Geography and the Tale of Two Ghanas: The North–South Divide

Abstract

Physical geography matters for development. Accordingly, development trends in Ghana are largely shaped by its geographic circumstances. Ghana—also West Africa for that matter—is not located on one of the major global trade routes, contributing to less favourable export market conditions. Many communities in Ghana are located in remote areas and are sparsely populated, raising the costs of basic social service delivery and infrastructure development. Most tropical zones, and those with higher precipitation levels such as the forest belt, have ecological conditions that favour mortal diseases such as malaria. The North (or Northern Ghana, which incorporates the Upper West, Upper East and Northern regions) has an arid environment conducive to a higher prevalence of drought and its population is known to live under harsher environmental and agricultural conditions.