Upper East Region

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Upper East Region
region
Location of Upper East Region in Ghana
Country Ghana
Capital Bolgatanga
Districts 9
Government
 • Regional Minister Mark Wayongo
Area[1]
 • Total 8,842 km2 (3,414 sq mi)
Area rank Ranked 9th
Population (2010 Census)[2]
 • Total 1,046,545
 • Rank Ranked 9th
 • Density 120/km2 (310/sq mi)
Time zone GMT
Area code(s) 039
ISO 3166 code GH-UE

The Upper East Region is located in north Ghana and is the second smallest of 10 administrative regions in Ghana, occupying a total land surface of 8,842 square kilometers or 2.7 per cent of the total land area of Ghana. The regional capital is Bolgatanga, sometimes referred to as Bolga.

Geography

Location and size

The Upper East region is located in the north-eastern corner of Ghana and bordered by Burkina Faso to the north and Togo to the east. It lies between longitude 0° and 1° West, and latitudes 10° 30′N and 11°N. The region shares boundaries with Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, Upper West Region to the west, and the Northern Region to the south. The region is divided into 10 districts, each headed by a district chief executive.

Tourism

Parks

  • Paga crocodile pond
  • Gbelle game reserve
  • Sombo Bat Sanctuary
  • Jafiiri Sacred Royal Python Sanctuary

Recreation areas

  • Tongo rocks

Historic sites

  • Naa Gbewaa’s shrine
  • Navrongo’s mud-built church

Festivals

The region plays host to many festivals throughout the year, most of which are either to bring a good planting season or celebrate the harvest.

  • Gologo Festival
  • Fao Festival
  • Paragbiele Festival
  • Willa Festival
  • Zumbenti Festival
  • Samanpiid Festival (Kusaasi)
  • Kobina Festival
  • Kakube Festival
  • feok festival builsa

Other Tourist Attractions

  • Bolga market
This is a market for farmers and livestock, held twice weekly.

Demographics

Population

The center of population of the Upper East Region is located in its capital of Bolgatanga.

The population is primarily rural (79%) and scattered in dispersed settlements. The rural population was 87.1 percent in 1984 and 84.3% in 2000. There was, thus, a 2.8 percentage point reduction in the rural share of the population between 1984 and 2000 and a further 5.3 percent reduction between 2000 and 2010.[2]

With only 21 per cent of the population living in urban areas, the region is the least urbanized in Ghana. In fact, together with Upper West, they are the two regions with a less than 20 per cent urban population.

Ghanaian citizen by birth, childhood or parenthood constitute 92.5 percent of the population of the Upper East region. Naturalized Ghanaian citizen constitute 5.3 percent.

Transportation

Three National highways – N2, N10, and N11 – and a few Regional highways such as the R113, R114, R116 and R181, serve the region.

The N10 originates from Yemoransa in the Central Region and connects through Kumasi in the Ashanti Region and terminates at Paga in the Upper East Region. The national capital of Accra is also connected to the region by the N2 which terminates in Kulungugu in the Upper East Region. Both these national routes are connected by the N11 which links the regional capital of Bolgatanga to Bimpiela, also in the region.

Districts

The political administration of the region is through the local government system. Under this administration system, the region is divided into 9 districts.[3] Each District or Municipal Area, 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.

Districts of Upper East Region
Districts in Upper East Region[4]
# District Capital Population
1 Bawku Municipal Bawku
2 Bawku West Zebilla
3 Bolgatanga Municipal Bolgatanga
4 Bongo Bongo
5 Builsa Sandema
6 Garu-Tempane Garu
7 Kassena-Nankana Navrongo
8 Kassena Nankana West Paga
9 Talensi Tongo
10 Nabdam Nabdam
Total

References

  1. ↑ "Upper East Region". Ghanadistricts.com. Retrieved 2010-10-15. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Upper East Region – Population". statsghana.gov.gh. Retrieved 2013-01-20. 
  3. ↑ GhanaDistricts.com – Upper East Region's Districts
  4. ↑ Upper East Region – Districts

Sources

Municipal
Ordinary
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