Although modern Ghana gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1957 and was the first African country to do so, small numbers of people from that region have been arriving and living in Britain since at least the mid-16th century.
[5] Besides a number of West Africans arriving in Britain during the 16th–18th centuries, there were Britons who went to the Gold Coast and married Ghanaian women.
Some Ghanaians have Scottish and English ancestry,[5] since a number of Scots and Englishmen married in local customary ceremonies and had children who became successful, such as Gold Coast's James Bannerman and Robert William Wallace Bruce.
[4] Ghanaian British actors such as Freema Agyeman, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Idris Elba and Peter Mensah have successfully crossed over into the international market and work in Hollywood.
Among those who have made a mark in the field of literature in the UK, as journalists, writers, and publishers, are such names as Cameron Duodu, Afua Hirsch, Derek Owusu, Ekow Eshun, Margaret Busby and Nii Ayikwei Parkes.
Another notable Ghanaian British musician who chose to stray away from the typical hip-hop scene is Rhian Benson, who now lives in Los Angeles and is noted for being a singer-songwriter, composer, instrumentalist and record producer who performs mainly jazz and soul music.
[13] At the time of the 2011 census, the largest Ghanaian-born populations were found in the London boroughs of Lambeth, Southwark, Croydon, Newham, Barnet, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Lewisham, Waltham Forest, Brent and Barking and Dagenham, and in Milton Keynes, the county of West Midlands, and Greater Manchester.
[15] Research published in 2005 showed that 63.70% of recent Ghanaian immigrants to the UK of working age were employed (compared to 73.49% for British-born people regardless of race or ethnic background).