The Northern Region is one of the sixteen

regions of Ghana The regions of Ghana are the first level of subnational government administration within the Republic of Ghana. As of 2020, there are 16 regions, which are further divided for administrative purposes into 260 local Districts of Ghana, metropo ...

. It is situated in the northern part of the country and ranks as the second largest of the sixteen regions. Before its division, it covered an area of 25,000 square kilometres, representing 10 percent of

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 ...

's area. In

December 2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of Sou ...

, the

Savannah Region The Savannah Region is one of the newest regions of Ghana and yet the largest region in the country. The creation of the Region follows presentation of a petition by the Gonja Traditional Council, led by the Yagbonwura Tumtumba Boresa Jakpa I ...

and North East Region were created from it. The Northern Region is divided into 16

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, municip ...

s. The region's

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

Tamale A tamale, in Spanish language, Spanish , is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of ''masa'', a dough made from nixtamalization, nixtamalized maize, corn, which is steaming, steamed in a corn husk or Banana leaf, banana leaves. The wrapping ...

, Ghana's third largest city.

Geography and climate

Location and size

The Northern Region, spanning approximately 25,000 square kilometers, stands as Ghana's Second largest region by land area. It shares borders with the North East Region and

to the north, and Oti Regions to the south, and neighboring countries, including the

Republic of Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, 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 is one of the least developed countries and extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, wh ...

to the east and La Cote d'voire to the west.

Climate and vegetation

The Northern Region has a

Guinean forest-savanna mosaic Demographics of Guinea describes the condition and overview of Guinea's peoples. Demographic topics include basic education, health, and population statistics as well as identified racial and religious affiliations. Population According to t ...

ecosystem. The Guinea Savanna is the wettest of the three savanna ecological zones. The vegetation consists predominantly of woodlands and grasslands. The

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the rainy season or monsoon season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Generally, the season lasts at least one month. The term ''green season'' is also sometimes used a ...

is between April and October, while the dry season occurs from January to March. There is an average annual rainfall of 750 to 1050 mm (30 to 40 inches). The highest temperatures are reached in March, at the end of the dry season. From late November to March, the north east

trade winds The trade winds or easterlies are permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere ...

blows causing

Harmattan The Harmattan is a season in West Africa that occurs between the end of November and the middle of March. It is characterized by the dry and dusty northeasterly trade wind, of the same name, which blows from the Sahara over West Africa into th ...

. During this time, temperatures can vary between 14 °C (59 °F) at night and 40 °C (104 °F) during the day.

Economy

Like all parts of Ghana, more than half of the economically active population are

agricultural 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 f ...

. The region is one of the most agriculturally important regions in Ghana. It also has the largest reserve of iron ore.

Demographics

The Northern Region contains much of the territories of the

Kingdom of Dagbon The Kingdom of Dagbon ( ) is the oldest and one of the most organised traditional kingdoms in Ghana founded by the Dagomba people (Dagbamba) in the 15th century. During its rise, it comprised, at various points, the Northern Region (Ghana), North ...

and

Dagbani Dagbani (or Dagbane), also known as Dagbanli or Dagbanle, is a Gur language spoken in Ghana and Northern Togo. Its native speakers are estimated around 1,170,000. Dagbani is the most widely spoken language in northern Ghana, specifically among ...

is the most widely spoke language, along with

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

. Dagbani belongs to the Oti–Volta subfamily in the Niger–Congo language family. Other languages spoken within the region include Likpakpaln and Nawuri.

Business

Night View of Tamale Street in Northern Ghana 01

The region is a hotspot for investment in Ghana, with Tamale previously been ranked as the fastest growing city in West Africa; experiencing tremendous growth compared to other cities in Ghana. The region's location, and greater proximity to both Europe and North Africa, compared to Accra, makes it an increasingly attractive destination for investors. Ghana's largest iron ore reserves, estimated to be more than three billion tons, makes the region an ideal destination for investments in steel and iron.

Tourism

* Naa Gbewaa Palace, Yendi * Hamamat Shea Butter Village * Tamale Center for Culture and Arts * Savanna Centre for Contemporary Art * Red Clay Studios * Nkrumah Volini * Nuku Studios * Saakpuli Slave wells * Diarre Napagaduungbanani * Naa Binbegu Boabab Tree, Yendi * Buntaga Irrigation Dam * Sabali (River Oti) * Nawuni River (White Volta) * Deutsch Cemetery at Yendi * Adibo dalila war zones, Adibo

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.

Health facilities

Hospitals in the Northern Region: * Tamale Teaching Hospital * Tamale Central West Hospital * Tamale West Hospital * SDA Hospital * Yendi Municipal Hospital * Savelugu Municipal Hospital * Bimbilla District Hospital * Kumbungu District Hospital * Gusheigu District Hospital

Notable citizens

References

*
GhanaDistricts.com

External links

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