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The Northern Region is one of the sixteen
regions of Ghana The Regions of Ghana constitute the first level of subnational government administration within the Republic of Ghana. As of 2020, there are currently sixteen regions, which are further divided for administrative purposes into 260 local metro ...
. It is located in the north of the country and was the largest of the sixteen regions, covering an area of 70,384 square kilometres or 31 percent of
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 Tog ...
's area until December 2018 when the Savannah Region and North East Region were created from it. The Northern Region is divided into 14
district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...
s. The region's
capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...
is Tamale.


Geography and climate


Location and size

The Northern Region is
border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders ca ...
ed on the north by the North East region, on the east by the eastern Ghana-
Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...
international border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political border ...
, on the south by the
Oti region The Oti Region is one of the six newly created regions of Ghana in December 2018. The region was carved out of the northern part of the Volta Region and will be in fulfillment of a campaign promise made by New Patriotic Party. Prior to the 2016 ...
, and on the west by the Savannah Region. Northern region is made up of 14 districts.


Climate and vegetation

The Northern Region is a Guinea Savanna grassland. The vegetation consists predominantly of grassland, especially
savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground ...
with clusters of drought-resistant trees such as
baobab ''Adansonia'' is a genus made up of eight species of medium-to-large deciduous trees known as baobabs ( or ). They are placed in the Malvaceae family, subfamily Bombacoideae. They are native to Madagascar, mainland Africa, and Australia.T ...
s or
acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus nam ...
s. Between January and March is the
dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The ...
. The wet season is between about July and December with an average annual rainfall of 750 to 1050 mm (30 to 40 inches). The highest temperatures are reached at the end of the dry season, the lowest in December and January. However, the hot Harmattan wind from the Sahara blows frequently between December and the beginning of February. The temperatures can vary between 14 °C (59 °F) at night and 40 °C (104 °F) during the day.


Economy

More than 75% of the economically active population are agricultural. The low population density is partly caused by emigration, in addition to geography and climate.


Demographics

The Northern Region has a low population density, and, along with the
official language An official language is a language given supreme status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically the term "official language" does not refer to the language used by a people or country, but by its government (e.g. judiciary, ...
of
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...
, most inhabitants (52%) speak a language of the Oti–Volta subfamily in the Niger–Congo language family, such as
Dagbani Dagbani (or Dagbane), also known as Dagbanli and Dagbanle, is a Gur language spoken in Ghana and Northern Togo. Its native speakers are estimated around 3,160,000. It is a compulsory subject in primary and junior high school in the Dagbon King ...
, Mamprusi or Konkomba. The Dagbon Kingdom, of the Dagomba people, is located in the region.


Tourist and Attraction

* Naa Gbewaa Palace, Yendi * Saakpoli Slaves wells * Diarre Napagaduungbanani * Naa Binbegu Boabab Tree, Yendi * Buntaga Irrigation Dam * Sabali (River Oti) * Nawuni River (White Volta)


Religion

Around three out of five residents in the Northern region were affiliated to Islam (60.0%).


Districts

The Northern Region of Ghana contains 16 districts. 11 are ordinary districts in addition to 1 metropolitan and 4 municipal districts.: Under every municipality, metropoly and districts are many towns and villages.


Notable Health Facilities

* Tamale Teaching Hospital * Tamale Central West Hospital * Tamale West Hospital * SDA Hospital * Yendi Municipal Hospital * Savelugu Municipal Hospital * Bimbilla District Hospital


Some famous citizens


References

*
GhanaDistricts.com


External links


GhanaDistricts.com – Northern Region
{{Authority control Regions of Ghana Dagbon