Richard C.
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Verified by
Inês P.
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Last updated:
July 30, 2024
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(0)
Known as the gateway to Africa, Ghana was the first sub-Saharan country to gain independence and was also one of the first countries in Africa to connect to the internet. With a population of about 30 million, only about a third of Ghanaians are currently active internet users. But that figure is rapidly rising, thanks to the increased affordability of mobile phones. Additionally, Freedom House rates Ghana as free country: it enjoys freedom of expression and has unfiltered access to the internet. Ghanaians can access a wide range of streaming services, from major names like Amazon Prime Video and Netflix to some exclusive streaming services you won’t find anywhere else in the world.
Unfortunately, not many VPN providers focus their efforts on providing African-based servers. You’ll likely find that many have locations in Egypt or South Africa, but that leaves a gigantic gap in the middle where it can be difficult to find a VPN connection. However, we did find some providers with Ghanaian servers, and connections to Ghana can also be the best option for users in neighboring countries like Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, or Togo in the absence of closer-to-home alternatives.
Ghana has some of the fastest internet speeds on the continent, so streaming over a Ghanaian IP shouldn’t be an issue. This is good since Ghana has a vast number of streaming services to choose from, including ones that are unique to the country. Sadly, Ghana is a hotspot for cyber crime so using an VPN to give you extra anonymity is advised to help keep you safe from attacks.
In 2012 Ghana passed the Data Protection Act to help protect its citizens’ personal data. The bill launched the Data Protection Commission, tasked with raising awareness that data protection is a fundamental human right. There are penalties for those who breach this privacy, although there are also exceptions: the government has the power to seize personal data in the case of criminal activity or for reasons of national security.
As we’ve said, cyber crime is very much an issue in Ghana. So while greater data provisions are now in place, Ghana still lost about $50 million to cyber fraud in 2016 with projections for it only to go higher and higher in future years.
Since censorship is forbidden by the Ghanaian constitution Ghana has a free and open internet, so users won’t encounter any blocked websites. In line with Ghana’s freedom of speech the government doesn’t restrict individual expression online or on social media. The country has no recent history of blocking websites although there was one instance of it almost happening. Back in the election year of 2016 the Inspector General of the Ghana Police allegedly wanted to shut down access to the internet, but this was quickly met with backlash and eventually nothing came of it. Although Ghana boasts one of the most unfettered presses in the entire African continent, the harassment of journalists is still an issue and self-censorship is not uncommon.
Gambling is legal and regulated in the country, and there are plenty of local gambling firms to choose from. Ghanaians abroad will need to use a VPN to access Ghanaian gambling websites to avoid any geoblocking.
Ghana has access to many of the major streaming services in the world. As in most of the world, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are readily available. Ghana is also one of a growing number of African countries with access to Malaysian streaming service iflix. Other localized content can be found on native Ghanaian streaming services like Kumawood and Adom TV.
For music lovers some major platforms are absent, including Spotify and Tidal, as well as Google’s YouTube Music and Google Play Music. However, Ghana has access to Apple Music, Deezer, and a large number of local music streaming services like the indigenous Aftown. Radio is still incredibly popular in Ghana so there’s a multitude of options for online radio services which generally don’t require a Ghanaian IP to work.
There aren’t a great many VPN services that have servers in Ghana, but happily those that do are among the best on the market. We’ve picked three exceptional VPNs for you to choose from.
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