Ghanaian Arabs (french: Arabes ghanéens; Akan: ''Nkɔmbɔtwetwe Arabia Gaana''; ar, غانيون عرب) are

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 ...

and

citizens Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

of Arab origin or descent. Ghanaian Arabs are mainly from Lebanon,

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

and

Arab Maghreb The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...

. Ghana has the largest Arab population in western Africa.

Distribution

The vast majority of Arabs live in major cities and towns in south central, south eastern, south western or southern Ghana. Coastal cities such as

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

Cape Coast Cape Coast is a city, fishing port, and the capital of Cape Coast Metropolitan District and Central Region of Ghana. It is one of the country's most historic cities, a World Heritage Site, home to the Cape Coast Castle, with the Gulf of Guinea ...

, Sekondi-Takoradi, and Tema also have Arab populations. Apart from

and Kumasi, Coastal Areas and Southern Ghana, there are Arab communities in Koforidua and Sunyani.

Background

Arabs have been present in Ghana for millennia, mostly as merchants in the 15th century, then into the 21st century as business people, and due to this intermarriage has occurred with also the production offsprings of Afro-Arabs;

Fathia Nkrumah Helena Ritz Fathia Nkrumah ( ) (22 February 1932 – 31 May 2007), born Fathia Halim Rizk ( ar, فتحية حليم رزق), was a Coptic Egyptian and the First Lady of the newly independent Ghana as the wife of Kwame Nkrumah, its first president ...

is a notable Arab with ties to Ghana. She was the late wife of Ghana's first president and revolutionist

Kwame Nkrumah Kwame Nkrumah (born 21 September 190927 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He was the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana, having led the Gold Coast to independence from Britain in 1957. An in ...

, whose marriage was seen as helping plant the seeds of cooperation between Egypt and other African countries as they struggled for independence from European colonization. This helped advance the formation of the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...

. Arabs who have lived in Ghana for most of their lives have acquired Ghanaian citizenship.

Economics

Mostly Lebanese business people or Syrians own businesses, such as restaurants, hotel chains, import and export companies. Historically Arab merchants have been operating in Ghana and across Sub-Saharan Africa for millennia.Migration in Ghana
''encyclopedia.com''. 2007. Retrieved 25 June 2012.http://www.imi.ox.ac.uk/pdfs/ghana-country-paper Country Paper: Ghana] . 2008. Retrieved 25 June 2012.

External links

Thestatesmanonline: Lebanese community in Ghana show solidarity

References

{{authority control Arabs Arab diaspora in Africa

Distribution

Background

Economics

See also

External links

References