Ethnicity

The predominant ethnic group in the region and in all the districts is Akan, except in Sene where the
Guans predominate. Apart from Sene and Atebubu where the Ewes and Gurmas are the second
predominant ethnic groups, the Mole-Dagbon ethnic group is the second largest in all the other
districts. Three other groups of northern origin, Gurma, Grusi and Mande-Busanga are one-tenth of
the region’s population. Ethnic groups of northern origin are therefore slightly more than a quarter of
the region’s population. The large proportion of Ewes in Sene is due to the fishing activities along the
region’s side of the Volta Lake. The presence of the Guans in large proportion in Atebubu and Sene
may not be due entirely to migration. That part of the region was formerly part of the Northern
Region, inhabited by the Gonjas, one of the Guan sub-groups, before it was made part of Brong Ahafo
in 1959. More than three-fifths of the Akans in the region are Brongs. Asantes and Ahafos are two
other recognisable Akan groups in the region. Dagaabas constitute the highest proportion of Mole
Dagbons. Three other ethnic groups, Kusasi, Nabdom and Dagomba, constitute more than one third
of the Mole Dagbons. The remaining groups from the south, Guans, Ewes and Ga-Dangme are less
than one tenth of the region’s population.

stration in Ashanti brought to the people of the Brong
and Ahafo states until 1935 was that it made them independent of Kumasi clan chiefs (Busia, 1951,
pp. 165-166). The British administration worked out a strategy that severed the interference of the
Kumasi clan chiefs with the internal affairs of the Brong and Ahafo states. When the Ashanti
Confederacy was restored in 1935 by the British administration, however, most of the Brong and
Ahafo states saw that their independence from Ashanti was being threatened, because by restoring
the Ashanti Confederacy, they were to revert to their former overlords in Kumasi. Though the Brong
states joined the Ashanti Confederacy, most of them were not happy with the re-union because they
felt their long historical association with Ashanti had brought them nothing.
The opportune time came when in 1948 Nana Akumfi Ameyaw III, the Omanhene (paramount chief)
of Techiman led Techiman to secede from the Ashanti confederacy (Austin, 1964, p. 294). The
secession of Techiman was supported by some of the Brong states and this led to the formation of
the dynamic Brong political movement, Brong Kyempem Federation. The movement was formed in
April 1951 at Dormaa Ahenkro under the auspices of the Dormaa State.3 The main objective of the
movement was to struggle for a separate traditional council and a separate region for the Brong
Ahafo states.
The name of the movement was later changed to the Brong Kyempem Council. In March 1955, the
Prime Minister informed the National Assembly that the government was considering “the possibility
of setting up a Brong Kyempem Council” to fulfil the desire of the Brongs for the establishment of a
development committee for their area and that the government would “examine the case for the
establishment of two administrative regions for Ashanti”. In March 1959, the Brong Ahafo Bill was
passed under a certificate of urgency by Parliament. The Brong Ahafo Region Act was enacted after
receiving the Governor General’s assent. Sunyani was made the capital of the new region.
Political and administrative structure
Brong Ahafo has 19 administrative districts, with District Chief Executives (DCEs) as the political
heads. The DCEs are assisted by District Co-ordinating Directors (DCDs) who are responsible for the
day to day running of the districts. The DCEs work under the Regional Minister (the political head of
the region), while the DCDs are under the Regional Coordinating Director. Sunyani is the
administrative headquarters of the region, where the Regional Minister resides.The legislative wing of
the is the District Assembly. One third of its membership is appointed by Government in consultation
with local leaders, while the remaining are elected on non-party lines. The District Assembly elects its
own Presiding Member.The District Assemblies are divided into Town and Area Councils, depending
on the population and land area of the district. A compact settlement or town with a population of
5,000 or more qualifies to have a Town Council status. An Area Council is made up of 2 or more towns
which when pulled together has a population of 5,000 or more. The region has 37 Town Councils and
106 Area Councils. Eight of the districts bear the name of the district capital, with the remaining five
(Asunafo, Asutifi, Tano, Jaman and Sene) named after geographical land marks or historical events.
Another aspect of the relates to constituencies and areas for electoral purposes. The region is divided
into 21 constituencies, which are further subdivided into 582 electoral areas or electoral units. These
electoral areas consist of 2,292 basic units called polling stations.Each of eight districts has two
constituencies with the remaining five having one constituency each. Wenchi, one of the districts
with two constituencies has the highest number of electoral areas (54), electoral units (214) and
polling stations (223). Seven districts have 48 electoral areas each. The Sene district has the least
number of electoral areas (30) and polling stations (98). There has been the need for the creation of
six new districts.
Physical features
The Brong Ahafo Region, formerly a part of the Ashanti Region, was created in April 1959. It covers an
area of 39,557 square kilometres and the second largest region in the country (16.6%) and shares
boundaries with the Northern Region to the north, the Ashanti and Western Regions to the south,
the Volta Region to the east, the Eastern Region to the southeast and La Cote d’Ivoire to the west.
The central point of the landmass of Ghana is in the region, at Kintampo.It has 19 administrative
districts, with Sunyani as the regional capital. The region lies in the forest zone and is a major cocoa
and timber producing area. The northern part of the region lies in the savannah zone and is a major
grain- and tuber-producing region. The region has a population of 1,815,408, indicating an intercensal
growth rate of 2.5 per cent over the 1984 population figure. Enumeration covered all the 17,546
localities in the region.
There are 19 districts headed by District Chief Executives who, in turn, are under the political and
administrative jurisdiction of the Regional Minister.
• Asunafo South
• Asutifi
• Atebubu-Amantin
• Berekum Municipal
• Dormaa East new
• Dormaa Municipal
• Jaman North
• Jaman South
• Kintampo North Municipal
• Kintampo South
• Nkoranza North new
• Nkoranza South
• Pru
• Sene
• Sunyani Municipal
• Sunyani West new
• Tain
• Tano North
• Tano South
• Techiman Municipal
• Wenchi Municipal
Climate
The region has a tropical climate, with high temperatures averaging 23.9oC (750F) and a double
maxima rainfall pattern. Rainfall ranges, from an average of 1000mm millimetres in the northern
parts to 1400 millimetres in the southern parts.
Vegetation
The region has two main vegetation types, the moist semi-deciduous forest, mostly in the southern
and southeastern parts, and the guinea savannah woodland, which is predominant in the northern
and northeastern parts of the region. The level of development and variations in economic activity
are largely due to these two vegetation types. For example, the moist semi-deciduous forest zone is
conducive for the production of cash crops, such as cocoa and cashew. Brong Ahafo is one of the
three largest cocoa producing areas in the country, mainly in the Ahafo area, which shares common
border with western Ashanti. A lot of the cashew in Ghana is produced in Brong Ahafo, some of which
are processed into brandy and cashew wine at Nsawkaw in Wenchi. Timber is also an important
forest product, produced mainly in the Ahafo area around Mim, Goaso and Acherensua. Other cash
crops grown in the forest area are coffee, rubber and tobacco. The main food crops are maize,
cassava, plantain, yam, cocoyam, rice and tomatoes. Yam production is very high in the guinea
savannah zone, around Techiman, Kintampo, Nkoranza, Yeji, Prang and Kwame Danso.
Tourist attraction sites
The ecology of the region has produced lots of tourist attractions. Some rivers create beautiful tourist
sites as they flow on rocky landscapes. The Pumpum River falls 70 metres down some beautiful rocky
steps to form the Kintampo Falls, as it continues its journey towards the Black Volta. The Fuller Falls, 7
kilometres west of Kintampo, (the centre point of the country), also provides a scenic beauty as River
Oyoko gently flows over a series of cascades towards the Black Volta. Another scenic site is the River
Tano Pool which houses sacred fish that are jealously protected by the local community who live
along the river near Techiman. There is also a pool on the Atweredaa River, which runs through the
Techiman market.
Another type of tourist attractions are caves, sanctuaries and groves. The Buabeng-Fiema Monkey
sanctuary, located 22 kilometres north of Nkoranza, covers a forest area of 4.4 square kilometres. It
serves as home for black and white colobus and mona monkeys. The forest also provides a natural
habitat for different species of butterfly. Buoyem caves, which are hidden in a dry semi-deciduous
forest, house a large colony of rosetta fruit bats. The Pinihini Amovi caves are also historic
underground caves near FiemaThe tourist attraction sites in the region cannot be complete without
mention of the Tanoboase Sacred Grove. It is believed that the grove is the cradle of Brong
civilization.
The grove served as a hideout to the Brongs during the 18th century Brong-Ashanti wars. It is
currently used for hiking and rock climbing. The Bui National Park, stretching from Atebubu through
Banda to the proposed site of the Bui Dam, is home to many rare wildlife and vegetation. Part of the
Volta Lake flows through the region and Yeji, Prang, and Kwame Danso are important towns along the
banks of the lake, which can serve as growth poles for tourism development in the region.
Nationality and ethnicity
The composition of the population by nationality is summarised below. More than 97 per cent of
persons in the region are Ghanaians, with 94 per cent being Ghanaian by birth. The proportion of
Ghanaians by birth in the districts ranges from 91 to 97 per cent, with Sunyani having the highest
(96.7%). Ghanaians by naturalization constitute between 5 and 6 per cent of the total populations of
Sene, Kintampo, Nkoranza, Jaman, Dormaa and Asutifi. Atebubu district has the highest proportion of
other ECOWAS nationals (3.8%), while Berekum has the highest proportion of other African nationals
(1.5%) and non-Africans (1.2%). Foreign nationals deal in wood-processing activities a lot, and may
account for the small but significant proportion of non-Africans in Berekum, where wood-processing
is one of the main industrial activities. Berekum also has some religious organisations, mainly
Catholic, and other foreign NGOs with significant expatriate personnel carrying out social work. The
high proportion of ECOWAS nationals in Atebubu (3.8%) and Sene (2.8%) is difficult to explain, since
the districts do not share a border with any of the neighbouring countries. It may be due to migration
from Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso and Cote d’voire.
Ethnicity
The predominant ethnic group in the region and in all the districts is Akan, except in Sene where the
Guans predominate. Apart from Sene and Atebubu where the Ewes and Gurmas are the second
predominant ethnic groups, the Mole-Dagbon ethnic group is the second largest in all the other
districts. Three other groups of northern origin, Gurma, Grusi and Mande-Busanga are one-tenth of
the region’s population. Ethnic groups of northern origin are therefore slightly more than a quarter of
the region’s population. The large proportion of Ewes in Sene is due to the fishing activities along the
region’s side of the Volta Lake. The presence of the Guans in large proportion in Atebubu and Sene
may not be due entirely to migration. That part of the region was formerly part of the Northern
Region, inhabited by the Gonjas, one of the Guan sub-groups, before it was made part of Brong Ahafo
in 1959. More than three-fifths of the Akans in the region are Brongs. Asantes and Ahafos are two
other recognisable Akan groups in the region. Dagaabas constitute the highest proportion of Mole
Dagbons. Three other ethnic groups, Kusasi, Nabdom and Dagomba, constitute more than one third
of the Mole Dagbons. The remaining groups from the south, Guans, Ewes and Ga-Dangme are less
than one tenth of the region’s population.
Religious affiliation
The distribution of the population by the various religious denominations in the region is nearly the
same as the total country, except traditional religion and no religion that exchange the order.
Christianity (70.8%) has the largest following, while Islam (16.1%) and no religion (7.8%) are the
significant others. Another change of order different from the national is that Catholics (22.6%)
outnumber Pentecostals (20.8%). Brong Ahafo has a strong Catholic legacy, with many Catholic
institutions including 7 hospitals in 7 districts. It is therefore no surprise that the Church chose Fiapre
in the Sunyani District for the establishment of the first Catholic University in the country. Large
followers of Christianity are in all districts. Over four-fifths of the population in Berekum (87.4%),
Jaman (83.9%), Sunyani (80.9%) and Dormaa (80.3%) are Christians. The protestant churches (28.6%)
have the largest following in Berekum, followed by the Pentecostal (28.0%).
Pentecostals outnumber Catholics in eight districts, the most prominent being Sunyani where the
difference is more than 10 percentage points. Jaman has the largest proportion of Catholics, where
nearly two out of every five people are Catholics. Though more than half of the population in
Atebubu (50.5%), Kintampo (51.4%) and Sene (56.6%) profess to be Christians, the proportion of
Christians in these districts is low compared to the other districts.
Islam is practised mainly in Kintampo (29.7%) and Atebubu (24.4%), where Moslems outnumber the
two most professed Christian denominations, Catholics (21.4%) and Pentecostals (17.6%). The
Moslems are mainly Mole-Dagbon who are quite a substantial group in the districts. Techiman
(20.7%) and Wenchi (20.0%) also have a sizeable number of Moslems, though Catholics outnumber
them. Islam (6.1%) and traditional religion (10.6%) are least practised in Berekum. Traditional religion
is most practised in Sene (18.8%), followed by Atebubu (15.7%) and Kintampo (10.0%). Sene also has
the largest proportion professing no religion (13.6%). Traditional religion ranks second after
Pentecostal while no religion ranks fourth after Catholic in the district. Nkoranza also has more than
one tenth (11.6%) of the population professing no religion. The proportion of females professing the
Christian faith (73.5%) is higher than males (68.2%) in the region, in all districts in the region and total
country. Apart from Catholics in Sunyani and Berekum where the proportion of males is higher than
females, and Sene where the proportion of male Pentecostals is higher than females, the proportion
female is larger than male in all three major Christian denominations in all districts. On the other
hand, the proportion of males professing Islam, traditional and no religion, in all districts of the
region, is higher than females.
Type of dwelling
Rooms in compound houses are the predominant occupied units by households in most districts,
except Kintampo (31.8%) and Sene (41.4%) where the separate house is the predominant dwelling
unit. Jaman (62.1%) and Berekum (59.8%) have the highest proportion of households occupying
rooms in compound houses, with four districts (Sunyani, Tano, Wenchi and Techiman) having
between 50.0 per cent and 60.0 per cent of households occupying such units. Flats and apartments
are used more in Sunyani (4.6%) than in any other district. Except for Berekum (3.4%) and Asunafo
(2.1%), all other districts have less than 2.0 per cent of households occupying flats and apartments.
The use of huts as occupied units is most common in Sene (because of the large rural settlements)
while Sunyani and Berekum (the most urbanised districts) have most of the improvised homes
(kiosk/container). Tents are the least used occupied units.
Cultural and Social Structure
Nationality
Ghanaians by birth and parenthood constitute 94.0 per cent of the population of the region. This is
higher than the national proportion of 92.2 per cent. Naturalized Ghanaians constitute an additional
3.4 per cent, while other ECOWAS nationals make up 1.9 per cent with other Africans and nonAfricans being 0.8 per cent. The sex-composition of Ghanaians by birth indicates that there are more
female Ghanaians by birth than males, while there are male non-Ghanaians than females.
Migration
Nearly 71 per cent of the population are born in the localities where they were enumerated, with a
further 7.5 per cent born in another locality within the region. The rest of the population originate
from outside the region, with most of them from the regions which share border with the region.
Favourable climatic conditions, abundance of arable land and proximity may be factors that attract
people from the north.
Ethnicity
The predominant ethnic group is the Akan, (62.7%) followed by the Mole-Dagbon (15.4%) and Grusi
(4.2%), as shown in Figure 1.1. Within the Akan group, the Brong (Bono, including Banda) are the
largest subgroup (61.4%), followed by the Asante (13.3%) and Ahafo (9.5%). Among constituents of
the Mole-Dagbon group, the Dagaaba are the largest (44%) subgroup.
Religious affiliation
Christianity has the largest following (71.0%), followed by Islam (16.1%) and traditional religion
(4.6%). A significant proportion (7.8%) reported affiliation with no religion. Catholics are the largest
denomination of the Christian faith (22.6%), followed by Pentecostal/ Charismatic (20.8%) and
Protestant (17.0%). More females (73.5%) than males (68.2%) profess the Christian faith. The reverse
is true for Islam, traditional religion and those with no religion.
Literacy
Education forms an important determinant of the quality of manpower. As such, the educational level
of the population, to some extent, reflects the level of social and economic development of a country
or a community. It is also well known that education constitutes one of the most important factors
influencing demographic behaviour and the level of fertility of a population. Statistics on literacy
provide a measure of progress in the educational development and are necessary in planning for the
promotion of adult literacy. Literacy is defined as the ability to read and write in any language and
relates to those aged 15 years and older. 48.5 per cent of the population of the region, aged 15 years
and older, are not literate. This picture is only better than that of the three Northern Regions where
the illiteracy level is more than 70.0 per cent.
Since much information is written and transmitted in English, effective literacy level is based on those
literate in English and a Ghanaian language. This means that effective literacy level for the region is
49.0 per cent, which is lower than the national average of 54.5 per cent. Information flow in terms of
posters, brochures, and written adverts will seriously be hampered because of the low literacy level.
The differences between male and female literacy levels. There are significant differences between
the sexes in the not literate and the literate in English and Ghanaian Language groups. Among the
males, 41.1 per cent are illiterates, which is far lower than that of females (56.0%).
Educational attainment
A little over two fifths of the population (42.0%) aged six and older, have never been to school. The
proportion of the population that has attained primary (22.3%) and middle/JSS (23.3%) is almost the
same; only 11.2 per cent have attained a level above the middle/JSS. The education attainment is the
same for males and females at the pre-school level (1.2% each) and the primary school level, (22.5%
males and 22.0% females). Above these two attainment levels, male attainment is higher than that of
females at each subsequent level. This low attainment level for females has implication for the
economic characteristics of the population as well as fertility behaviour. A higher percentage of
females (68.5%) than males (63.9%) are currently in pre-school and primary school. The percentage
of males (60.2%) is lower than that of females (64.3%) at the primary school level but the pattern
changes to that of a higher percentage of males than females, at each subsequent higher level after
the primary school level, (Figure 1.5). More than three fifths (62.1%) of those currently in school are
in the primary school, followed by those in middle/JSS (22.4%). The proportion of the population
currently at the post-secondary level (1.3%), (including training college, nursing, etc.), is the lowest.
Economic Characteristics
Economic goods and services are produced and supplied to the market through these earning
activities. Statistical data on economic activities and of the population, therefore, are essentially
required for social and economic development planning.
Occupation
Agriculture and related work is the major occupation in all districts, accounting for 66.4 per cent of
the region’s economically active population. It is the main occupation for about two-thirds of the
economically active group in nine of the 13 districts. In the three most urbanised districts, Sunyani
(45.9%) Berekum (50.9%) and Techiman (57.1%), Agriculture and related work account for between
45.0-60.0 per cent. Sene, the most rural district, in particular, has 4 out of 5 economically active
population in this sector. Significant proportions of the economically active persons are engaged as
Production, Transport operators and Labourers (11.3%), Sales workers (7.6%), and Professional and
related workers (5.8%). 9 out of the 13 districts have proportions of Productive, Transport operators
and Labourers above 10.0 per cent. 3 out of the nine, Sunyani (14.9%), Berekum (14.8%) and
Kintampo (13.8%) have the highest proportions. The other 4 districts have less than 10.0 per cent.
At the regional level Sales workers form only 7.6 per cent. However, at the district level, Techiman
(13.7%), Sunyani (13.4%) and Berekum (11.2%) have relatively high proportions engaged in sales. This
is expected as Techiman is the largest market centre in the region. In addition, Sunyani and Berekum
are urbanised districts, where sales workers are usually predominant. Proportions of Professional,
Technical and related workers are generally low in most districts but Sunyani (9.0%) and Berekum
(8.7%) have relatively high proportions. These same districts also have appreciable proportions of
service workers 8.6 and 7.0 per cent respectively.
Educational attainment and literacy
Statistics on educational attainment help in knowing the present educational levels of adult
population as well as anticipated future requirements of educated manpower for various types of
economic activity. Such data would be useful for policy makers to plan development and
improvement of educational systems on one hand, and to plan economic development programmes
in the light of manpower requirements, on the other.
More than two fifths (42.0%) of the population, aged 6 years and older, have never been to school, a
very discouraging picture.
Current school attendance
The proportion of attending primary school is higher (64.2%) than that for males (60.1%), at the
regional level. However, at the middle/JSS, SSS and beyond, the proportion of males exceed that of
females at every level. This is also true for all districts except Sunyani and Berekum where female
proportions for middle/JSS are slightly higher (24.2%) and (22.9%) than those for males (24.0%) and
(22.3%), respectively.
Literacy
Most information is transmitted in written form and therefore the ability to read and write is very
essential. The proportion of the population not literate (48.5%) in the region is higher than the
national average (42.1%). The level of literacy for the region in all four-language categories, English,
Ghanaian language, English and Ghanaian language and other languages, is also lower than the
national level