Bɛkwae (Bekwai) () is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and the capital of the Bekwai Municipal, a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

Ashanti Region The Ashanti Region is located in the southern part of Ghana and is the third largest of Regions of Ghana, 16 administrative regions, occupying a total land surface of and making up 10.2 percent of the total land area of Ghana. It is the List of ...

of Ghana.Touring Ghana - Ashanti Region
. touringghana.com. Bekwai is the seventy-ninth most populous settlement in Ghana, with a population of 7,267 people as of 2013. Bekwai and Bekwai Municipal are south of

Kumasi Kumasi is a city and the capital of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly and the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It is the second largest city in the country, with a population of 443,981 as of the 2021 census. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region ...

and north of

Obuasi Obuasi is a gold mining town and is the capital of the Obuasi Municipal District in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It lies in the southern part of the Obuasi Municipal and is located about from Kumasi. As of 2012, the town has a population of 1 ...

. As of 2021, the mayor of the municipal is Hon. Kwaku Kyei Baffour.

Geography

Municipal area

Bekwai is located in the Bekwai Municipal, which covers a land area of . The district bordered the Bosomtwe District to the north, the Adansi North District towards the south, the Bosome Freho District to the east and the Amansie Central District and Amansie West District towards the west.

Topography

The town lies within a forestry region along with being relatively flat, with the average elevation between while the town's elevation ranges from .

Climate

Bekwai 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 an all-year long rainy season peaking in June, September, and October. Due to this rainfall pattern, farming in the town is characterized by major and minor cropping seasons. The climate is the driest in December and January along with low relative humidity while the rainy season experiences around 85% relative humidity. The average mean temperature is around .

Demographics

Most of Bekwai's population subscribes to Christianity, followed by Islam and

Traditional African religions The beliefs and practices of Demographics of Africa, African people are highly diverse, and include various ethnic religions.Encyclopedia of African Religion (Sage, 2009) Molefi Kete Asante Generally, these traditions are oral tradition, oral rath ...

. There are many ethnic groups who lived in the town with the majority belonging to the

Akan Akan may refer to: People and languages *Akan people, an ethnic group in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire *Akan languages, a language group within the wider Central Tano languages *Kwa languages, a language group which includes Akan *Central Tano language ...

, followed by the Ewe, Guan (Guang), Mandé, Gurma, Gurunsi, Mole-Dagbon.

Administration

The municipality has a mayor–council form of government. The mayor (executive chief) is appointed

president of Ghana The president of the Republic of Ghana is the elected head of state and head of government of Ghana, as well as commander-in-chief of the Ghana Armed Forces. The current president of Ghana is John Mahama, who won the 2024 presidential elect ...

and approved by the municipality council, the Bekwai Municipal Assembly. As of 2021, the current mayor of the municipal is Hon. Kwaku Kyei Baffour.

Economy

Most of the population is engaged in

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 ...

, accounted for about 65.5% of all households. The good climate conditions along with the good soil may contribute to the popularity of farming in the area.

Telecommunication

There are a total of 27,000 telephone lines that are installed throughout the Bekwai along with the municipality.

Healthcare

The town is home to the Bekwai Municipal Hospital, a 120-bed facility which was commissioned in November 2020 after a bunch of delays. Construction started in the early 1970s, coming in at a total of . The facility contains an outpatient department, emergency unit, and a physiotherapy department.

Education

The following is a list of secondary schools in Bekwai:The following is a list of high schools and tertiary institutions in Ghana: * Seventh Day Adventist Secondary School * Wesley High Senior Secondary School * College Of Accountancy * St. John Senior High School * Otumfuo Osei Tutu II International School, Bekwai * Victory International School, Bekwai * Central International School, Bekwai * Jehova Nissi Preparatory and JHS * Milli-Isaac Preparatory Academy Bekwai * Adventist Preparatory School Bekwai Tunsuom * Nana Kodom Educational Complex Senfi

Train station

There is a

train station A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing suc ...

in Bekwai.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Populated places in the Ashanti Region