show", which has spawned various spin-offs starring Pilkington and is produced by Gervais and Merchant. Gervais has also starred in the Hollywood films "Ghost Town", the "Night at the Museum" trilogy, "For Your Consideration", and "Muppets Most Wanted". He wrote, directed, and starred in "The Invention of Lying" and the Netflix-released "Special Correspondents". He hosted the Golden Globe Awards in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016, and again in 2020. Gervais also appeared on the game show "Child Support". He is also the creator, executive producer, writer, and director of the Netflix comedy-drama series "After Life", in which he plays the lead role of Tony Johnson.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Ricky's father, Lawrence Raymond "Jerry" Gervais (1919–2002), a Franco-Ontarian of French Canadian and Iroquois descent from Pain Court, Ontario, emigrated to the UK whilst on foreign duty during the Second World War. He worked as a labourer and hod carrier before he met Gervais's English mother, Eva Sophia (née House; 1925–2000). They met during a blackout and settled in Whitley in Reading, having four children over a sixteen-year period. Eva died at age 74 of lung cancer. Ricky, the youngest child, has three older siblings: schoolteacher Larry (1945–2019), Marsha, a pedagogue for special needs children (1948–), and painter–decorator Bob (1950–). Gervais has spoken of his appreciation for his family’s extreme sense of humour. He told BBC Radio 4’s "Desert Island Discs" that he and his brother Bob spent most of their mother’s funeral “crying with laughter”. They had been asked by the vicar to tell him something about their mother prior to the service, with Gervais saying, “My brother, just winding up the vicar, said, ‘She was a keen racist.’ And the vicar said, ‘I can’t say that!’ So Bob went, ‘Oh, OK then…she liked gardening.’ He has mentioned in interviews that as an 11-year-old, he asked why his siblings were so much older than he was, his mum bluntly told him he was a mistake.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Gervais was born on 25 June 1961 at Battle Hospital in Reading, Berkshire. He was brought up in the Reading suburb of Whitley, with a sister, Marsha, and brothers Larry and Robert. Prompted by Robert, Gervais began to question the existence of God from about age eight.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Gervais attended Whitley Park Infants and Junior Schools and received his secondary education at Ashmead Comprehensive School. After a gap year which he spent working as a gardener at the University of Reading, he attended University College London (UCL) in 1980. He intended to study biology but changed to philosophy after two weeks, and was awarded an upper second-class honours degree in the subject from University of London in 1983. During his time there, he met Jane Fallon, with whom he has been in a relationship since 1982.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: In 1983, during his final year as a student at University College London, Gervais and his best friend Bill Macrae formed the new wave pop duo Seona Dancing. They were signed by London Records, which released two of their singles—"More to Lose" and "Bitter Heart". The songs failed to make the UK Singles Chart. Despite not being successful in the UK, Seona Dancing did manage to score a hit in the Philippines with "More to Lose". Gervais also worked as the manager for Suede before they became successful in the 1990s.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: In 2013, Gervais performed a live tour as David Brent along with his band Foregone Conclusion, Brent's fictional band in "The Office". He and the band performed songs written under the Brent character, including "Equality Street" and "Free Love Freeway". Gervais also produced a series of YouTube videos, 'Learn Guitar with David Brent', featuring acoustic guitar versions of nine songs.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: In 2016, as part of the "Life on the Road" film promotion, Gervais published the "David Brent Songbook" of 15 songs, which he also recorded for the album "Life on the Road" as David Brent and Foregone Conclusion.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Gervais worked as an assistant events manager for the University of London Union (ULU), then was head of speech at the alternative radio station Xfm. Needing an assistant, he interviewed the first person whose curriculum vitae he read: Stephen Merchant. In 1998 Gervais's position was made redundant when the station was taken over by the Capital Radio group. Around this time he was also a regular contributor to Mary Anne Hobbs's Radio 1 show, performing vox pop interviews in unlikely locations.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: After the first series of "The Office", Gervais and Merchant returned to Xfm in November 2001 for a Saturday radio show, where they began working with Karl Pilkington, who produced the shows and later collaborated with them on their series of podcasts.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: In October 2017, Gervais began hosting the weekly radio show "Ricky Gervais Is Deadly Sirius" on Sirius XM, which ran until 2019.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: On 5 December 2005, "Guardian Unlimited" began offering free weekly podcasts, including "The Ricky Gervais Show" featuring Gervais, Merchant, and Karl Pilkington. Throughout January and February 2006 the podcast was consistently ranked the number 1 podcast in the world. It appeared in the 2007 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's most-downloaded podcast, with an average 261,670 downloads per episode during its first month. Two more series, each with six podcasts, were released between February and September 2006.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: In late 2006, three more free podcasts were released. Together called "The Podfather Trilogy", they debuted individually at Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. These three were known by Gervais and Merchant as "The Fourth Season". In October 2007 another free full-length podcast was released through iTunes, after being originally given out for free during a performance of Gervais's "Fame" stand-up tour in London. On 25 November 2007 Gervais, Merchant and Pilkington released another free podcast of just over one hour.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: In August 2008, Gervais, Merchant and Pilkington recorded their fifth series of audiobooks, totalling four chapters, which were released on 16 September 2008, and described as the "Guide To..." series. As of May 2011, there are 12 'Guides': to Medicine, Natural History, Arts, Philosophy, The English, Society, Law & Order, The Future, The Human Body, The Earth, The World Cup 2010, and Comic Relief. The conversations typically begin on topic and go out on tangents about other subjects.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: In 2021, Gervais launched a paid-for audio series, "Absolutely Mental", of his conversations with philosopher Sam Harris. Season 2 was also launched in 2021, followed by season 3 in March 2022.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Gervais has contributed to the BAFTA-winning "The Sketch Show" (ITV), penning several sketches. His mainstream-TV on-screen debut came in September 1998 as part of Channel 4's "Comedy Lab" series of pilots. His one-off show "Golden Years" focused on a David Bowie-obsessed character called Clive Meadows.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Gervais then came to much wider national attention with an obnoxious, cutting persona featured in a topical slot that replaced Ali G's segments on the satirical Channel 4 comedy programme "The 11 O'Clock Show" in early 1999, in which his character used as many expletives as was possible and produced an inordinate number of politically incorrect statements. Among the other regular featured comedians on the show was Mackenzie Crook, later a co-star of "The Office". Two years later, Gervais went on to present his comedy chat show for Channel 4 called "Meet Ricky Gervais". It was poorly received and has since been mocked by Gervais himself.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Throughout this time, Gervais also wrote for the BBC sketch show "Bruiser" and "The Jim Tavare Show".


title: Ricky Gervais

text: "The Office" started when Stephen Merchant had to make his short film while on a BBC production course. In August 1999 he made a docu-soap parody, set in an office, with help from Ash Atalla who was shown a 7-minute video called 'The Seedy Boss'. Thus the character of David Brent was created. Merchant passed this tape on to the BBC's Head of Entertainment Paul Jackson at the Edinburgh Fringe, who then passed it on to Head of Comedy Jon Plowman, who eventually commissioned a full-pilot script from Merchant and Gervais.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: The first six-episode series of "The Office" aired in the UK in July and August 2001 to little fanfare or attention. Word-of-mouth, repeats, and DVDs helped spread the word, building up momentum and anticipation for the second series, also comprising six episodes. Following the success of "The Office" second series, Gervais was named the most powerful person in TV comedy by "Radio Times".


title: Ricky Gervais

text: In 2004, "The Office" won the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy as well as Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy for Gervais, who said in a 2015 BBC interview that the award was the gateway to America for him.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: "The Office" brand has since been remade for audiences in , France, Germany, Quebec, Brazil, , The Czech Republic, , India, Israel, and the United States. Gervais and Merchant are producers of the American version, and they also co-wrote the episode "The Convict" for the show's third season. Gervais has said that the episode "Training" is his favourite, where Brent plays his guitar and sings. In 2021, on the show's 20th anniversary, he suggested the show would not have been produced in 2021 due to cancel culture: "I mean, now it would be cancelled. I'm looking forward to when they pick out one thing and try to cancel it. Someone said they might try to cancel it one day, and I say, 'Good let them cancel it—I've been paid!'"


title: Ricky Gervais

text: "Extras" had its debut on the BBC on 21 July 2005; directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the sitcom ran for twelve episodes and starred Gervais as Andy Millman, a background artist. Millman is more self-aware and intentionally humorous than Gervais's "The Office" character David Brent. Guest stars on the first series of "Extras" include Ross Kemp, Les Dennis, Patrick Stewart, Vinnie Jones, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Stiller, Kate Winslet and Francesca Martinez. A second series began on 14 September 2006 in the UK and featured appearances by Daniel Radcliffe, Dame Diana Rigg, Orlando Bloom, Sir Ian McKellen, Chris Martin, Keith Chegwin, Robert Lindsay, Warwick Davis, Ronnie Corbett, Stephen Fry, Richard Briers, Patricia Potter, Sophia Myles, Moira Stuart, David Bowie, Robert De Niro and Jonathan Ross.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: A Christmas special of "Extras" aired on 27 December 2007 in the UK and on 16 December 2007 in the US, featuring guest appearances by George Michael, Clive Owen, Gordon Ramsay, Jonathan Ross, and David Tennant.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: A "Rolling Stone" article remarks that in making "Extras," Gervais was influenced by Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm", particularly in the format of celebrities making fools of themselves or subverting their public personas.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: In 2007, Gervais won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his portrayal of Andy Millman in the second series of "Extras". As Gervais was not present at the awards ceremony, the trophy was accepted on his behalf by Steve Carell, the actor who starred as regional manager Michael Scott—the counterpart to Gervais's David Brent—on the American adaptation of "The Office".


title: Ricky Gervais

text: "The Ricky Gervais Show" is an animated TV show that debuted on US cable network HBO on 19 February 2010. In the UK, the first series began airing on 23 April 2010 on Channel 4. The show was developed using original podcast recordings from "The Ricky Gervais Show" starring Gervais, Stephen Merchant, and Karl Pilkington. After receiving an enthusiastic following in the US, HBO recommissioned the show for a second series, which aired in 2011, and a third series which started airing in April 2012.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: "Life's Too Short" began airing on BBC Two on 10 November 2011. Gervais and Stephen Merchant wrote this sitcom from an idea by Warwick Davis. It is described by Gervais as being about "the life of a showbiz dwarf" and as "a cross between "Extras" and "The Office"". The show stars actor Davis playing a fictionalised version of himself, as well as Gervais and Merchant. Premium cable channel HBO, which co-produced the series with the BBC, had the US rights and began airing the series on 19 February 2012.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: "An Idiot Abroad" is a travel documentary produced by Gervais and Stephen Merchant where a reluctant Karl Pilkington travels around the world, with his reactions to people and places recorded. Occasionally, Gervais and Merchant call to surprise him with a new place to visit or task to do. Pilkington reports back mostly complaining about the situation. Gervais says there is no planning; a camera crew follows his friend around filming for many hours, which Gervais edits down to an hour each episode.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Two series and a Christmas special have aired; series one involves Pilkington visiting the Seven Wonders of the World. In the second show he chooses to complete tasks from a bucket list provided by Gervais and in the special Warwick Davis joins Pilkington on a journey following Marco Polo's route from Italy to China.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: In November 2011, Gervais filmed in London a 35-minute pilot episode for a potential comedy-drama series called "Derek", which aired on Channel 4 on 12 April 2012. The pilot is solely written and directed by Gervais and features him in the title role of Derek Noakes, a 49-year-old retirement home worker, who "loves animals, Rolf Harris, Jesus, "Deal or No Deal", "Million Pound Drop", and "Britain's Got Talent"." The character first appeared in a 2001 Edinburgh Festival Fringe sketch as an aspiring comedian who loves animals and still lives with his mother. Gervais's co-host Karl Pilkington makes his acting debut as Derek's friend and facilities-caretaker Dougie who also works in the retirement home. British comedian Kerry Godliman plays Derek's best friend Hannah and David Earl plays Kev.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Gervais said that the series is about "kindness [being] more important than anything else". He added "It's about the forgotten—everyone's forgotten. It's all these arbitrary people who didn't know each other, and they're in there now because they're in the last years of their life. And it's about the people who help them, who themselves are losers and have their own problems. It's about a bunch of people with nothing, but making the most of it, and they're together." He chose to set the sitcom in a retirement home after he watched "Secret Millionaire"—"It was always these people with huge problems who were helping other people. I thought about having Derek help old people because no one cares about old people in this country ... I think it's perfect for now."


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Channel 4 commissioned a full series of "Derek" that aired in early 2013. Derek was recommissioned for a second series which premiered on 23 April 2014. "Derek" ended with a one-off final special, broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK on 22 December 2014.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: On 9 May 2018, it was announced that Netflix had given a production order for the first season of the comedy drama "After Life". It was created and directed by Gervais, who also starred in it and executive-produced it with Duncan Hayes, with Charlie Hanson as producer; the series premiered on 8 March 2019. On 3 April 2019, Netflix renewed the series for a second season, which launched on 24 April 2020. In May 2020 it was announced that Gervais had signed a new deal with Netflix, including a third season of "After Life". Before the announcement Gervais said, "For the first time ever, I would do a series three, because the world’s so rich. I love the characters, I love all the actors in it, I love my character, I love the town, I love the themes… I love the dog!"


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Gervais began his stand-up career in the late 1990s. His first successful show was at the Cafe Royal as part of the 2001 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Titled "Rubbernecker", it also featured Jimmy Carr, Robin Ince and Stephen Merchant.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Gervais toured the UK in 2003 with his stand-up show "Animals". The "Politics" tour followed a year later. Both shows were recorded for release on DVD and television broadcast. The third part of the themed live trilogy, "Fame", took place in 2007. It started in Glasgow in January and ended in Sheffield in April. Blackpool reported selling out of tickets within 45 minutes of them going on sale. "Newsnight Review"'s panel saw "Animals" during its Bloomsbury run and covered it in January 2003. They were not favourable, with "Private Eye" editor Ian Hislop saying it was "cobbled together ... banal ... a bit flat". After this, Gervais closed each show by calling Hislop an "ugly little pug-faced cunt". "Fame" was the subject of some controversy in January 2007 when Gervais included a routine, ostensibly about how people will do anything to become famous, referring to the murder of prostitutes in Ipswich.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Gervais's fourth show was entitled "Science", and commenced with an eleven-date tour in August 2009 at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow. The DVD was released on 15 November 2010. In November 2009, he headlined the sixth annual New York Comedy Festival at Carnegie Hall. In 2013, Gervais announced that his next stand-up show would be called "Humanity". In December 2014, he said he was too busy to do the tour due to producing two films. In May 2016, Gervais performed stand-up in London, starting with some low key warm-ups with cast members from "Derek". He said, "Finally, I'm going to do some stand-up. The first in about six years if you don't count hosting the Golden Globes".


title: Ricky Gervais

text: He continued his "" show throughout 2017 and into 2018. He appeared at SF Sketchfest as part of the tour, which devoted a night in honour of him, alongside comedic legend and mentor Christopher Guest. His next tour and Netflix special "SuperNature" was announced in late 2018, where Gervais warned people not to travel to see "work in progress" as it would be a "shambles". "SuperNature" shows continued through 2019 and 2020. Following significant cancellations and postponements as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the "SuperNature" tours resumed in August 2021. "SuperNature" received criticism for jokes about transgender people. It won the Best Stand-Up Show at the National Comedy Awards. Gervais also announced his upcoming comedy stand-up specials named Armageddon on Netflix. The comedian told "Heat" that it is still a work in progress.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: One of the first animations Gervais voiced was the character of Penguin in Robbie the Reindeer's "Legend of the Lost Tribe". He had a starring role in Disney's "Valiant", with Ewan McGregor, John Cleese and Jim Broadbent, as pigeon Bugsy.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Gervais guest-starred in an episode of "The Simpsons" entitled "Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife". He is the only British comic to write and star in a "Simpsons" episode. The episode was the highest-rated in Sky One's history; it revolved around the angle that Gervais was the episode's sole writer (and the first guest star on the show to also receive a writing credit for the episode of his appearance). Gervais clarified the extent of his input in a joint interview (with Christopher Guest) for "Dazed and Confused" magazine (January 2006): "No, all I did was put down a load of observations on an email and they made it look like a "Simpsons" script. I'm going to get the credit, but I think everyone in the industry knows it was a joint effort". Asked in a separate interview about how his idea for the episode (in which Homer swaps Marge on a game show) came about, Gervais replied: "I've always been fascinated with reality game shows but I think it was my girlfriend's idea. We watch "Celebrity Big Brother" at the moment, we watch "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me out of Here..." we watch all those reality TV shows—"The Office" came out of those docu-soaps". Gervais, a longstanding "Simpsons" fan, presented a segment to mark the show's 20th anniversary on BBC Two's "The Culture Show" on 16 June 2007.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: In 2012, Gervais made a guest appearance on "Family Guy" in the episode titled "Be Careful What You Fish For". In the episode, Gervais plays a dolphin named Billy Finn who gives Peter Griffin a Mercedes-Benz hood ornament, and Peter half-heartedly promises a favour to him. Soon, Billy moves to Quahog but outstays his welcome at Peter's. Peter tries to reunite Billy with his ex-wife in hopes that he will return to the ocean. The episode also featured Lucy Davis, with whom Gervais starred in "The Office".


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Gervais had a cameo role in Simon Pegg's and Jessica Hynes's sitcom "Spaced" as Dave, an estate agent who mistakenly places the advertisement for a property for a couple that turns out to be the premise of the show. Gervais has also guest-starred on "Alias" (in the third-season episode "Façade") as Daniel Ryan, a former Royal Navy bomb-disposal specialist turned rogue Irish Republican Army bomb-maker. He has also made guest appearances on "Sesame Street".


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Louis C.K. had Gervais play Dr. Ben, his doctor, on two episodes of his series "Louie". Gervais broke into his trademark hysterical laugh every time his character made Louie the butt of a joke. In early 2015, Gervais guest-starred in "Galavant", a four-week comedy mini-series, as Xanax the magician. It aired on ABC and Gervais got to show off his singing skills.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Gervais made a cameo appearance on "Saturday Night Live" in a "Digital Short" during which he joked that "The Office" was adapted from a Japanese programme of the same name (with Steve Carell reprising his role as Michael Scott). The sketch re-creates scenes from the American and British pilot episode with Japanese elements (although in an exaggerated way). "It's funny", Gervais laughs at the end, "because it's racist".


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Gervais hosted the 67th, 68th, 69th, 73rd and 77th Golden Globe Awards. His appearance in 2010 made him the first master of ceremonies since 1995. He stated: "I have resisted many other offers like this, but there are just some things you don't turn down." His performance as host received a mixed response with positive reviews from the "New York Daily News" and the Associated Press, but also some negative comments from "The Hollywood Reporter". His 2011 hosting of the awards was controversial for his jokes that were at the expense of many of the nominees, similar to the New York Friars Club roast-style jokes. His jibes were described as setting "a corrosive tone" by one critic, though some celebrities were seen crying from laughter, leaving the overall reaction to be 'mixed'. Gervais responded, "They are my friends, but I had to play the outsider." His 2020 hosting performance, particularly the opening monologue, garnered both praise and criticism from the public and press. He later responded to the negative media coverage by tweeting, "I always knew that there were morons in the world that took jokes seriously, but I'm surprised that some journalists do." He also stated several times during the opening monologue that it would be his final appearance as host, though he made a similar declaration during his first hosting performance in 2010.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Gervais was a guest judge on Jerry Seinfeld's NBC show "The Marriage Ref" alongside Larry David and Madonna. He has also been a regular guest on Seinfeld's Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. "Talking Funny", which first aired on 28 April 2011, starred Gervais and fellow standup comedians Louis C.K., Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld having an informal round-table discussion on stand-up comedy. This one off HBO special was well received by critics & audience alike. In 2013, Gervais guest starred in "David Blaine: Real or Magic," a television special where Blaine proceeded to run a large needle through his forearm in front of Gervais.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: In January 2006, Gervais interviewed Larry David in a one-off special, "Ricky Gervais Meets... Larry David". On 25 and 26 December 2006 he interviewed Christopher Guest and Garry Shandling which aired on Channel 4. There are no plans for further episodes of "Meets...", although editions with Monty Python co-founder John Cleese and "The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening were recorded in 2006 for broadcast in 2007. A source claimed, "The Shandling experience put him off for good".


title: Ricky Gervais

text: In January 2009, Gervais was a guest on BravoTV "Inside the Actors Studio" season 15 with James Lipton, where at one point of the interview he answered Lipton's question as David Brent, his character from "The Office". Brent obliged the audience by singing his song "Freelove Freeway" with a guitar supplied to him by Lipton.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Gervais has been on "The Late Show with David Letterman" 26 times. In 2008, he helped Letterman read out the Late Show Top Ten List, Top Ten Stupid Things Americans Say To Brits. In mid-2014, upon hearing that Letterman was up for retirement, Gervais jokingly tried to discourage him by suggesting they go on a road trip where they would spend all their money.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Gervais has appeared on the BBC's "The Graham Norton Show" many times over the years. He has been on Graham Norton's couch with Stephen Merchant, co-creator and co-writer of "The Office", to promote "Cemetery Junction". Another appearance saw him talk about his series "Life's Too Short" and Johnny Depp who was there to promote his own film was also present.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Gervais is one of two featured comedians (the other being Katt Williams) in the video game "Grand Theft Auto IV" who performs at the Split Sides comedy club on the virtual stand-up stage and as an interviewee on the in game radio station "We Know The Truth". For the stand-up bit a special 3-minute act was written, recorded and fully motion-captured.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Gervais released a children's book in 2004, "Flanimals" (illustrated by Rob Steen), which depicted nonsense animals. After the success of this book, he released its sequel "More Flanimals" in 2005, with "Flanimals of the Deep" coming the next year. A new Flanimals book, "", was released in October 2007. "Flanimals: Pop Up" was also published in 2009. There is a wide range of "Flanimals" merchandise available, including dolls and gift cards.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: "The Office" scripts have been released in book form, with Series 1 issued in 2002, and the remaining episodes following in 2003. "Extras: The Illustrated Scripts: Series 1 & 2" has been released, as well.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: "The World of Karl Pilkington" was presented by Gervais and Merchant. These were essentially transcripts of Xfm shows podcasts and featured illustrations by Pilkington.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Gervais's film career has included small roles as the voice of a pigeon, Bugsy, in 2005's "Valiant", as a studio executive in 2006's "For Your Consideration", as museum director Dr. McPhee in 2006's "Night at the Museum" and its sequels "" and "", and as "Ferdy the Fence" in the 2007 film "Stardust". Gervais starred in "Ghost Town" (2008) as a dentist who sees spirits, and was in Lowell, Massachusetts during May 2008 filming his next project, "The Invention of Lying" (2009), in which he starred alongside Jennifer Garner, Rob Lowe and Louis C.K.. The social comedy, was co-written and co-directed by Gervais and Matt Robinson. Gervais and collaborator Stephen Merchant made a film called "Cemetery Junction", set in 1970s Britain, about class, love and fulfilment. The film was released in April 2010. Gervais starred in "Muppets Most Wanted" (2014) as Dominic Badguy, the partner of the movie's villain, Constantine.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Gervais directed and starred in, "Special Correspondents", which began filming in May 2015. The comedy stars Eric Bana as a journalist and Gervais as his assistant. They pretend to report news from a war torn country but in actuality they are safe in New York. The film was released on Netflix. Gervais directed and starred in the 2016 film "", a mockumentary following David Brent, a character first seen in "The Office" series, as he lives his dream of being a rockstar. On 5 November 2015 Gervais signed up to play Ika Chu, a villainous cat, in an animated film "", originally known as "Blazing Samurai". The movie is about a dog (Hank) played by Michael Cera, who wants to be a warrior and fights with Ika Chu for the town of Kakamucho.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: On 2 July 2005, Gervais appeared at the Live 8 event held in London's Hyde Park, where he performed his famous dance from "The Office".


title: Ricky Gervais

text: On 1 July 2007, Gervais performed at the Concert for Diana in Wembley Stadium, a music event celebrating the life of Princess Diana 10 years after her death. Towards the end of the event—after a pre-recorded introduction from Ben Stiller—Gervais appeared along with fellow "Office" star Mackenzie Crook. They performed "Free Love Freeway", a song previously heard in the fourth episode of series one of "The Office". Due to a technical problem, Gervais then had to fill time until he was able to re-introduce Elton John to close the show, so he did the David Brent dance, as well as singing the "Little Fat Man" song as performed by David Bowie in episode two of the second series of "Extras".


title: Ricky Gervais

text: In July 2007, following Gervais's appearance at the memorial concert for the Princess of Wales, "The Guardian" ran a column by "Daily Mirror" television critic Jim Shelley entitled "Call Me Crazy... But Has Ricky Gervais Lost It?", where he described Gervais as a "tiresome embarrassment". The following week, "The Guardian" noted that Gervais had responded with "an exhilaratingly foul-mouthed tirade" on his website, concluding with the sentence "yes I am resting on my fucking laurels you cunt!" In this video, Gervais mocked Jim Shelley typing the words "resting on his laurels" as Gervais jokingly lashed out by stating that he was resting on his laurels and that he was not going to make another show for television, quipping: "What's the point? What is there to beat?"


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Gervais has homes in Hampstead, London, and Marlow, Buckinghamshire. He also has an apartment in the Barbizon 63 building in Manhattan, New York City. He has been in a relationship with producer and author Jane Fallon since 1982, and says they chose not to marry because "there's no point in us having an actual ceremony before the eyes of God because there is no God" or have children because they "didn't fancy dedicating 16 years of [their] lives ... and there are too many children, of course".


title: Ricky Gervais

text: He is a vegan, an atheist and a humanist, and states that he abandoned religion at the age of eight. In December 2010, he wrote an op-ed for "The Wall Street Journal" explaining his atheism. He is an honorary associate of the UK's National Secular Society and a patron of Humanists UK, a British charity that promotes the humanist worldview and campaigns for a secular state and on human rights issues. On 3 September 2019, he received the 2019 Richard Dawkins Award, which recognises people who proclaim "the values of secularism and rationalism, upholding scientific truths wherever it may lead." Gervais received the award during a Centre for Inquiry-sponsored ceremony at London's Troxy Theatre. Dawkins praised Gervais as a "witty hero of atheism and reason."


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Gervais is a fan of the UFC and Reading F.C. He is a music fan and has stated that his hero is David Bowie, with his favourite song being "Letter to Hermione". He has also stated that his first experience of a live music gig was watching Iggy Pop. In 2013, he wrote that Lou Reed was "one of the greatest artists of our time" following Reed's death.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Gervais is one of the 100 contributors to the book, "Dear NHS: 100 Stories to Say Thank You", of which all proceeds go to NHS Charities Together and The Lullaby Trust.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Gervais is a supporter of gay rights and has praised the introduction of same-sex marriage in England and Wales as "a victory for all of us", saying "anything that promotes equality, promotes progress ... You can't take equality 'too far'."


title: Ricky Gervais

text: In June 2017, Gervais endorsed Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in the 2017 general election. He tweeted, "OK. I'm not telling you how to vote, but this is a fact. The only vote that will keep Theresa May out is a vote for Jeremy Corbyn. Cheers."


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Gervais joined Twitter in December 2009 when he first hosted the 66th Golden Globes. After a two-year hiatus, he returned to the platform in September 2011. In 2012, Gervais won a Shorty Award for Lifetime Achievement for his popular presence on social media. As of July 2022 he was followed by 15 million fans whom he calls 'Twonks'.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Gervais uses social media to promote his work to his fans. After ten years he brought back his character Brent on his YouTube channel in a web series "Learn Guitar with David Brent". He uses many ways to promote his new series, for example for "Derek", he posts contests or questions for his fans.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Gervais uses social media to raise awareness of animal welfare. He tweets links to petitions to rescue animals from captivity, he highlights the plight of animals being used for testing, and he encourages people to adopt dogs instead of buying them from breeders. He won the Genesis Award from the Humane Society in March 2015 for his contribution to raising awareness for animal welfare on social media. In 2014, he was named most influential London Twitter user.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Gervais has cited Laurel & Hardy, Groucho Marx, Peter Cook, and Christopher Guest as significant influences. The decision of John Cleese to stop making his acclaimed 1970s comedy sitcom "Fawlty Towers" after 12 episodes—when it was at its creative height—inspired Gervais in keeping his own sitcoms ("The Office", "Extras" and "Derek") to 12 episodes each.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: In 2002, Gervais took part in a charity boxing match against Grant Bovey, for the UK charity telethon "Comic Relief". He was trained for the three-round contest by boxing trainer brothers Frank and Eugene Maloney, at their Fight Factory gymnasium. It was the second televised charity boxing match, the first being Bob Mortimer against Les Dennis. The fight was televised by the BBC, and Gervais came out on top by a split decision verdict. He donated his £5,000 prize money to the training of a Macmillan nurse who specialised in cancer support.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Gervais is a supporter of animal rights and has stated that he will leave his fortune to animal charities. Gervais named an Asian black bear, also known as a moonbear, Derek after the protagonist from his series "Derek". In December 2013, Gervais bought a $1000 cake shaped like a moonbear to raise funds for Animal Asia. Gervais is active in the prevention of illegal wildlife trade; he supported the handing over of ivory trinkets to the Metropolitan police in London.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: In 2015, Gervais donated a signed acoustic guitar to help raise funds for Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary in Ontario, Canada, with a special call-out to Pockets Warhol. The guitar which was signed by Gervais was purchased by Danny Young from the United Kingdom who has since had the guitar signed by several celebrities in order to raise further funds for the Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary. Celebrities who signed the guitar include: Brian May, Will Ferrell, Bryan Cranston, Dhani Harrison, Peter Frampton, Ricky Warwick, and Steve Cutts.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: In 2017, Gervais was awarded the Lord Houghton Award for Service to Animal Welfare from Animal Defenders International. Gervais was also awarded the Humane Society International Cecil Award in 2018 for his frequent social media efforts to end trophy hunting.


title: Ricky Gervais

text: Throughout his career, Gervais has won numerous awards including two Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on "The Office" and "Extras". He has also received seven BAFTA Awards, five British Comedy Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards.


title: Ghana

text: Ghana (; , ), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Togo in the east. Ghana covers an area of , spanning diverse biomes that range from coastal savannas to tropical rainforests. With nearly 31 million inhabitants (according to 2021 census), Ghana is the second-most populous country in West Africa, after Nigeria. The capital and largest city is Accra; other major cities are Kumasi, Tamale, and Sekondi-Takoradi.


title: Ghana

text: The first permanent state in present-day Ghana was the Bono state of the 11th century. Numerous kingdoms and empires emerged over the centuries, of which the most powerful were the Kingdom of Dagbon in the north and the Ashanti Empire in the south. Beginning in the 15th century, the Portuguese Empire, followed by numerous other European powers, contested the area for trading rights, until the British ultimately established control of the coast by the late 19th century. Following over a century of colonisation, Ghana's current borders took shape, encompassing four separate British colonial territories: Gold Coast, Ashanti, the Northern Territories, and British Togoland. These were unified as an independent dominion within the Commonwealth of Nations on 6 March 1957, becoming the first colony in West Africa to achieve sovereignty. Ghana subsequently became influential in decolonisation efforts and the Pan-African movement.


title: Ghana

text: Ghana is a multi-ethnic country with a diverse population, linguistic and religious groups; while the Akan are the largest ethnic group, they constitute only a plurality. Most Ghanaians are Christians (71.3%); almost a fifth are Muslims; a tenth practise traditional faiths or report no religion. Ghana is a unitary constitutional democracy led by a president who is both head of state and head of government. Ghana has maintained since 1993 one of the freest and most stable governments on the continent, and it performs relatively well in healthcare, economic growth, and human development, so that it has significant influence in West Africa and is highly integrated in international affairs, being a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States, the Group of 24, and the Commonwealth of Nations.


title: Ghana

text: "Ghana" means "strong warrior king" and was the title accorded to the kings of the medieval Ghana Empire in West Africa—not to be confused with today's Ghana, for the empire was further north, in modern-day Mali, Senegal and southern Mauritania, as well as in the region of Guinea. Ghana was known for its large gold usage and hence was named the "Land of Gold"


title: Ghana

text: Most of what is now Ghana was inhabited in the Middle Ages and the Age of Discovery by different ethnic groups. The earliest known kingdoms to emerge in modern Ghana were the Mole-Dagbani states. The Mole-Dagomba came on horseback from present-day Burkina Faso under a single leader, Naa Gbewaa. With their advanced weapons and based on a central authority, they easily invaded and occupied the lands of the local people ruled by the "tendamba" (land god priests), established themselves as the rulers over the locals, and made Gambaga their capital. The death of Naa Gbewaa caused seccession among his children, some of whom broke off and founded separate states including Mamprugu and Nanung. Whiles Gbewaa was still alive, his daughter Yennenga, travelled north and founded the Mossi Kingdoms, who constitute majority of present day Burkina Faso. Other kingdoms that emerged from Dagbon include the Bouna Kingdom of Ivory Coast, and the Dagaaba states of Upper West Region.


title: Ghana

text: Although the area of present-day Ghana has experienced many population movements, the Akan-speaking peoples began to move into it toward the end of the 15th century. By the early 16th century, the Akans were firmly established in the Akan state called Bonoman, for which the Brong-Ahafo region was named. From the 17th century, Akans emerged from what is believed to have been the Bonoman area, to create several Akan states, mainly based on gold trading. These states included Bonoman (Brong-Ahafo region), Ashanti (Ashanti Region), Denkyira (Western North region), Mankessim Kingdom (Central region), and Akwamu (Eastern region). By the 19th century, the territory of the southern part of Ghana was included in the Kingdom of Ashanti, one of the influential states in sub-saharan Africa prior to the onset of colonialism. The government of the Ashanti Empire operated first as a loose network and eventually as a centralised kingdom with an advanced, highly specialised bureaucracy centred in the capital city of Kumasi. Prior to Akan contact with Europeans, the Akan people created an advanced economy based on principally gold and gold bar commodities then traded with the states of Africa.


title: Ghana

text: The Ga-Dangme and Ewe migrated westward from south-western Nigeria because of pressure from incessant tribal wars. The Ga- Dangme occupy the Greater Accra Region and parts of the Eastern Region while the Ewe are found in the Volta Region as well as the neighboring Togo and Benin.


title: Ghana

text: Akan trade with European states began after contact with the Portuguese in the 15th century. Early European contact by the Portuguese people, who came to the Gold Coast region in the 15th century to trade and then established the Portuguese Gold Coast (Costa do Ouro), focused on the extensive availability of gold. The Portuguese built a trading lodge at a coastal settlement called Anomansah (the perpetual drink) which they renamed São Jorge da Mina. In 1481, King John II of Portugal commissioned Diogo de Azambuja to build the Elmina Castle, which was completed in three years. By 1598, the Dutch had joined the Portuguese in the gold trade, establishing the Dutch Gold Coast (Nederlandse Bezittingen ter Kuste van Guinea) and building forts at Fort Komenda and Kormantsi. In 1617, the Dutch captured the Olnini Castle from the Portuguese and Axim in 1642 (Fort St Anthony).


title: Ghana

text: Other European traders had joined in gold trading by the mid-17th century, most notably the Swedes, establishing the Swedish Gold Coast (Svenska Guldkusten), and Denmark–Norway, establishing the Danish Gold Coast (Danske Guldkyst "or" Dansk Guinea). In addition to the gold trade, European traders participated in the Atlantic slave trade in this area. More than 30 forts and castles were built by the merchants. The Germans also established the Brandenburger Gold Coast "or" Groß Friedrichsburg). In 1874 Great Britain established control over some parts of the country, assigning these areas the status of British Gold Coast. Many military engagements occurred between the British colonial powers and the various Akan nation-states. The Kingdom of Ashanti defeated the British a few times in the 100-year-long Anglo-Ashanti wars but eventually lost with the War of the Golden Stool in 1900.


title: Ghana

text: In 1947, the newly formed United Gold Coast Convention led by "The Big Six" called for "self-government within the shortest possible time" following the 1946 Gold Coast legislative election. Kwame Nkrumah, a Ghanaian nationalist who led Ghana from 1957 to 1966 as the country's first prime minister and president, formed the Convention People's Party in 1949 with the motto "self-government now". The party initiated a "positive action" campaign involving non-violent protests, strikes and non-cooperation with the British authorities. Nkrumah was arrested and sentenced to one year imprisonment during this time. In the Gold Coast's 1951 general election, he was elected to Parliament and released from prison to become leader of government business. He became prime minister in 1952. He improved the infrastructure of the country, and his Africanisation policies created better career opportunities for Ghanaians.


title: Ghana

text: On 6 March 1957 at midnight, the Gold Coast, Ashanti, the Northern Territories and British Togoland were unified as one single independent dominion within the British Commonwealth under the name Ghana. This was done under the Ghana Independence Act 1957. The current flag of Ghana, consisting of the colours red, gold, green, and a black star, dates back to this unification. It was designed by Theodosia Okoh; the red represents the blood that was shed towards independence, the gold represents the industrial minerals wealth of Ghana, the green symbolises the rich grasslands of Ghana, and the black star is the symbol of the Ghanaian people and African emancipation.


title: Ghana

text: On 1 July 1960, following the Ghanaian constitutional referendum and Ghanaian presidential election, Nkrumah declared Ghana a republic and assumed the presidency. 6 March is the nation's Independence Day, and 1 July is celebrated as Republic Day. At the time of independence Nkrumah declared, "My first objective is to abolish from Ghana poverty, ignorance, and disease. We shall measure our progress by the improvement in the health of our people; by the number of children in school, and by the quality of their education; by the availability of water and electricity in our towns and villages; and by the happiness which our people take in being able to manage their own affairs. The welfare of our people is our chief pride, and it is by this that my government will ask to be judged.".


title: Ghana

text: Nkrumah was the first African head of state to promote the concept of Pan-Africanism, which he had been introduced to during his studies at Lincoln University, Pennsylvania in the United States, at the time when Marcus Garvey was popular for his "Back to Africa Movement". Nkrumah merged the teachings of Garvey, Martin Luther King Jr. and the naturalised Ghanaian scholar W. E. B. Du Bois into the formation of 1960s Ghana. Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, as he became known, played an instrumental part in the founding of the Non-Aligned Movement, and in establishing the Kwame Nkrumah Ideological Institute to teach his ideologies of communism and socialism. His life achievements were recognised by Ghanaians during his centenary birthday celebration, and the day was instituted as a public holiday in Ghana (Founders' Day).


title: Ghana

text: The government of Nkrumah was subsequently overthrown by a coup by the Ghana Armed Forces codenamed "Operation Cold Chop". This occurred while Nkrumah was abroad with Zhou Enlai in the People's Republic of China, on a fruitless mission to Hanoi in Vietnam to help end the Vietnam War. The coup took place on 24 February 1966, led by Colonel Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka and Brigadier Akwasi Afrifa. The National Liberation Council was formed, chaired by Lieutenant General Joseph A. Ankrah.


title: Ghana

text: A series of alternating military and civilian governments, often affected by economic instabilities, ruled Ghana from 1966 to 1981, ending with the ascension to power of Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings of the Provisional National Defence Council in 1981. These changes resulted in the suspension of the Constitution of Ghana in 1981 and the banning of political parties. The economy soon declined, so Rawlings negotiated a structural adjustment plan changing many old economic policies, and economic growth recovered during the mid-1980s. A new constitution restoring multi-party system politics was promulgated in the presidential election of 1992; Rawlings was elected as president of Ghana then, and again in the general election of 1996.


title: Ghana

text: At least 1,000 and as many as 2,000 people were killed during the conflict between the Konkomba and other ethnic groups such as the Nanumba, Dagomba and Gonja, while 150,000 people were displaced as part of the tribal war in Northern Ghana in 1994.


title: Ghana

text: Winning the 2000 general election, John Kufuor of the New Patriotic Party was sworn into office as president of Ghana on 7 January 2001 and attained the presidency again in the 2004 election, thus also serving two terms (the term limit) as president of Ghana and thus marking the first time under the fourth republic that power was transferred from one legitimately elected head of state and head of government to another.


title: Ghana

text: Nana Akufo-Addo, the ruling party candidate, was defeated in a very close election by John Atta Mills of the National Democratic Congress following the 2008 general election. Mills died of natural causes and was succeeded by Vice President John Mahama on 24 July 2012. Following the 2012 general election, Mahama became president, and Ghana was a stable democracy. As a result of the 2016 general election, Nana Akufo-Addo became president on 7 January 2017. He was re-elected after a tightly contested election in 2020.


title: Ghana

text: On 11 June 2021, Ghana inaugurated Green Ghana Day in an aim of planting 5 million trees in a concentrating effort to preserve the country's cover of rainforest to combat deforestation.


title: Ghana

text: Ghana is located on the Gulf of Guinea, only a few degrees north of the Equator, therefore giving it a warm climate. Ghana spans an area of and has an Atlantic coastline that stretches on the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to its south. Dodi Island and Bobowasi Island are near the south coast. It lies between latitudes 4°45'N and 11°N, and longitudes 1°15'E and 3°15'W. The prime meridian passes through Ghana, specifically through Tema. Ghana is geographically closer to the "centre" of the Earth than any other country, since the notional centre, (0°, 0°) is located in the Atlantic Ocean approximately off the south-east coast of Ghana.


title: Ghana

text: Grasslands mixed with south coastal shrublands and forests dominate Ghana, with forest extending northward from the coast and eastward for a maximum of about with several locations for mining of industrial minerals and timber. Ghana is home to five terrestrial ecoregions: Eastern Guinean forests, Guinean forest–savanna mosaic, West Sudanian savanna, Central African mangroves, and Guinean mangroves. It had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 4.53/10, ranking it 112th globally out of 172 countries.


title: Ghana

text: The White Volta River and its tributary Black Volta, flow south through Ghana to Lake Volta, the world's third-largest reservoir by volume and largest by surface area, formed by the hydroelectric Akosombo Dam, completed in 1965. The Volta flows out of Lake Volta into the Gulf of Guinea. The northernmost part of Ghana is Pulmakong and the southernmost part of Ghana is Cape Three Points.


title: Ghana

text: Keta- Fort Prizenstein, the former Danish slave trading post. Site of proposed Keta Port. The town with the most promising and expanding tourism potential in Ghana


title: Ghana

text: The climate of Ghana is tropical, and there are two main seasons: the wet season and the dry season. Ghana sits at the intersection of three hydro-climatic zones. Changes in rainfall, weather conditions and sea-level rise affects the salinity of coastal waters. This is expected to negatively affect both farming and fisheries. The national economy stands to suffer from the impacts of climate change because of its dependence on climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture, energy, and forestry. Moreover, access to fresh water is expected to become more challenging, and reduced water supply will have a negative impact on hydropower, which provides 54% of the country's electricity capacity. Additionally, Ghana will likely see more cases of malaria and cholera, since both are impacted by changes in water conditions.


title: Ghana

text: In 2015, the government produced a document titled "Ghana's Intended Nationally Determined Contribution." Following that, Ghana signed the Paris Climate Agreement in 2016.


title: Ghana

text: Ghana is a unitary presidential constitutional democracy with a parliamentary multi-party system that is dominated by two parties—the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP). Ghana alternated between civilian and military governments until January 1993, when the military government gave way to the Fourth Republic of Ghana after presidential and parliamentary elections in late 1992. The 1992 constitution of Ghana divides powers among a commander-in-chief of the Ghana Armed Forces (President of Ghana), parliament (Parliament of Ghana), cabinet (Cabinet of Ghana), council of state (Ghanaian Council of State), and an independent judiciary (Judiciary of Ghana). The government is elected by universal suffrage after every four years.


title: Ghana

text: Nana Akufo-Addo won the presidency in the general election in 2016, defeating incumbent John Mahama. He also won the 2020 election, after the presidential election results were challenged at the Supreme Court by flagbearer of the NDC, John Mahama. Presidents are limited to two four-year terms in office. The president can serve a second term only upon re-election.


title: Ghana

text: The 2012 Fragile States Index indicated that Ghana is ranked the 67th-least fragile state in the world and the fifth-least fragile state in Africa. Ghana ranked 112th out of 177 countries on the index. Ghana ranked as the 64th-least corrupt and politically corrupt country in the world out of all 174 countries ranked and ranked as the fifth-least corrupt and politically corrupt country in Africa out of 53 countries in the 2012 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index. Ghana was ranked 7th in Africa out of 53 countries in the 2012 Ibrahim Index of African Governance. The Ibrahim Index is a comprehensive measure of African government, based on variables which reflect the success with which governments deliver essential political goods to its citizens.


title: Ghana

text: Since independence, Ghana has been devoted to ideals of nonalignment and is a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement. Ghana favours international and regional political and economic co-operation, and is an active member of the United Nations and the African Union.


title: Ghana

text: Ghana has a strong relationship with the United States. Three recent U.S. presidents--Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama—made diplomatic trips to Ghana. Many Ghanaian diplomats and politicians hold positions in international organisations, including Ghanaian diplomat and former Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan, International Criminal Court Judge Akua Kuenyehia, as well as former President Jerry John Rawlings and former President John Agyekum Kufuor, who both served as diplomats of the United Nations.


title: Ghana

text: In September 2010, President John Atta Mills visited China on an official visit. Mills and China's former President Hu Jintao marked the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two nations, at the Great Hall of the People. China reciprocated with an official visit in November 2011, by the vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China, Zhou Tienong who visited Ghana and met with Ghana's President John Mahama. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met with Mahama in 2013 to hold discussions on strengthening the Non-Aligned Movement and also co–chair a bilateral meeting between Ghana and Iran at the Ghanaian presidential palace Flagstaff House.


title: Ghana

text: The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) were integrated into Ghana's development agenda and the budget. According to reports, the SDGs were implemented through a decentralized planning approach. This allows stakeholders participations such as UN agencies, traditional leaders, civil society organizations, academia, and others. The 17 SDGs are a global call to action to end poverty among others, and the UN and its partners in the country are working towards achieving them. According to the President Nana Akufo-Addo, Ghana was "the first sub-Saharan African country to achieve the goal of halving poverty, as contained in Goal 1 of the Millennium Development Goals"


title: Ghana

text: In 1957, the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) consisted of its headquarters, support services, three battalions of infantry and a reconnaissance squadron with armoured vehicles. President Nkrumah aimed at rapidly expanding the GAF to support the United States of Africa ambitions. Thus in 1961, 4th and 5th Battalions were established, and in 1964 6th Battalion was established, from a parachute airborne unit originally raised in 1963. Today, Ghana is a regional power and regional hegemon. In his book "Shake Hands with the Devil", Canadian Forces commander Roméo Dallaire highly rated the GAF soldiers and military personnel.


title: Ghana

text: The military operations and military doctrine of the GAF are conceptualised in the constitution, Ghana's Law on Armed Force Military Strategy, and Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre agreements to which GAF is attestator. GAF military operations are executed under the auspices and imperium of the Ministry of Defence. Although Ghana is relatively peaceful and is often considered to be one of the least violent countries in the region, Ghana has experienced political violence in the past and 2017 has thus far seen an upward trend in incidents motivated by political grievances.


title: Ghana

text: The Ghana Police Service and the Criminal Investigation Department are the main law enforcement agencies, responsible for the detection of crime, maintenance of law and order and the maintenance of internal peace and security. The Ghana Police Service has eleven specialised police units including a Militarized police Rapid deployment force and Marine Police Unit. The Ghana Police Service operates in 12 divisions: ten covering the regions of Ghana, one assigned specifically to the seaport and industrial hub of Tema, and the twelfth being the Railways, Ports and Harbours Division. The Ghana Police Service's Marine Police Unit and Division handles issues that arise from the country's offshore oil and gas industry.


title: Ghana

text: The Ghana Prisons Service and the sub-division Borstal Institute for Juveniles administers incarceration. Ghana retains and exercises the death penalty for treason, corruption, robbery, piracy, drug trafficking, rape, and homicide. The new sustainable development goals adopted by the United Nations call for the international community to come together to promote the rule of law; support equal access to justice for all; reduce corruption; and develop effective, accountable, and transparent institutions at all levels.


title: Ghana

text: Ghana is used as a key narcotics industry transshipment point by traffickers, usually from South America as well as some from other African nations. In 2013, the UN chief of the Office on Drugs and Crime stated that "West Africa is completely weak in terms of border control and the big drug cartels from Colombia and Latin America have chosen Africa as a way to reach Europe." There is not a wide or popular knowledge about the narcotics industry and intercepted narcotics within Ghana since it is an underground economy. The social context within which narcotic trafficking, storage, transportation, and repacking systems exist in Ghana and the state's location along the Gulf of Guinea makes Ghana an attractive country for the narcotics business. The Narcotics Control Board has impounded container ships at the Sekondi Naval Base in the Takoradi Harbour. These ships were carrying thousands of kilograms of cocaine, with a street value running into billions of Ghana cedis. However, drug seizures saw a decline in 2011. Drug cartels are using new methods in narcotics production and narcotics exportation, to avoid Ghanaian security agencies. Underdeveloped institutions, porous open borders, and the existence of established smuggling organisations contribute to Ghana's position in the narcotics industry. President Mills initiated ongoing efforts to reduce the role of airports in Ghana's drug trade.


title: Ghana

text: Homosexual acts are prohibited by law in Ghana. According to a 2013 survey by the Pew Research Center, 96% of Ghanaians believe that homosexuality should not be accepted by society. Sometimes elderly women in Ghana are accused of witchcraft, particularly in rural Ghana. Issues of witchcraft mainly remain as speculations based on superstitions within families. In some parts of northern Ghana, there exist what are called witch camps. This is said to house a total of around 1,000 people accused of witchcraft. The Ghanaian government has announced that it intends to close the camps.


title: Ghana

text: Ghana is an average natural resource enriched country possessing industrial minerals, hydrocarbons and precious metals. It is an emerging designated digital economy with mixed economy hybridisation and an emerging market. It has an economic plan target known as the "Ghana Vision 2020". This plan envisions Ghana as the first African country to become a developed country between 2020 and 2029 and a newly industrialised country between 2030 and 2039. This excludes fellow Group of 24 member and Sub-Saharan African country South Africa, which is a newly industrialised country.


title: Ghana

text: Ghana's economy has ties to the Chinese yuan renminbi along with Ghana's vast gold reserves. In 2013, the Bank of Ghana began circulating the renminbi throughout Ghanaian state-owned banks and to the Ghana public as hard currency along with the national Ghanaian cedi for second national trade currency. Ghana is the leader in the adoption of digital financial services in Africa and is set to increase financial inclusion to more than 85% until 2024.


title: Ghana

text: Between 2012 and 2013, 38% of rural dwellers were experiencing poverty whereas only 11% of urban dwellers were. Urban areas hold greater opportunity for employment, particularly in informal trade, while nearly all (94 percent) of rural poor households participate in the agricultural sector.


title: Ghana

text: The Volta River Authority and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, both state-owned, are the two major electricity producers. The Akosombo Dam, built on the Volta River in 1965, along with the Bui Dam, the Kpong Dam and several other hydroelectric dams, provide hydropower. In addition, the government sought to build the second nuclear power plant in Africa.


title: Ghana

text: The Ghana Stock Exchange is the 5th largest on continental Africa and 3rd largest in sub-saharan Africa with a market capitalisation of GH¢ 57.2 billion or CN¥ 180.4 billion in 2012 with the South Africa JSE Limited as first. The Ghana Stock Exchange was the 2nd best performing stock exchange in sub-saharan Africa in 2013.


title: Ghana

text: Ghana produces high-quality cocoa. It is the 2nd largest producer of cocoa globally. Ghana is classified as a middle income country. Services account for 50% of GDP, followed by manufacturing (24.1%), extractive industries (5%), and taxes (20.9%). Ghana has an increasing primary manufacturing economy and export of digital technology goods along with assembling and exporting automobiles and ships, diverse resource rich exportation of industrial minerals, agricultural products primarily cocoa, petroleum and natural gas, and industries such as information and communications technology primarily via Ghana's state digital technology corporation Rlg Communications which manufactures tablet computers with smartphones and various consumer electronics. Urban electric cars have been manufactured in Ghana since 2014.


title: Ghana

text: Ghana announced plans to issue government debt by way of social and green bonds in Autumn 2021, making it the first African country to do so. The country, which is planning to borrow up to $5 billion on international markets this year, would use the proceeds from these sustainable bonds to refinance debt used for social and environmental projects and pay for educational or health. Only a few other nations have sold them so far, including Chile and Ecuador. The country will use the proceeds to forge ahead with a free secondary-school initiative started in 2017 among other programs, despite having recorded its lowest economic growth rate in 37 years in 2020.


title: Ghana

text: Ghana produces and exports an abundance of hydrocarbons such as sweet crude oil and natural gas. The 100%-state-owned filling station company of Ghana, Ghana Oil Company, is the number 1 petroleum and gas filling station of Ghana, and the 100%-state-owned state oil company Ghana National Petroleum Corporation oversees hydrocarbon exploration and production of Ghana's entire petroleum and natural gas reserves. Ghana aims to further increase output of oil to per day and gas to per day.


title: Ghana

text: The Jubilee Oil Field, which contains up to of sweet crude oil, was discovered in 2007. Ghana is believed to have up to to of petroleum in reserves, which is the fifth-largest in Africa and the 21st-to-25th-largest proven reserves in the world. It also has up to of natural gas in reserves, which is the sixth-largest in Africa and the 49th-largest natural gas proven reserves in the world. Oil and gas exploration off Ghana's eastern coast on the Gulf of Guinea is ongoing, and the amount of both crude oil and natural gas continues to increase. The government has drawn up plans to nationalise Ghana's entire petroleum and natural gas reserves to increase government revenue.


title: Ghana

text: As of 2019, Ghana was the 7th largest producer of gold in the world, producing ~140 tonnes that year. This record saw Ghana surpass South Africa in output for the first time, making Ghana the largest gold producer in Africa. In addition to gold, Ghana also exports silver, timber, diamonds, bauxite, and manganese, and has numerous other not-yet-fully-exploited mineral deposits. Ghana ranks 9th in the world in both diamond export and reserve size. The government has drawn up plans to nationalize Ghana's mining industry to increase government revenue.


title: Ghana

text: Severe shortages of electricity in 2015 & 2016 led to dumsor (persistent, irregular and unpredictable electric power outages), increasing the interest in renewables. As of 2019, there is now a surplus of electricity which now presents a new set of financial challenges.


title: Ghana

text: The judicial system of Ghana deals with corruption, economic malpractice and lack of economic transparency. Despite significant economic progress, obstacles do remain. Particular institutions need reform, and property rights need improvement. The overall investment regime lacks market transparency. Tackling these issues will be necessary if Ghana's rapid economic growth is to be maintained. According to Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index of 2018, out of 180 countries, Ghana was ranked 78th, with a score of 41 on a scale where a 0–9 score means highly corrupt, and a 90–100 score means very clean. This was based on perceived levels of public sector corruption.


title: Ghana

text: Ghana was the first sub-Saharan African country to launch a cellular mobile network (1992). It was one of the first countries in Africa to be connected to the internet and to introduce ADSL broadband services. Ghana was ranked 112nd in the Global Innovation Index in 2021, down from 106th in 2019.


title: Ghana

text: The Ghana Space Science and Technology Centre (GSSTC) and Ghana Space Agency (GhsA) oversee the space exploration and space programmes of Ghana. GSSTC and GhsA worked to have a national security observational satellite launched into orbit in 2015. Ghana's annual space exploration expenditure has been 1% of its GDP, to support research in science and technology. In 2012, Ghana was elected to chair the Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (Comsats); Ghana has a joint effort in space exploration with the South African National Space Agency.


title: Ghana

text: In 2011, 1,087,000 tourists visited Ghana. Tourist arrivals include South Americans, Asians, Europeans, and North Americans. The attractions and major tourist destinations include a warm, tropical climate year-round, diverse wildlife, waterfalls such as Kintampo waterfalls and the largest waterfall in west Africa, Wli waterfalls, the coastal palm-lined sandy beaches, caves, mountains, rivers, and reservoirs and lakes such as Lake Bosumtwi and the largest man-made lake in the world by surface area, Lake Volta, dozens of forts and castles, World Heritage Sites, nature reserves and national parks. In addition to the beautiful natural reserves which serve as tourist sites, there are some castles that attract many tourists from all over the world. Some of the notable castles are Cape Coast Castle and the Elmina Castle. Not only are the castles important for tourism, they also mark where blood was shed in the slave trade and preserve and promote the African heritage stolen and destroyed through the slave trade. As a result of this, the World Heritage Convention of UNESCO named Ghana's castles and forts as World Heritage Monuments.


title: Ghana

text: The World Economic Forum statistics in 2010 showed that out of the world's favourite tourist destinations, Ghana was ranked 108th out of 139 countries. The country had moved two places up from the 2009 rankings. In 2011, "Forbes" magazine, published that Ghana was ranked the eleventh most friendly country in the world. The assertion was based on a survey in 2010 of a cross-section of travellers. Of all the African countries that were included in the survey, Ghana ranked highest. Tourism is the fourth highest earner of foreign exchange for the country. In 2017, Ghana ranked as the 43rd–most peaceful country in the world.


title: Ghana

text: A growing tourist attraction is surfing. Up and down the coastline, several spots have been identified and cultivated by locals and internationals alike. Renowned surfers have made trips to the country to sample the waves. Suitable for beginners and seasoned surfers alike, there is a quality and consistency to the waves to suit all levels of skill. It is not unusual now to see surfers carrying their boards amid traditional Ghanaian fishing vessels. Busua, Kokrobite, and Muuston boast some of the country's best surf in warm, tropical waters.


title: Ghana

text: According to Destination Pride – a data-driven search platform used to visualize the world's LGBTQ+ laws, rights and social sentiment – Ghana's Pride score is 22 (out of 100).


title: Ghana

text: Ghana's education system is divided in three parts: basic education, secondary cycle, and tertiary education. "Basic education" lasts 11 years (ages 4‒15). It is divided into kindergarten (2 years), primary school (2 modules of 3 years) and junior high (3 years). Junior high school ends with the Basic Education Certificate Examination. Once certified, the pupil can proceed to the secondary cycle. Hence, the pupil has the choice between general education (offered by the senior high school) and vocational education (offered by the technical senior high school or the technical and vocational institutes). Senior high school lasts three years and leads to the West African Senior School Certificate Examination, which is a prerequisite for enrollment in a university bachelor's degree programme. Polytechnics are open to vocational students.


title: Ghana

text: A bachelor's degree usually requires four years of study. It can be followed by a one- or two-year master's degree programme, which can be followed by a PhD programme of at least three years. A polytechnic programme lasts two or three years. Ghana possesses numerous colleges of education. Some of the notable universities the University of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, and University of Cape Coast, to mention a few.


title: Ghana

text: With over 95% of its children in school, Ghana currently has one of the highest school enrollment rates in all of Africa. The female and male ages 15–24 years literacy rate in Ghana was 81% in 2010, with males at 82%, and females at 80%. Ghana's education system annually attracts a large number of foreign students particularly in the university sector.


title: Ghana

text: Ghana has a free education 6-year primary school education system beginning at age six.The government largely funds basic education comprising public primary schools and public junior high schools. Senior high schools were subsidised by the government until September 2017/2018 academic year that senior high education became free. At the higher education level, the government funds more than 80% of resources provided to public universities, polytechnics and teacher training colleges. As part of the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education, Fcube, the government supplies all basic education schools with all their textbooks and other educational supplies like exercise books. Senior high schools are also provided with all their textbook requirement by the government. Private schools acquire their educational material from private suppliers.


title: Ghana

text: As of 2019, Ghana has a population of 30,083,000. Around 29% of the population is under the age of 15, while persons aged 15–64 make up 57.8 percent of the population. The 2010 census reported that the largest ethnic groups are the Akan (47.3%), the Mole-Dagbani (16.6%), the Ewe (13.9%), the Ga-Dangme (7.4%), the Gurma (5.7%) and the Guan (3.7%).


title: Ghana

text: With recent legal immigration of skilled workers who possess Ghana Cards, there is a small population of Chinese, Malaysian, Indian, Middle Eastern and European nationals. In 2010, the Ghana Immigration Service reported a large number of economic migrants and Illegal immigrants inhabiting Ghana: 14.6% (or 3.1 million) of Ghana's 2010 population (predominantly Nigerians, Burkinabe citizens, Togolese citizens, and Malian citizens). In 1969, under the "Ghana Aliens Compliance Order" enacted by the Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia; The Border Guard Unit deported over 3,000,000 aliens and illegal immigrants in three months as they made up 20% of the population at the time.In 2013, there was a mass deportation of illegal miners, more than 4,000 of them Chinese nationals.


title: Ghana

text: English is the official language of Ghana. Additionally, there are eleven languages that have the status of government-sponsored languages:


title: Ghana

text: Because Ghana is surrounded by French-speaking countries, French is widely taught in schools and used for commercial and international economic exchanges. Since 2006, Ghana has been an associate member of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, the global organisation that unites French-speaking countries (84 nations on six continents). In 2005, more than 350,000 Ghanaian children studied French in schools. Since then, its status has been progressively updated to a mandatory language in every junior high school, and it is in the process of becoming an official language.


title: Ghana

text: Ghanaian Pidgin English, also known as Kru English (or in Akan, "kroo brofo"), is a variety of West African Pidgin English spoken mainly in Accra and in the southern towns. It can be divided into two varieties, referred to as "uneducated" or "non-institutionalized" pidgin and "educated" or "institutionalized" pidgin, the former associated with uneducated or illiterate people and the latter acquired and used in institutions such as universities.


title: Ghana

text: In 2010, the population was 72.2% Christian (24.3% Pentecostal, 18.4% Protestant, 13.1% Catholic and 11.4% other). Approximately 18.6% of the population of Ghana are Muslim, (51% Sunni, 16% Ahmadiyya, and 8% Shia). Hinduism in Ghana was popularized by Swami Ghana Nanda ji, who opened several temples in the nation. The temple of Lord Shiva in Accra is one of the largest where there are celebrations to Ganesh Chaturthi, Rath Yatra, and other Hindu observations. The Bahá’í religious community, established in Ghana in 1951, today includes more than 100 communities and over 50 local Bahá’í administrative councils, called Local Spiritual Assemblies.


title: Ghana

text: Ghana has a universal health care system strictly designated for Ghanaian nationals, National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). Health care is variable throughout Ghana and in 2012, over 12 million Ghanaian nationals were covered by the NHIS. Urban centres are well served and contain most of the hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies. There are over 200 hospitals, and Ghana is a destination for medical tourism. In 2010, there were 0.1 physicians per 1,000 people and , 0.9 hospital beds per 1,000 people. 5.2% of Ghana's GDP was spent on health in 2010. In 2020, the WHO announced Ghana became the second country in the WHO African Region to attain regulatory system "maturity level 3", the second-highest in the four-tiered WHO classification of National medicines regulatory systems.


title: Ghana

text: Life expectancy at birth in 2020 was 71 for a female and 65 for a male. In 2013 infant mortality was to 39 per 1,000 live births. Sources vary on life expectancy at birth; the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated 62 years for men and 64 years for women born in 2016. The fertility rate declined from 3.99 (2000) to 3.28 (2010) with 2.78 in urban region and 3.94 in rural region. The United Nations reports a fertility decline from 6.95 (1970) to 4.82 (2000) to 3.93 live births per woman in 2017.


title: Ghana

text: Ghanaian cuisine includes an assortment of soups and stews with varied seafoods; most Ghanaian soups are prepared with vegetables, meat, poultry or fish. Fish is important in the diet with tilapia, roasted and fried whitebait, smoked fish and crayfish all being common components of Ghanaian dishes. Banku (akple) is a common starchy food made from ground corn (maize), and cornmeal based staples kɔmi (kenkey) and banku (akple) are usually accompanied by some form of fried fish (chinam) or grilled tilapia and a very spicy condiment made from raw red and green chillies, onions and tomatoes (pepper sauce). Banku and tilapia is a combo served in most restaurants. Fufu is the most common exported Ghanaian dish and is a delicacy across the African diaspora. Rice is an established staple meal across the country, with various rice based dishes serving as breakfast, lunch and dinner, the main variants are waakye, plain rice and stew (eight kontomire or tomato gravy), fried rice and jollof rice.


title: Ghana

text: During the 13th century, Ghanaians developed their unique art of "adinkra" printing. Hand-printed and hand-embroidered adinkra clothes were made and used exclusively by royalty for devotional ceremonies. Each of the motifs that make up the corpus of adinkra symbolism has a name and meaning derived from a proverb, a historical event, human attitude, ethology, plant life-form, or shapes of inanimate and man-made objects. These are graphically rendered in stylised geometric shapes. The meanings of the motifs may be categorised into aesthetics, ethics, human relations, and concepts. The Adinkra symbols have a decorative function as tattoos but also represent objects that encapsulate evocative messages that convey traditional wisdom, aspects of life or the environment. There are many different symbols with distinct meanings, often linked with proverbs. In the words of Anthony Appiah, they were one of the means in a pre-literate society for "supporting the transmission of a complex and nuanced body of practice and belief".


title: Ghana

text: Along with the "adinkra cloth," Ghanaians use many different cloth fabrics for their traditional attire. The different ethnic groups have their own individual cloth. The most well known is the Kente cloth. Kente is a very important national costume and clothing, and these cloths are used to make traditional and modern Kente attire. Different symbols and different colours mean different things. Kente is the most famous of all the Ghanaian cloths. Kente is a ceremonial cloth hand-woven on a horizontal treadle loom and strips measuring about 4 inches wide are sewn together into larger pieces of cloths. Cloths come in various colours, sizes and designs and are worn during very important social and religious occasions. In a cultural context, kente is more important than just a cloth as it is a visual representation of history and also a form of written language through weaving. The term kente has its roots in the Akan word "kɛntɛn" which means a basket and the first kente weavers used raffia fibres to weave cloths that looked like kenten (a basket); and thus were referred to as "kenten ntoma"; meaning basket cloth. The original Akan name of the cloth was "nsaduaso" or "nwontoma", meaning "a cloth hand-woven on a loom"; however, "kente" is the most frequently used term today.


title: Ghana

text: Contemporary Ghanaian fashion includes traditional and modern styles and fabrics and has made its way into the African and global fashion scene. The cloth known as African print fabric was created out of Dutch wax textiles. It is believed that in the late 19th century, Dutch ships on their way to Asia stocked with machine-made textiles that mimicked Indonesian batik stopped at many West African ports on the way. The fabrics did not do well in Asia. However, in West Africa—mainly Ghana where there was an already established market for cloths and textiles—the client base grew and it was changed to include local and traditional designs, colours and patterns to cater to the taste of the new consumers. Today outside of Africa it is called "Ankara," and it has a client base well beyond Ghana and Africa as a whole. It is popular among Caribbean peoples and African Americans; celebrities such as Solange Knowles and her sister Beyoncé have been seen wearing African print attire. Many designers from countries in North America and Europe are now using African prints, and they have gained a global interest. British luxury fashion house Burberry created a collection around Ghanaian styles. American musician Gwen Stefani has repeatedly incorporated African prints into her clothing line and can often be seen wearing it. Internationally acclaimed Ghanaian-British designer Ozwald Boateng introduced African print suits in his 2012 collection.


title: Ghana

text: The music of Ghana is diverse and varies between different ethnic groups and regions. Ghanaian music incorporates several distinct types of musical instruments such as the talking drum ensembles, Akan Drum, goje fiddle and koloko lute, court music, including the Akan Seperewa, the Akan atumpan, the Ga kpanlogo styles, and log xylophones used in asonko music. The most well known genres to have come from Ghana are African jazz, which was created by Kofi Ghanaba, and its earliest form of secular music, called highlife. Highlife originated in the late 19th century and early 20th century and spread throughout West Africa.


title: Ghana

text: In the 1990s a new genre of music was created by the youth incorporating the influences of highlife, Afro-reggae, dancehall and hip hop. This hybrid was called hiplife. Ghanaian artists such as "Afro Roots" singer, activist and songwriter Rocky Dawuni, R&B and soul singer Rhian Benson and Sarkodie have had international success. In 2015, Rocky Dawuni became the first Ghanaian musician to be nominated for a Grammy award in the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album category for his sixth studio album, titled "Branches of The Same Tree."


title: Ghana

text: Ghanaian dance is as diverse as its music, and there are traditional dances and different dances for different occasions. The most known dances are those for celebrations. These dances include the Adowa, Kpanlogo, Azonto, Klama, Agbadza, Borborbor and Bamaya. The Nana Otafrija Pallbearing Services, also known as the Dancing Pallbearers, come from the coastal town of Prampram. The group was featured in a BBC feature story in 2017, and footage from the story became part of an Internet meme in the wake of the COVID-19 world pandemic.


title: Ghana

text: Ghana has a budding and thriving film industry. Ghana's film industry dates as far back as 1948 when the Gold Coast Film Unit was set up in the Information Services Department. Some internationally recognised films have come from Ghana. In 1970, "I Told You So" was one of the first Ghanaian films to receive international acknowledgement and received great reviews from "The New York Times". It was followed by the 1973 Ghanaian and Italian production "The African Deal" also known as ""Contratto carnale"" featuring Bahamian American actor Calvin Lockhart. 1983's "Kukurantumi: the Road to Accra", a Ghanaian and German production directed by King Ampaw, was written about by famous American film critic Vincent Canby. In 1987, "Cobra Verde", another Ghanaian and German production directed by Werner Herzog, received international acclamation and in 1988, "Heritage Africa" won more than 12 film awards.


title: Ghana

text: In recent times there have been collaborations between Ghanaian and Nigerian crew and cast and a number of productions turned out. Many Ghanaian films are co-produced with Nollywood, the Nigerian film industry, and some are distributed by Nigerian marketers. Also, Nigerian filmmakers often feature Ghanaian actors and actresses in their movies, and Ghanaian filmmakers feature Nigerian actors and actresses in theirs. Nadia Buari, Yvonne Nelson, Lydia Forson and Jackie Appiah all popular Ghanaian actresses, and Van Vicker and Majid Michel are popular Ghanaian actors, have starred in many Nigerian movies. As a result of these collaborations, Western viewers often confuse Ghanaian movies with Nollywood and count their sales as one; however, they are two independent industries that sometimes share "Nollywood". In 2009, Unesco described Nollywood as the second-biggest film industry in the world after Bollywood. Though The film industry had a downtrend for almost a decade mainly because of low input in production this scenario has drastically changed. New and emerging young film makers are adding spice to the already rich Ghana movie scene. Bliz Bazawule, Peter Sedufia, Joseph Clef and many others have shown the world the new age of filming in Ghana.


title: Ghana

text: The media of Ghana are amongst the most free in Africa. Chapter 12 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana guarantees freedom of the press and independence of the media, while Chapter 2 prohibits censorship. Post-independence, the government and media often had a tense relationship, with private outlets closed during the military governments and strict media laws that prevented criticism of government. Press freedoms were restored in 1992, and after the election in 2000 of Kufuor the tensions between the private media and government decreased. Kufuor supported press freedom and repealed a libel law, but maintained that the media had to act responsibly. The Ghanaian media has been described as "one of the most unfettered" in Africa, operating with little restriction. The private press often carries criticism of government policy.