Ghanaians in Germany are Ghanaian

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

in Germany and their descendants living and working in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Ghanaians in Germany are said to form the second largest of the country’s diaspora populations in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, after the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

History

Even before Ghana's independence in 1957, there has been a relationship between Ghana and

. The

Volta Region Volta Region (or Volta) is one of Ghana's sixteen administrative regions, with Ho designated as its capital. It is located west of Republic of Togo and to the east of Lake Volta. Divided into 25 administrative districts, the region is multi-et ...

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

was part of the German colony of Togo before World War I. In 1957, 44 Ghanaian students were registered in West German universities through a policy that allowed Africans to build skills in German universities. In the 1960s and 70s, most of the Ghanaian migrants to Germany were education migrants. They formed local associations in the university towns and cities in Germany, which in turn became the Union of Ghanaian Students in Germany (UGSG). In 2009, according to Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), there were about 40,000 '

Ghanaians The Ghanaian people are a nation originating in the Gold Coast (region), Ghanaian Gold Coast. Ghanaians predominantly inhabit the Republic of Ghana and are the predominant cultural group and residents of Ghana, numbering 30 million people as of ...

with a migration background' in Germany; where 'Ghanaians with a migration background' means 'naturalised persons of Ghanaian origin' and 'the second and third generation of Ghanaians naturalised in Germany and the children from binational partnerships who did not immigrate on their own'. Almost 9,729 children were born to German-Ghanaian couples between 1965 and 2006. In 2007, 20,329 persons with Ghanaian citizenship were officially registered in Germany, 8,194 Ghanaian citizens became German citizens between 1980 and 2007. Currently, Ghana maintains good relations with Germany and there is a large Ghanaian community in Germany, many of whom go there for educational migration, asylum-seeking migration and family reunification.

Distribution

Ghanaians in Germany mostly live in the metropolises of Hamburg, Berlin and Bremen, the Ruhr region, and the Frankfurt/Main metropolitan area. 22.7% of Ghanaian migrants, the highest percentage, live in the city of Hamburg. Also, 23.8% of the Ghanaians living in Germany live in North Rhine-Westphalia. 9.2% of Ghanaian citizens in Germany live in Berlin. 9.8% live in the federal state of Hesse. There has been a long tradition of Ghanaians migrating to Hamburg, hence the concentration of Ghanaians there. In Ghana, the word ‘booga’ or ‘burger’, used to refer to migrants, has roots in the name ‘Hamburg’.

Associations

In June 2004, through an initiative of the Ghanaian Embassy in Germany, the Union of Ghanaian Associations in Germany (UGAG) was formed to include all Ghanaian associations in Germany. The first attempt in 1996 had failed. Church communities are among the most influential formations as Christianity is the largest religion in Ghana. The Church of Pentecost Germany, Ghana Catholic Mission-Hamburg, the Bethel Church-Stuttgart and the Presbyterian Church of Cologne are the best-known Ghanaian churches in Germany.

Remittances

Ghana is now one of the top recipients of remittances from its global diaspora. Private remittances make up over one-sixth of the country's gross domestic product. In a survey, 90% of Ghanaians transfer money to Ghana for their families. Some even send more than half their income and go into debt.

Culture

Music

From the late 1970s to the early 1980s, a genre of music came up in Germany and Ghana called Burger Highlife – fusion of

highlife Highlife is a music genre that started in present-day Ghana in the 19th century, during its Gold Coast (British colony), history as a colony of the British Empire and through its trade routes in coastal areas. It describes multiple local fusions ...

, and

funk music Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

styles. Ghanaian immigrants in Germany created it.

Living in Germany

Education

For Ghanaians hoping to study in Germany, the West African Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) can't be used for direct entry into a German university as it would be used in Ghana. A student has to complete one year of tertiary education in Ghana or complete a one-year preparatory course (Studienkolleg) in Germany. Also, there are no HND top-up courses in Germany. Ghanaians would have to apply for the Bachelor's degree in a university of applied sciences.

Other aspects of living and working

Ghanaians migrants and visitors like other nationalities have to book a hotel for short stays or rent or buy a home for a more extended stay. Learning the German language is required for professions like nursing and healthcare. Ghanaians that start their own businesses in Germany, like everyone else, need to register with the trade office if they are self employed or the tax office if they want to work as freelancers.

External links

Meet the Germans: What does a Ghanaian think about Germany?
– Deutsche Welle

References

{{Immigration to Germany

African diaspora in Germany *