The Northern Region covers an area of 70,384 sq. km, making it the largest region in terms of landmass in Ghana. It occupies about 30% of the total land area of the country.
The Region shares international borders with La Cote d’Ivoire to the West and Togo to the East. It borders Brong Ahafo and Volta Regions to the south, and the Upper East and Upper West Regions to the North-East and North-West of Ghana.
The land is mostly flat with gentle undulating low relief between 60 metres and 150 metres above sea level. Towards the extreme north-eastern part of the region, specifically the Gambaga Escarpment, the land rises to a height of about 400 to 450 metres above sea level.
Climate
The region is tropical with temperatures ranging from as low as 14 degrees Celsius at night during the hamattan season to a high of 38 degrees Celsius during the hot dry season. The rains begin lightly in April and rise steadily to a peak in August and September and gradually decline by the end of October. The dry hamattan winds engulf the whole region between December and February. In recent years the rains have been starting late in May and peaking later in September and ending in October – November.
Vegetation
The vegetation cover is mainly Guinea Savanna with grasses interspersed with short trees. The vegetation is however dense in the southern portion near the Brong Ahafo region, ands thins out northwards towards the Upper Regions. Among the trees is the shea tree, it is the main commercial tree.
Soil
The regions soils are mainly, savanna ochrosols and groundwater lateritic soils. These soils favour the production of yam, cereals such as maize, guinea corn, millet, sorghum, and others. Cassava is not cultivated on any significant scale because of the length of the rainy season.
Political
The region has a population of 1,820,806 (2000 Population and Housing Census), which represents about 9.8% of the country’s total population. It has a growth rate of 2.6%. The population is predominantly rural. That is seventy five and a half percent of the total population live in communities of less than 200 people. Almost 95% of all settlements in the region contain fewer than 500 people.
Population density varies from some of the least densely populated areas such as West Gonja with a density of 4 persons per sq. km to over 70 persons per sq. km in the Savelugu-Nanton area, which is far above the national average.
The region is divided into 23 Administrative Districts headed by the District Chief Executive, and with Tamale as the Regional capital.
The region is also further subdivided into parliamentary constituencies. The major ethnic groups are the Dagomba, Gonja, Mamprusi, Nanumba and Kokomba. There are, however, other minority tribes Anufi, Bimoba, Vagla, Hanga, Chuuiburu and Tambulima who are mainly concentrated in the towns.
A reasonable proportion of the population is in the overseas areas in six of the 23 districts namely, East Gonja, West Mamprusi, Nanumba, Gusegu/Karaga and the Tolon/Kumbungu districts. These populations can only be accessed from neighbouring regions or districts or only during the dry season. In the West Gonja and East Gonja districts, several villages are completely surrounded by the Volta Lake. Accessing these villages require special planning and extra expenditure in order to provide the barest minimum of services.
Economic Activities
Agriculture remains the predominant sector with over 90% of the productive age group being peasant farmers making a living out of the fields. Mechanized agriculture is possible on this terrain although limited in practice because of high cost. However, the peasant farmer even with his elementary tools, still produces the bulk of cereals, tubers and groundnuts in the region.
Cotton ginnery is perhaps the only industrial sector with a high out-put level. Notwithstanding the low activity in this sector, the establishment of the Intermediate Technology Transfer Unit has been a booster to entrepreneurs who depend on it for the manufacture of spares and tools for their small industries.
Leather tanning is also done on a large scale. Even with the extension of the power grid to the region, there is still no indication that any large-scale industry is functioning on full scale. A number of mining activities have sprung up in some districts, notably Bole but this is still on a low scale when compared with the mining areas in southern Ghana such as Obuasi and Awaso.
Poverty is high and widespread and many cannot afford the cost of basic services in health, education and social services such as good drinking water and electricity. While the general poverty levels in Ghana have fallen from a high of 50% in 1992 to 43% in 1999 (GLSS-1999) there are sharp rises in the Central, Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions.
Infrastructure
Transport and Communication
The state of the roads in the region is generally bad. The only stretch that is tarred is the Buipe through Tamale to Bolgatanga stretch. Most roads are not motorable in the rainy season, thus hampering outreach programes such as health, supervision in education, etc. Bicycles and motorbikes are therefore more effective for out-reach activities in the region.
There has been significant improvement in telecommunication over the past three years. Most of the district capitals can now be reached by telephone; eight of the thirteen can be reached directly by phone.
Water
Water is quite scarce in the Northern Region. The Region’s topography and long dry season do not support perennial rivers. Most of the streams and rivers are seasonal. Water is therefore a very scarce commodity during the dry season. The non-availability of potable water in a lot of communities accounts for high incidence of guinea worm in several districts.
Supply of potable water to Yendi, Damongo and Tamale is catered for by the Ghana Water Company Limited. The installed capacity of water to the general population is inadequate.
Supply of water to the rural communities is mainly through Community Water and Sanitation Agency in collaborations with a number of NGOs. Some of which are Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). European Union (EU) and UNICEF.
Electricity
Currently all the 23 district capitals have been connected to the national grid. In addition to these, most of the major settlements along the main line of the national grid have been hooked to it. These include Buipe, Yapei, Nasia, Pong-Tamale Karaga, Chamba, Bunjai, Larbanga, and Sawla.
Educational
Education in the Northern Region is not entirely different from that in the other parts of northern Ghana as a whole though comparatively, the Northern Region got government-built schools earlier than the Upper East and Upper West Regions.
The first secondary school in northern Ghana was established in 1946 in Tamale. The first government Teacher Training College in the region was established in 1944 also in Tamale.
Since then significant progress has been made though not as expected. Enrolment levels in the Northern Region are among the lowest in Ghana. Though significant progress has been made in terms of provision of schools, colleges and a university, more needs to be done.
The situation by 2000 was not much different. In some instances in the rural areas, the percentage fell though nationwide there has been a rise in enrolment since 1997.
The neglect of education before independence and the little progress made by government towards education after independence as well as the poverty levels of the people in the Region are the major causes of the disheartening situation in this region. Also among other causes are the numerous conflicts which, not only lead to poverty, but a debilitating consequence of high illiteracy rates, unwillingness of development partners to invest in the region among others.
Rural Economy
As mentioned earlier, most of population, in fact 90% of the productive age group is engaged in agriculture. The region has a comparative advantage in the production of cereals, cotton, legumes like groundnuts, tubers especially yam, and livestock. There are large arable farmlands, relatively uniform in vegetation cover. The generally flat land with undulating relief is suitable for both hand and mechanical cultivation. Also, the presence of extensive research and extension Research Institute (SARIR) and Pong-Tamale Veterinary College has benefited the people in crop and animal production. The region, therefore, is ranked third in agricultural production coming after Ashanti and Brong Ahafo Regions. It is the largest producer of cotton and yams.