Ashaiman (often wrongly spelled as "Ashiaman") is a large town and the capital of the

Ashaiman Municipal District Ashaiman Municipal District is one of the twenty-nine districts in Greater Accra Region, Ghana. Originally it was formerly part of the then-larger Tema Municipal District, which was created from the former Tema District Council, until two parts of ...

in the

Greater Accra Region The Greater Accra Region has the smallest area of Ghana's Regions of Ghana, 16 administrative regions, occupying a total land surface of 3,245 square kilometres. This is 1.4 per cent of the total land area of Ghana. It is the List of Ghanaian re ...

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

. According to the 2021 census, the town, along with the district, has a population of 208,060 people. Ethnic groups who resided in Ashaiman are the

Ga-Adangbe The Ga-Dangbe, Ga-Dangme, Ga-Adangme or Ga-Adangbe are an ethnic group in Ghana, Togo and Benin. The Ga or Gan and Dangbe or Dangme people are grouped as part of the Ga–Dangme languages, Ga–Dangme Ethnolinguistics, ethnolinguistic group. The ...

, Ga,

Guan Guan may refer to: * Guan (bird), any of a number of bird species of the family Cracidae, of South and Central America * Guan (surname), several similar Chinese surnames ** Guān, Chinese surname * Guan (state), ancient Chinese city-state * Guan ( ...

Hausa Hausa may refer to: * Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa * Hausa language, spoken in West Africa * Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states * Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse See also ...

Fante people The modern Mfantsefo or Fante ("Fanti" is an older spelling) confederacy is a combination of Akan people and aboriginal Guan people. The Fante people are mainly located in the Central and Western regions of Ghana, occupying the forest and coast ...

, Dagomba, Ewe, Ashanti, and

Akuapem Akuapem may refer to: * Akuapem people, an ethnic group of Ghana * Akuapem dialect, their language * Akuapem Kingdom Akropong is a town in South Ghana and is the capital of the Akuapim North District, a district in the Eastern Region of South ...

. The current Mantse of the town is Nii Annang Adzor.

Etymology

According to local belief, the name came from two Ga words: "Ashai", the first name of the man who had founded the town (Ibrahim Nii Ashai), and "''Mang''" which means "town". Therefore, it is abbreviated to "Ashaiman".

History

Ashaiman was founded by Nii Ashai after he had moved from

Tema Tema is a city on the Bight of Benin and Atlantic coast of Ghana. It is located east of the capital city; Accra, in the region of Greater Accra, and is the capital of the Tema Metropolitan District. As of 2013, Tema is the eleventh most p ...

. The town was expanded by squatters who were building Tema and others and had moved in to occupy government land.

Administration

Demographics

Most of the population is religious coming in with 96.9% while the other 3.1% aren't affiliated with any religions. The biggest religions in the town are Christianity (approx. 80%), Islam (16.5%), and traditional religions (0.4%). Major Ethnic groups who lived in Ashaiman are the

, Ga,

, Dagomba, Ewe, Ashanti, and

Economy

The biggest economic sector in the town is

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

, followed by

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...

and

services Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a ...

Culture

Ashaiman, along with other parts of Ghana, has a paramount chief or

Omanhene In several Akan nations of Ghana, the Omanhene (''Pl. Amanhene)'' is the title of a magnate or a supreme traditional ruler ('king') in a region or a larger town. The omanhene is the central figure and institution of the nation. Officially, he has ...

in which the current placeholder is Nii Annang Adzor.

Geography

Ashaiman is located in the

Ashaiman Municipal Ashaiman Municipal District is one of the twenty-nine districts in Greater Accra Region, Ghana. Originally it was formerly part of the then-larger Tema Municipal District, which was created from the former Tema District Council, until two parts ...

which has an total land area of . The district bordered

Kpone Katamanso Municipal District Kpone-Katamanso Municipal District is one of the twenty-nine districts in Greater Accra Region, Ghana. Originally it was part of the then-larger Tema Municipal District, which was created from the former Tema District Council, until the eastern ...

to the north and east and the

Tema Metropolitan District Tema Metropolitan Assembly is one of the twenty-nine districts in Greater Accra Region, Ghana. Originally created as a municipal district assembly in 1988 when it was known as Tema Municipal District, which was created from the former Tema Distric ...

towards the south and the west.

Climate

The town has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Aw''), experiencing a wet season and a dry season and the temperature being hot year-round. The average annual rainfall ranges from . The wet season usually starts from April to June while the dry is from September to November.

Human resources

Health

On 3 October 2024, It was announced that a 190-bed capacity district hospital was going to be built at Ashaiman as part of Ghana's Agenda 111, a project aim to improve access to convectional healthcare. The project has a budget of US$12 million and is expect to be completed in late-2024.

Education

The most well-known educational institution in the town is the Ashaiman Senior High School. It was founded in September 1990 by the

Provisional National Defence Council The Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) was the name of the Ghanaian government after the People's National Party's elected government was overthrown by Jerry Rawlings, the former head of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council, in a coup ...

and it began with 39 students and two teachers. Currently the school has a population of about 1,400 students and 104 teachers. Courses offered in the school include General Arts, General Science, Agriculture, Business and Visual Arts.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Populated places in the Greater Accra Region Squats