10 Facts About Accra

10 Facts About Accra

1. Accra is the economic and political Capital City of Ghana.

2. The name Accra itself is a corruption of the Akan word nkran. According to oral history, the name specifically refers to soldier ants, and was applied to both the town and people by the Akan speakers.

3. Accra became the capital of British Gold Coast colony in 1877.

4. Accra has a population of 4.2 million people and covers an area of 225.67 km2.

5. “Accra" usually refers to the Accra Metropolitan Area, which serves as the capital of Ghana, while the district under the jurisdiction of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly is distinguished from the rest of the capital as the "City of Accra". In common usage, however, the terms "Accra" and "City of Accra" are used interchangeably.

6. The ingenious people of Accra are Ga and they speak the Ga language.

7. Accra is divided into 12 separate local government districts, all governed as municipal/metropolitan assemblies with their own Chief Executives appointed by the President of the Republic.

8. Between 1650 and 1680 the Europeans built three fortified trading posts—Fort James (English), Fort Crevecoeur (Dutch), and Christiansborg Castle (Danish)—along the coast of Accra.

9. Accra is one of the wealthiest and most modern cities on the African continent, with a high quality of living.

10. A pot dating from the Stone Age (4000 B.C.E.) was found near Accra by archeologists. This confirmed the studies that the earliest recorded site of probable human habitation within modern Ghana was about 10,000 B.C.E.

Reference: Ghana the Black Star of Africa