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General Information
Amudandstick Mosque at Lurabanga
RELIGION
Religion is deeply rooted in Ghanaian culture and
plays a major role in everyday life: working, danc-
ing, travelling, eating and drinking tend to be related
to religious beliefs. Both God appearing under dif-
ferent names and ancestors play a very important
role in Ghanaian traditional religions. In the same
way, super-natural powers or lesser gods obtain
their power from God. Some of these are worshiped
in nature such as, trees, rivers and mountains, al-
though they are not considered as Gods but only live
through them, which explains the deep respect that
Ghanaians generally have for nature. The Ghana-
ians’ religious character makes it possible for all to
live and practice their religion in harmony. Ghana is
predominantly a Christian country, with Christians
making up 68%, Islamist 15% and animist traditional
beliefs making up the last 15%. However, it is some-
times acknowledged that every Ghanaian has one
foot in their own religion and the other in their tradi-
tional beliefs.
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
There are five variable-date public holidays: the
Christian Good Friday and Easter Monday, the Mus-
lim Eidi il Fitr and Eid il Adel, and farmers’ day (first
Friday in December). In addition, the following fixed-
date public holidays are recognized:
January 1
New Year’s Day
March 6
Independence Day
May 1
May Day
June 4
June 4 Anniversary
July 1
Republic Day
December 25
Christmas Day
December 26
Boxing Day
Business Working Hours:
Banks
Monday - Thursday: 8:00 - 14:00
Friday 8:00 - 15:00
Saturday and Sunday: Closed
Public Sector
Monday - Friday: 8:00 - 17:00
Private Sector
Monday - Friday: 8:00 - 17:00
MONEY MATTERS
Currency
The unit of currency is the new Ghana Cedi (GHC)
with 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 note denominations and
50, 20, 10 and 5 and 1 pesewas (coins). This new
currency has been brought in 2007 and 1 GHC rep-
resents 10,000 old Cedis. Beware that a lot of citi-
zens still think and speak in old cedis, which might
result confusing and quite costly in some occasions.
The exchange rate with the Euro at the end of 2010
was 1.99 Cedis to the euro.
Banks
Some banks have debit card service, which offer
customers the opportunity to put money onto an
electronic card in order to avoid carrying large sums.
ATM services are also offered by major banks to en-
able customers withdraw cash 24 hours a day. VISA
is generally accepted by main hotels and money can
be withdrawn in ATMs in Accra, Kumasi and Cape
Coast. At the main branch of Barclays Bank in Ac-
cra you can obtain a cash advance on your VISA or
MasterCard only by providing your passport.
COMMUNICATIONS
Mobile Phones
In Ghana, 5 giants of African and International com-
panies share the telecom market: MTN (code 024),
Tigo (code 027), Vodafone, Zain and Glo Mobile.
Fixed Line Telephones
Country Code 233