Shama or Shema is a town with a

fishing village A fishing village is a village, usually located near a fishing ground, with an economy based on catching fish and harvesting seafood. The continents and islands around the world have coastlines totalling around 356,000 kilometres (221,000 ...

, and is the capital of Shama district, a

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 county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

in the Western Region 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 Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...

.Shama District
The town lies about 20 km east of

Sekondi-Takoradi Sekondi-Takoradi is a city in Ghana comprising the twin cities of Sekondi and Takoradi. It is the capital of Sekondi – Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly and the Western Region of Ghana. Sekondi-Takoradi is the region's largest city and an ind ...

, on the mouth of the

Pra River Pra River may refer to: *Pra River (Ghana) The Pra River is a river in Ghana, the easternmost and the largest of the three principal rivers that drain the area south of the Volta divide. Rising in the Kwahu Plateau near Mpraeso and flowing sout ...

. The town is home to Fort San Sebastian, in whose graveyard philosopher

Anton Wilhelm Amo Anton Wilhelm Amo or Anthony William Amo (c. 1703 – c. 1759) was an African philosopher originally from what is now Ghana. Amo was a professor at the universities of Halle and Jena in Germany after studying there. He was brought to Germany b ...

, the first African known to have attended a European university, is interred. The town is situated in the Shama Ahanta East Metropolitan district and Shama constituency of the Western region of Ghana. The inhabitants of the town are mostly engaged in fishing and its related activities such as fish processing for local markets. Shama is the sixtieth most populous settlement in Ghana, in terms of population, with a population of 23,699 people. Shama is the English name of the town, originally and locally called Esima.

References

Populated places in the Western Region (Ghana) {{WesternRegionGH-geo-stub