The Western region, located in south

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 ...

, spreads from the

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

(

Comoé District Comoé District (; , named for the Komoé River) is one of fourteen administrative districts of Ivory Coast. The district is located in the southeast corner of the country, bordering Ghana to the east, Zanzan District to the north, Lacs Distri ...

) in the west to the Central region in the east, includes the capital and large twin city of

Sekondi-Takoradi Sekondi-Takoradi ( ) is a city in Ghana comprising the Twin cities (geographical proximity), twin cities of Sekondi and Takoradi. It is the capital of Sekondi Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly, Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan District and the Weste ...

on the coast, coastal

Axim Axim is a coastal town and the capital of Nzema East Municipal district, a district in Western Region of South Ghana. Axim lies 64 kilometers west of the port city of Sekondi-Takoradi in the Western Region, west of Cape Three Points. Axim ha ...

, and a hilly inland area including

Elubo Elubo is a town in the Jomoro district, a district in the Western Region of Ghana, and is located near the border with the Ivory Coast. 2021 census indicate that, Elubo have a settlement population of 23,952 people. The current '' Omanhene'' ...

. It includes Ghana's southernmost location,

Cape Three Points Cape Three Points is a small peninsula and a fishing village in the Ahanta West Municipal District, Ahanta West Municipal, Western Region, Ghana, Western Region of Ghana on the Atlantic Ocean. It forms the southernmost tip of Ghana. The part of th ...

, where

crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring u ...

was discovered in commercial quantities in June 2007. The region covers an area of 13,842 km², and had a population of 2,060,585 at the 2021 Census. It has a coastline that stretches from South Ghana's border with the

to the boundary with the Central region on the east.

Tourism

The largest rivers are the

Ankobra River The Ankobra River is situated in southwest Ghana. Starting north east of Wiawso, it flows about south to the Gulf of Guinea, and enters the ocean about 60 km to the west of the city of Takoradi. Near its mouth are the remains of Fort Elize C ...

, the Bia River, and the Pra River in the east, with the

Tano River The Tano or Tanoé River ( French: ''Rivière Tano'') is a river in Ghana. It flows for 400 kilometres from a town called Traa, a suburb of Techiman, the capital town of Bono East Region of the Republic of Ghana to Ehy Lagoon, Tendo Lagoon and fin ...

partly forming the western national border. The area is known for the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site, the village of

Nzulezo Nzulezo is a village located near the village of Beyin, 90 kilometers west of Takoradi, in the Jomoro District in the Western Region (Ghana), Western Region of Ghana. Nzuleso can also be spelt as "Nzulezu". Over 500 people live in the community. ...

built entirely on stilts and platforms over water and the Ankasa Protected Area. There is a series of imposing Portuguese, Dutch, British, and Brandenburgian forts along the coast, built from 1512 on. The region is an Akan region comprised Wassa, Ahanta, and Nzema.

Wassa The Wasa (or Wassa) is an Akan ethnic group predominantly inhabiting the Western 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 ...

is the largest tribe in the region. However, the popular language spoken in the region is Fanti. The Western region boasts many beaches and mining companies. The popular Ghana Gold fields mine is located in the region at Tarkwa.

Education

The Western region has many post-secondary schools, including teachers' and nursing colleges, and two universities--

University of Mines and Technology The University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) is a public university located at Tarkwa in the Western Region of Ghana. History UMaT was first established as the Tarkwa Technical Institute in 1952. In 1961, the university was changed to the ...

(in Tarkwa) and

Takoradi Technical University Takoradi Technical University is a public tertiary education institution (university) located in Sekondi-Takoradi, the capital of the Western Region of Ghana. Takoradi Technical University was established as a government technical institute ...

(formerly known as Takoradi Polytechnic).

Administrative divisions

Before the regional demarcation in December 2018, the region had 23 MMDA's (made up of 1 Metropolitan, 11 Municipal and 11 Ordinary Assemblies). Therefore, as part of this reorganisation, nine MMDA's (those in bold and asterisks below, which were 3 Municipal and 6 Ordinary Assemblies) were removed from the Western region and formed into a new

Western North region The Western North region is one of the six new regions of Ghana created in 2019. The region is bounded by the Ivory Coast ( Comoé District) on the west, the Central region in the southeast, and the Ashanti, Ahafo, Bono East and Bono regions ...

with its new capital at

Wiawso The Kingdom of Sefwi was a historical Akan state located in the western forest zone of what is now Ghana. It emerged in the 17th century as a confederation of migrant groups fleeing political upheaval in Bono, Adansi, Denkyira, and Asante, wh ...

. The political administration of the region is through the local government system. Under this administration system, the region is divided into 14 MMDA's (made up of 1 Metropolitan, 8 Municipal and 5 Ordinary Assemblies). Each

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 ...

Municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the gov ...

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:

Famous native citizens

References

Sources

Latest list of Regional Ministers in 2008
{{Authority control Regions of Ghana