Accra

Accra
Climate diagram
	Temperature in ° C , precipitation in mm
	Source:

Accra
Coordinates	5 ° 33 ′ N , 0 ° 13 ′ W Coordinates: 5 ° 33 ′ N , 0 ° 13 ′ W
Basic data
Country	Ghana
region	Greater Accra Region
District	Accra Metropolitan Area
ISO 3166-2	GH-AA
height	20 m
surface	185 km²
Residents	2,388,000 (2017)
density	12,908.1 Ew. / km²
Website	ama.gov.gh/index.php
politics
Mayor	Mohammed Adjei Sowah
	Downtown Accra

Market hall in Accra 1903

Independence Arch

Street near the Makola Market

Accra ([ ˈakra ], in the Akan language : Nkran ) is the capital of Ghana and with 2,388,000 inhabitants (as of 2017) the largest city in the country as well as its administrative and economic center. Mainly food , plywood , textiles and chemicals are produced. Accra, together with the city of Tema and the surrounding area, forms the Greater Accra Region , one of ten regions in Ghana. With the Kotoka International Airport , the city has an international airport.

The electronic waste dump in Agbogbloshie in the Agbogbloshie district in the western part of the city was voted one of the dirtiest places in the world by the Blacksmith Institute in 2013 .

In a ranking of cities according to their quality of life, Accra was ranked 165th out of 231 cities worldwide in 2018.

history

Accra was founded in the 15th century by the Ga who wanted to trade with the Europeans there. However, a first fort built by the Portuguese was soon burned down by the locals. Although Accra had no connection to any of the major trade routes, several European powers built fortifications in and around Accra in the 17th century due to the favorable conditions for a natural harbor: the Dutch built Fort Ussher in 1605 , the Swedes in 1657 Christiansborg (which was shortly afterwards from was taken over by the Danes ) and finally the English in 1673 James Fort . At the beginning of the 19th century there was therefore a British, a Dutch and a Danish district of Accras.

In 1862, an earthquake destroyed large parts of Accra, including its European forts . In 1877 the capital of the then British colony " Gold Coast " was moved from Cape Coast to Accra. "Health reasons" were given for this decision, among other things. The British wanted to build a city here according to their ideas in order to protect themselves from the "diseases of the locals".

Urban planning regulations were enacted on the British model, slum areas were eliminated and a rectangular road and building system was created. The local population was displaced into the overcrowded "Native Town" north of the European city. British suburbs and z. B. a cricket and a golf course as well as a horse racing track. In 1899, Accra was the busiest port on the Gold Coast. Accra's importance, however, lay in its trading activities; the production and processing of goods were subject to limitations by colonial legislation. A “Central Business District” was set up for European business people from other countries as a handling, storage and banking area. After the construction of a railway connection to Sekondi-Takoradi , Accra finally developed into the economic center of Ghana.

As the capital of the crown colony , Accra soon became the center of civil resistance against colonial rule. In 1869 an attempt to set up an Accra Native Confederation as a first step towards self-government in the region , based on the model of the fan federation formed at the same time, failed ; In 1897, however, the Aboriginal Rights Protection Society in Accra prevented a decree that would automatically make undeveloped and inhabited land the property of the colonial power.

In 1920, 20 delegates from all parts of British West Africa met in Accra and founded the National Congress of British West Africa , which campaigned for more social and political rights for the local population.

In 1943 the Roman Catholic prefecture of Accra was founded from which in 1950 the diocese of Accra emerged. This was elevated to the Archdiocese of Accra in 1992 . The mother church of the archbishopric is the Holy Spirit Cathedral .

In 1948 the so-called Accra Riots broke out after several peaceful demonstrators were shot. These unrest were a "midwife" of the independence movement of Ghana and made the later first President Kwame Nkrumah known nationwide.

After independence, Nkrumah declared Accra to be the "capital and growth center of the national economy" of Ghanas and promoted the city accordingly.

Population development according to the UN

year	Residents
1950	177,000
1960	393,000
1970	631,000
1980	863,000
1990	1,197,000
2000	1,668,000
2010	2,006,000
2017	2,388,000

Public facilities

Accra is home to the National Museum, the Ghanaian Academy of Arts and Sciences, the University of Ghana in the Legon district , the Accra Polytechnic University of Applied Sciences , the National Archives and Ghana's Central Library.

The Korle Bu Teaching Hospital is located in the Korle Bu suburb of Accra. It is one of the most modern clinics in West Africa. In addition to internal medicine, surgery and other departments, the only center for burn wounds and one of the few radiation therapy facilities in this region are located here.

District of Accra

Climate table

Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Accra

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Max. Temperature ( ° C )	31.7	32.1	32.1	31.8	30.9	28.9	27.4	27.4	28.7	30.0	31.3	31.1	O	30.3
Min. Temperature (° C)	22.9	23.6	23.7	23.7	23.4	22.6	21.9	21.4	21.9	22.4	22.9	23.1	O	22.8

Precipitation ( mm )	16	30th	61	90	137	201	52	17th	44	61	35	21st	Σ	765

Hours of sunshine ( h / d )	6.8	7.3	6.9	7.3	6.8	4.7	4.7	5.0	5.7	7.3	7.9	7.8	O	6.5

Rainy days ( d )	1	2	4th	6th	9	10	4th	3	4th	6th	3	2	Σ	54

Water temperature (° C)	27	27	28	28	28	27	26th	24	25th	25th	27	27	O	26.6

Humidity ( % )	77	78	79	80	81	85	84	83	81	82	80	80	O	80.8

Source:

Twin cities

Accra is the following four cities through twinning connected:

Personalities

sons and daughters of the town

Joseph Arthur Ankrah (1915–1992), politician and head of state of Ghana from 1966 to 1969
Peter Mensah (* 1959), Canadian-Ghanaian actor
Kofi Amoah Prah (* 1974), German long jumper
Éric Akoto (* 1980), Togolese soccer player of Ghanaian origin
Myles Sanko (* 1980), soul and jazz singer
Derek Boateng (* 1983), soccer player
Lê Văn Tân (* 1984), Vietnamese-Ghanaian soccer player
Benjamin Boateng (* 1991), soccer player

Personalities related to the city

Carl Christian Reindorf (1834–1917), pastor of the Basel Mission and writer
Emmanuel Obetsebi-Lamptey (1902–1963), politician; lived and died in Accra
Gloria Amon Nikoi (* 1930), politician, diplomat and finance scientist; was director of the National Bank of Ghana in Accra
Anthony Yeboah (born 1966), football player
Nii Lamptey (* 1974), football player