Ghana

1 or Gana ancient empire of western Africa in what is now western Mali; flourished in the 4th–13th centuries

2 country of western Africa bordering on the Gulf of Guinea; a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations; capital Accra area 92,100 square miles (238,539 square kilometers), population 24,658,823 ◆Ghana was formerly a British territory called the Gold Coast, which comprised the Gold Coast Colony, Ashanti, the Northern Territories, and British Togoland trust territory. It gained its independence in 1957.