About The Region
The Upper East Region is located in the northern part of Ghana and is the second smallest of 10 administrative regions in Ghana, occupying a total land surface of 8,842 square kilometers or 2.7 per cent of the total land area of Ghana. The Upper East regional capital is Bolgatanga, sometimes referred to as Bolga. Other major towns in the region include Navrongo, Paga, Bawku and Zebilla.
The Upper East region shares borders to Burkina Faso to the north and Togo to the east. It lies between longitude 0° and 1° West, and latitudes 10° 30’N and 11°N. The region shares boundaries with Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, Upper West Region to the west, and the Northern Region to the south. The Upper East region is divided into 15 districts, each headed by a district chief executive.
The Upper East Region historically is part of what used to be the upper Region (Upper East and Upper West), which was itself carved out of what used to be the Northern Region, on 1st July 1960. The Upper Region was later divided into Upper East and Upper West in 1983 during the regime of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC). The process actually started in 1980 when the current Upper East was administered on an experimental basis, as an autonomous Region, with Wa as the East Regional Municipal.
The center of population of the Upper East Region is located in its capital of Bolgatanga.
The population is primarily rural (79%) and scattered in dispersed settlements. The rural population was 87.1 per cent in 1984 and 84.3% in 2000. There was, thus, a 2.8 percentage point reduction in the rural share of the population between 1984 and 2000 and a further 5.3 per cent reduction between 2000 and 2010.[3]
With only 21 per cent of the population living in urban areas, the region is the least urbanized in Ghana. In fact, together with Upper West, they are the two regions with a less than 20 per cent urban population.
Ghanaian citizen by birth, childhood or parenthood constitutes 92.5 per cent of the population of the Upper East region. Naturalized Ghanaian citizens constitute 5.3 per cent.
Tour Sites in the Region
Paga Crocodile Pond
Paga Crocodile Pond is a sacred pond in Paga in the Upper East Region of Ghana, which is inhabited by West African crocodiles. Due to the friendliness of the reptiles, it has become popular among tourists and the pond is now reliant on tourism to ensure the population of crocodiles remain fed and healthy. It is also known as Chief’s pond.
The pond is located in Paga in the Upper East Region of Ghana, and is 44 kilometres (27 mi) outside Bolgatanga, the regional capital. It is inhabited by wild West African crocodiles, with some up to 90 years old.
The crocodiles are so tame that local children can swim in the pond alongside them without being harmed. Paga is known to be a trade center for centuries and closer to the Burkina Faso border. During the period of the slave traders in the mid-1800s, the Westerners used Paga as a gateway to the Gulf of Guinea which points from the north.
Though the Paga crocodiles are affable, there are instances where they mistaken humans for animals. Nonetheless, such accidents did not result in casualties in history. Apart from the main crocodile pond that is located in the heartland of the Paga town, there are numerous others in the suburbs.
