Upper West Region

Last updated
Upper West Region
Region
Our building structures.jpg
Ghana - Upper West.svg
Location of Upper West Region in Ghana
Country Ghana
Capital Wa
Districts11
Government
 •  Regional Minister Hafiz Bin Salih [1] [2]
Area
[3]
 • Total18,476 km2 (7,134 sq mi)
 • Rank Ranked 7th
Population
 (2021 census) [4]
 • Total901,502
 • Density49/km2 (130/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)
 • Year2013
 • Per capita$5,150
GDP (Nominal)
 • Year2013
 • Per capita$2,500
Time zone GMT
Area code 039
ISO 3166 code GH-UW
HDI (2017)0.518 [5]
low · 9th

The Upper West Region of Ghana is located in the north-western corner of Ghana [6] and is bordered by Upper East Region to the east, Northern Region to the south, and Burkina Faso to the west and north. The Upper West regional capital and largest settlement is Wa. The Upper West was created by the then Head of State, Flight-Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings in 1983 under the Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC) military regime. The area was carved out of the former Upper Region, which is now the Upper East Region. For about thirty-five years, it remained the youngest region of Ghana until 2018 when six more regions were created by the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government; hence increasing the total number of administrative regions in the country to sixteen.

Contents

Geography and climate

Location and size

The Upper West Region is one of the 16 regions of Ghana. It is located at the North Western corner of Ghana with latitude 9.8°- 11.O° North and longitude 1.6°- 3.0 West, bounded by Burkina Faso to the North. It covers a geographical area of 18,476 square kilometers, representing 12.7% of the total land area of Ghana. The northern Ghana-Burkina Faso is bordered on the east by the Upper East region and Northern regions, on the south by the Northern region, on the west by western Ghana-Burkina Faso, and the Upper West region on the north. It is the seventh largest region in Ghana in total area, and it is made up of 11 districts. By virtue of its location, the Upper West Region has the potential for international and inter-regional trade and other bilateral relations, but the overspill of criminal activities and disasters, such as bushfires, diseases and pestilence, armed robbery, etc., from the region's neighbors also pose a threat. [7]

Tourism

The Wechiau Hippopotamus Sanctuary is located southwest of Wa, along the Black Volta River in the Wa West District. The Gwollu Wall in the Sissala District serves as the hometown of one of Ghana's past presidents - Dr. Hilla Limann. [8]

Cuisine

The staple food of the people of the Upper West Region is sao or Tuo Zaafi in the local dialect, which is often abbreviated TZ or T-Zed in English. [9]

Economy

The major economic activity of the Upper West Region is agriculture. Crops grown include corn, millet, peanuts, okra, shea tree, and rice. Sheep, goats, chickens, pigs and guinea fowl are raised for meat and eggs. Because the region's dry season is long, extending roughly from October to May, many people leave the region to work in the southern part of Ghana for at least part of the year.

Sports

Schools

Some popular schools in the region include St. Francis Xavier Junior Seminary, St. Francis Girls of Assis, St. Michael Boys - Nandom, St. Ignatius of Loyola SHS, Queen of Peace SHS, lawra Senior High School, Kanton Senior High School, Wa Senior High School, Wa Senior High Technical School, Wa UDS, Jirapa Nursing Training College, Jahan Training College, Wa Technical University, etc...}}

Administrative divisions

The political administration of the region is through the local government system. Under this administration system, the region is divided into 11 MMDA's (made up of 0 Metropolitan, 5 Municipal and 6 Ordinary Assemblies). [10] Each District, Municipal or Metropolitan Assembly, is administered by a Chief Executive, representing the central government but deriving authority from an Assembly headed by a presiding member elected from among the members themselves. The current list is as follows:

Districts of the Upper West Region Districts of the Upper West Region (2012).svg
Districts of the Upper West Region
Districts of the Upper West Region [11]
#MMDA NameCapitalMMDA TypePopulation
1 Daffiama-Bussie-Issa Issa Ordinary
2 Jirapa Jirapa Municipal
3 Lambussie-Karni Lambussie Ordinary
4 Lawra Lawra Municipal
5 Nadowli-Kaleo Nadowli Ordinary
6 Nandom Nandom Municipal
7 Sissala East Tumu Municipal
8 Sissala West Gwollu Ordinary
9 Wa East Funsi Ordinary
10 Wa Municipal [12] Wa Municipal
11 Wa West Wechiau Ordinary

Notable natives

Prominent and famous citizens of Upper West Region include:

Festivals of the Upper West Region

Festivals that take place in the Upper West Region include: [13]

Related Research Articles

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Bolgatanga, colloquially known as Bolga, is a town and the capital of the Bolgatanga Municipality and Upper East Region of Ghana, adjacent to the border with Burkina Faso. Bolgatanga has over 2012 settlements and a population of about 66,685 people. Bolgatanga is 161 km to the north of Tamale. Bolgatanga lies in the Red Volta River Valley, with the White Volta River and the cliffs of the Gambaga Escarpment to the south of the town forming the southern boundary of the Upper East Region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hilla Limann</span> Ghanaian diplomat and politician

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wa, Ghana</span> Capital town of Upper West Region, Ghana

Wa is the capital town of Wa Municipal and Upper West Region of northern Ghana. It forms part of the eleven Municipalities and Districts that make-up the Upper West Region. It’s Municipal Assembly is one of the 261 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in Ghana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upper East Region</span> Region of Ghana

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Savanes Region, Togo</span> Region of Togo

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sissala West District</span> District in Upper West, Ghana

Sissala West District is one of the eleven districts in Upper West Region, Ghana. Originally it was formerly part of the then-larger Sissala District in 1988; until the western part of the district was later split off to create Sissala West District in July 2004; thus the remaining part has been renamed as Sissala East District. The district assembly is located in the northern/northeast part of Upper West Region and has Gwollu as its capital town.

Sisaala (Sissala) is a Gur language cluster spoken in northern Ghana near the town of Tumu and in the neighbouring republic of Burkina Faso. Western Sisaala is intermediate between Sisaali and Tumulung Sisaala.

Hamile is a village in the Jirapa/Lambussie district, a district in the far northwestern Upper West Region of north Ghana, close to the border with Burkina Faso.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sissala West (Ghana parliament constituency)</span> Constituency in Ghana

Sissala West is one of the constituencies represented in the Parliament of Ghana. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. Sissala West is located in the Sissala West district of the Upper West Region of Ghana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sissala East (Ghana parliament constituency)</span> Constituency in Ghana

Sissala East is one of the constituencies represented in the Parliament of Ghana. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. Sissala East is located in the Sissala East Municipal of the Upper West Region of Ghana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ghana Health Service</span>

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) is a Ghanaian government body established in 1996 as part of the Health Sector Reform of Ghana. The Health Service is under the Ministry of Health. The health service primarily administers the health services in Ghana provided by the government and implements government policies on healthcare. The current Director-General of the Health service is Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye who was appointed by President Nana Akufo-Addo on November 25th 2019 to replace Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lambussie-Karni District</span> District in Upper West, Ghana

Lambussie Karni District is one of the eleven districts in Upper West Region, Ghana. Originally it was formerly part of the then-larger Jirapa/Lambussie District in 1988; until the northern part of the district was later split off to create Lambussie-Karni District on 29 February 2008; thus the remaining part has been renamed as Jirapa District. The district assembly is located in the northwest part of Upper West Region and has Lambussie as its capital town.

Gwollu is a small town and is the capital of Sissala West district, a district in the Upper West Region of north Ghana. Hilla Limann, a former Ghanaian president was born and raised here.

Nandom is the capital town of the Nandom Municipal of the Upper West Region of Ghana.

Since 1965, Ghana has been home to the FIC Congregation. Their visit to Ghana was prompted by an invitation from the Late Cardinal Peter Porekuu Dery, Bishop of the Diocese of Wa at the time. In order to promote teaching, education, and youth development, the FIC Brothers founded Nandom Secondary School, which is today Nandom Senior High. St Michael Secondary School was established in Kaleo in 1968. It was relocated to Nandom once the school building was finished.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ambrose Dery</span> Ghanaian politician

Ambrose Dery, a Ghanaian politician, is the Interior Minister and Member of Parliament for Nandom Constituency. He won the constituency during the 2016 elections on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party.

The Gwollu Defence Wall is a historic wall in the Upper West Region of Ghana. The wall is located near the Burkina Faso-Mali border. It was built as a defense against slave traders.

The N12 or National Highway 12 is a national highway in Ghana that begins at the Ghana - Côte d'Ivoire border in the Western Region of Ghana and travels generally north to Hamile on the Ghana - Burkina Faso border. Its total length is 670 kilometres.

The Gbele Resource Centre or Gbele Game Production Reserve is one of the lesser known game reserves in Ghana. It is located in the Sissala West, Sissala East Municipal and Daffiama Bussie Issa districts of the Upper West Region The reserve is the fourth largest in Ghana. The nearest town is Tumu, capital of the Sissala East Municipal District which is 17 kilometres to the north. A total of 176 species of birds have been recorded in the reserve. The staff in the reserve are aware of an additional 18 species. The reserve contains antelope, hartebeest, bushbuck, waterbuck, savannah duikers and warthogs, baboon, patas, green monkey among others. There are about 190 species of birds as well. There are nature hikes provided as well. About 30 kilometres to the north of the centre is the Gwollu Defence Wall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daffiama-Bussie-Issa (Ghana parliament constituency)</span> An electoral constituency in Ghana

Daffiama-Bussie-Issa is one of the constituencies represented in the Parliament of Ghana. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. Daffiama-Bussie-Issa is located in the Daffiama-Bussie-Issa District of the Upper West Region of Ghana.

References

  1. ↑ "Regional Ministers". Archived from the original on 2012-01-03.
  2. ↑ "Work to start on 670-km feeder roads in Upper West - Graphic Online". Archived from the original on 2021-05-20.
  3. ↑ "Upper West Region". GhanaDistricts.com. Retrieved 2009-11-20.
  4. ↑ "Ghana Statistical Services - Population by Regions, Upper West". statsghana.gov.gh. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  5. ↑ "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  6. ↑ Boakye, Edna Agnes (2021-05-21). "Sissala West MP laments exclusion of Sissala areas from EU-funded road projects". Citinewsroom - Comprehensive News in Ghana. Retrieved 2021-05-21.
  7. ↑ GOG(MLGRD)
  8. ↑ ghanadistricts.com
  9. ↑ "Tuo zaafi | Traditional Side Dish From Northern Region | TasteAtlas". www.tasteatlas.com. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  10. ↑ "Upper West". citypopulation.de. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  11. ↑ Upper West Region – Districts
  12. ↑ "Contractors who do shoddy work to pay more for maintenance - Roads Minister warns - MyJoyOnline.com". www.myjoyonline.com. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
  13. ↑ "Upper West Region". touringghana.com. 2016-02-24. Retrieved 2020-01-28.

Sources

10°20′N2°15′W / 10.333°N 2.250°W / 10.333; -2.250

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