Shama or Shema is a town with a fishing village, and is the capital of Shama district, a

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 counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...

in the Western Region of

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...

.Shama District
The town lies about 20 km east of Sekondi-Takoradi, on the mouth of the

Pra River Pra River may refer to: *Pra River (Ghana) The Pra River is a river in Ghana, the easternmost and the largest of the three principal rivers that drain the area south of the Volta divide. Rising in the Kwahu Plateau near Mpraeso and flowing south ...

. The town is home to

Fort San Sebastian A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere' ...

, in whose graveyard philosopher

Anton Wilhelm Amo Anton Wilhelm Amo or Anthony William Amo (c. 1703 – c. 1759) was an African philosopher originally from what is now Ghana. Amo was a professor at the universities of Halle and Jena in Germany after studying there. He was brought to Germany by ...

, the first African known to have attended a European university, is interred. The town is situated in the Shama Ahanta East Metropolitan district and Shama constituency of the Western region of Ghana. The inhabitants of the town are mostly engaged in fishing and its related activities such as fish processing for local markets. Shama is the sixtieth most populous

settlement Settlement may refer to: * Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building *Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fin ...

in Ghana, in terms of population, with a population of 23,699 people. Shama is the English name of the town, originally and locally called Esima.

References

Populated places in the Western Region (Ghana) {{WesternRegionGH-geo-stub