The Upper West Region 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 ...

is located in the north-western corner of Ghana and is

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

ed by

Upper East Region The Upper East Region is located in the northern part of Ghana and it is the third smallest of the 16 administrative regions in Ghana. It occupies a total land surface of 8,842 square kilometers, or 2.7% of the total land area of Ghana. The reg ...

to the east, Northern Region to the south, and

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

to the west and north. The Upper West regional capital and largest

settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), downward movement of a structure's foundation *Settlement (finance), where securities are delivered against payment of money *Settlement (litigatio ...

is Wa. The Upper West was created by the then Head of State,

Jerry Rawlings Jerry John Rawlings (born Jerry Rawlings John; 22 June 194712 November 2020) was a Ghanaian military officer, aviator, and politician who led the country briefly in 1979 and then from 1981 to 2001. He led a military junta until 1993 and then se ...

in 1983 under 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 ...

(PNDC) military regime. The area was carved out of the former Upper Region, which is now the Upper East Region. For about thirty-five years, it remained the youngest region of Ghana until 2018 when six more regions were created by the

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo William Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo ( ; born 29 March 1944) is a Ghanaian politician who served as the 13th president of Ghana from January 2017 to January 2025. He previously served as Attorney General from 2001 to 2003 and as Minister for Fore ...

government; hence increasing the total number of administrative regions in the country to sixteen.

Geography and climate

Location and size

The Upper West Region is one of the 16 regions of Ghana. It is located at the northwestern corner of Ghana at latitude 9.8°- 11.O° North and longitude 1.6°- 3.0 West, bounded by Burkina Faso to the North. It covers a geographical area of 18,476 square kilometres, representing 12.7% of the total land area of Ghana. The northern Ghana-Burkina Faso is bordered on the east by the Upper East region and Northern regions, on the south by the Northern region, on the west by western Ghana-Burkina Faso, and the Upper West region on the north. It is the seventh largest region in Ghana in total area, and it is made up of 11 districts. By virtue of its location, the Upper West Region has the potential for international and inter-regional trade and other bilateral relations, but the overspill of criminal activities and disasters, such as bushfires, diseases and pestilence, armed robbery, etc., from the region's neighbours also pose a threat.

Tourism

The Wechiau

Hippopotamus The hippopotamus (''Hippopotamus amphibius;'' ; : hippopotamuses), often shortened to hippo (: hippos), further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Sahar ...

Sanctuary is located southwest of Wa, along the Black Volta River in the Wa West District. The Gwollu Wall in the

Sissala District Sissala District is a former district that was located in Upper West Region, 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 share ...

serves as the hometown of one of Ghana's past

presidents President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *''Præsidenten ...

- Dr.

Hilla Limann Hilla Limann, (12 December 1934 – 23 January 1998) was a Ghanaian diplomat and politician who served as the eighth president of Ghana from 1979 to 1981. He previously served as a diplomat in Lomé and in Geneva. Education Limann, whose origi ...

Cuisine

The staple food of the people of the Upper West Region is sao or Tuo Zaafi in the local dialect, which is often abbreviated TZ or T-Zed in English.

Economy

The major economic activity of the Upper West Region 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 ...

. Crops grown include

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most millets belong to the tribe Paniceae. Millets are important crops in the Semi-arid climate, ...

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), goober pea, pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics by small and large ...

okra Okra (, ), ''Abelmoschus esculentus'', known in some English-speaking countries as lady's fingers, is a flowering plant in the Malvaceae, mallow family native to East Africa. Cultivated in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions aro ...

shea tree ''Vitellaria paradoxa'' (formerly ''Butyrospermum parkii''), commonly known as shea tree, shi tree (, also ), or vitellaria, is a tree of the family Sapotaceae. It is the only species in the genus ''Vitellaria'',rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

Sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...

s and

guinea fowl Guinea fowl () (or guineahen) are birds of the family Numididae in the order Galliformes. They are endemic to Africa and rank among the oldest of the gallinaceous birds. Phylogenetics, Phylogenetically, they branched off from the core Galliforme ...

are raised for meat and eggs. Because the region's dry season is long, extending roughly from October to May, many people leave the region to work in the southern part of Ghana for at least part of the year.

Sports

-Basketball(Unicorns Basketball Team), Football,Tennis, Volleyball

Schools

Some popular schools in the region include: # St. Francis Xavier Junior Seminary # St. Francis Girls of Assis # St. Michael Boys - Nandom # St. Ignatius of Loyola SHS # Queen of Peace SHS # lawra Senior High School # Kanton Senior High School # Wa Senior High School # Wa Senior High Technical School # UBIDS formerly UDS # Jirapa Nursing Training College # Jahan Training College # Wa Technical University, etc.

Administrative divisions

The political administration of the region is through the local government system. Under this administration system, the region is divided into 11 MMDA's (made up of 0 Metropolitan, 5 Municipal and 6 Ordinary Assemblies). Each District, Municipal or Metropolitan Assembly, is administered by a Chief Executive, representing the central government but deriving authority from an Assembly headed by a presiding member elected from among the members themselves. The current list is as follows:

Notable natives

Prominent and famous citizens of Upper West Region include: * President Dr. Hilla Limann from Gwollu, * Cardinal Peter Poreku Dery from Nandom, *

Peter Nanfuri Peter Tenganabang Nanfuri (12 October 1942 – 17 February 2023) was a former Inspector General of Ghana Police Service who became the Paramount Chief of the Jirapa Traditional Area with the title Naa Ansoleh Ganaa II upon retirement. He served ...

from Jirapa, * Kwesi Nyantakyi from Wa, *

Samini Emmanuel Andrews Sammini (born 22 December 1982, in Accra, Ghana), known by his stage name Samini (formerly as Batman Samini), is a Ghanaian reggae and dancehall recording artist from Wa, Ghana. His genre of music is a melodious mixture of hig ...

from Wa-Sombo, * Wiyaala from Funsi *

Benjamin Kunbuor Benjamin Bewa-Nyog Kunbuor was the Ghanaian Minister for Defence of the Ghanaian Ministry of Defence and a Ghanaian politician. He was the Member of Parliament for the Nandom constituency. Education Kunbour had his secondary education at Na ...

from Nandom, * Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin from Sombo *

Ambrose Dery Ambrose Dery (on 23 August 1956), a Ghanaian lawyer, politician and member of Parliament for Nandom Constituency. He won the constituency during the 2016 elections on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party. He was interior minister of Ghana fr ...

from Nandom *Chief

Simon Diedong Dombo Simon Diedong Dombo (1925–1998) was a Ghanaian politician, teacher and chief. He was a Member of Parliament that represented Jirapa/Lambussie District, Jirapa-Lambussie District in the first Parliament of the first and second Republic of Ghana ...

from Jirapa * Justice Yonni Kulendi from Issa * Hon. Dr. Rashid Pelpuo from Wa

Festivals of the Upper West Region

Festivals that take place in the Upper West Region include: *

Damba Festival The Damba festival is the largest festival in Ghana, celebrated by the peoples of the Northern Region (Ghana), Northern, Savannah Region, Savanna, North East Region, Ghana, North East, Upper East Region, Upper East and Upper West Region, Upper ...

* Dumba Festival *Paaragbiele Festival * Kobine Festival *Kakube Festival *Gologo/Golib Festival *Fao Festival *Samanpiid Festival *Feok Festival *Adaakoya Festival *Kuure Festival *Tengana Festival *Boaram Festival

References

External links

*
GhanaDistricts.com
{{Authority control Regions of Ghana 1983 establishments in Ghana States and territories established in 1983