Schools in Upper West Region
1,931 schools across 11 districts in Upper West Region, 4.4% of every school in Ghana, against an average of 2,727 a region. 50 are senior high schools and 8% of schools with a stated owner are private. The regional capital is Wa. About 46% of people aged 6 and over can read and write (our calculation from Census 2021 counts).
About Upper West Region
Upper West Region sits in the north-western corner of Ghana, with Wa as its capital. It was carved out of the old Upper Region in April 1983 and covers 18,476 square kilometres. At the 2021 census it had 904,695 residents, and the regional council says 53 percent of them are under 20. Farming is the main work for more than eight in ten people. Learning in the region goes from Catholic secondary schools such as Nandom Senior High to tertiary institutions in Wa, including a university, a technical university and a college of education. The Wala, Dagaaba, Sissala, Birifor and Lobi peoples keep strong traditions. The Wa Naa's Palace dates from 1889, Lawra holds the Kobine harvest festival, and the gyil xylophone is the music of the Dagara and Lobi. Local chiefs set up the Wechiau Hippo Sanctuary in 1999, and it still protects 40 kilometres of the Black Volta. The Wa campus that became UBIDS opened in 2002, so a degree no longer means leaving the region.
How the region came about: Created in April 1983 when the former Upper Region was divided into Upper West and Upper East. Not one of the regions created or split in 2019.
What makes Upper West Region proud
- The Wa Naa's Palace was ordered in 1889 and is built of mud brick on Y-shaped wooden columns.
- Local chiefs created the Wechiau Hippo Sanctuary in 1999 and communities still look after 40 km of the Black Volta.
- The gyil xylophone of the Dagara and Lobi people is played in Lawra and across the region.
- At the Dumba festival in Wa, the Wa Naa leaps over a live cow in front of the crowd.
- Wa now has its own university, UBIDS, which grew out of a campus opened in 2002.
Education pride in Upper West
Founding years are shown only where the sources are reliable and agree. A school without a year here is listed without one rather than guessed.
- Nandom Senior High School (formerly Nandom Secondary School)Nandom Catholic school started by the Brothers of the Immaculate Conception (FIC). Building began in 1967 and classrooms were ready by 1969, so we give no single founding year.
- The Wa campus of the University for Development Studies opened in 2002. It became a university in its own right in 2019, and began operating in May 2020.
- Nusrat Jahan Ahmadiyya College of Education in Wa was upgraded in 2018 to award Bachelor of Education degrees in Basic Education. Its first cohort of 249 graduated by September 2023.
Universities and colleges based here
- Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (UBIDS) Wa, public university, since 2019
- Dr Hilla Limann Technical University (formerly Wa Polytechnic) Wa, technical university, since 1999
- Nusrat Jahan Ahmadiyya College of Education Wa, college of education
Upper West in numbers
1,931 schools on the register, counted by level and owner, against the whole country.
Schools by level
- Basic schools1,403 · 73%
- Junior high schools202 · 10%
- Primary schools186 · 10%
- Kindergartens52 · 3%
- Senior high schools50 · 3%
- Vocational schools26 · 1%
- Nursing and midwifery training colleges7 · 0%
- Nurseries2 · 0%
- Technical universities1 · 0%
Source: Ministry of Education school register, 2023/24. Basic schools combine KG, primary and JHS at one campus and are not split in the register.
Public and private
Ghana: 29.0% private. Share is of schools with a stated owner.
Literacy and learning
Literacy is our own calculation from the Census 2021 counts. Learning scores are older, and are labelled with the region as it was then.
Share of people aged 6 and over who can read and write, by region
Upper West is 46.0% against 69.8% for the 16 regions together. Highest: Greater Accra 87.9%. Lowest: Savannah 32.8%.
Our calculation from Census 2021 counts (347,200 literate of 754,267 aged 6 and over in Upper West). Source: Ghana Statistical Service, 2021.
Learning figures, Upper West Region, before 2019
Source: Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Service, UNICEF and CDD-Ghana, 2013 to 2018. These describe the region with its boundaries before 2019, not today's.
Culture and heritage in Upper West Region
Festival months are the usual ones, and some move with the lunar calendar. Ask locally before you travel.
Festivals and their usual month
No month we can confirm: Kakube.
- DumbaWala people, Wa Marks the birth of the Prophet Muhammad. The high point is the Wa Naa leaping over a live cow, a sign of fitness to rule for the coming year.
- KobineLawra Harvest dance festival of the Lawra area, named after the dance at its centre.
- KakubeNandom Marks the end of the farming cycle, with thanks to family gods for the soil and for protection in the next season.
- The gyil, a wooden xylophone with gourd resonators, is the main traditional instrument of the Dagara and Lobi people. Lawra has a well-known gyil ensemble.
- Traditional compound houses are built of mud brick with flat roofs. Handwoven cloth and carved calabashes are listed among local crafts.
Heritage sites
- otherWa Naa's PalaceWa Ordered in 1889 by Wa Naa Yamusa Pelpuo III. Built of sun-dried mud brick on Y-shaped wooden columns, it is the seat of the Wala kingdom and hosts the Dumba festival.
- otherWechiau Community Hippo SanctuaryWechiau Set up by local chiefs in 1999 along a 40 km stretch of the Black Volta, where one of Ghana's two remaining hippo populations lives.
- otherGbele Resource ReserveSissala East Wildlife reserve that marked its 50th anniversary in 2025. A national closed season on hunting runs from 1 August to 1 December each year.
The economy of Upper West Region in a line
Farming is the main work in the region. The regional council says more than 80 percent of people are engaged in agriculture.
Districts of Upper West Region
Every district, with its private share and senior high count. Schools with no district recorded are in the region total only.
| District | Schools | Private | Senior high |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wa Municipal | 322 | 18% | 12 |
| Jirapa Municipal | 258 | 6% | 6 |
| Wa East | 250 | 2% | 5 |
| Nadowli Kaleo | 224 | 5% | 7 |
| Wa West | 189 | 1% | 1 |
| Sissala East Municipal | 130 | 14% | 4 |
| Nandom Municipal | 128 | 7% | 2 |
| Lawra Municipal | 126 | 6% | 5 |
| Lambussie Karni | 105 | 8% | 4 |
| Daffiama Bussie Issa | 91 | 2% | 1 |
| Sissala West | 84 | 8% | 1 |
Cities and towns in Upper West Region
Senior high schools in Upper West Region
The first ten of 50. The full list, by district, has its own page.
| School | Level | Ownership | District |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aswaj SHS | Senior High | private | Wa Municipal |
| Birifoh Senior High School | Senior High | private | Lawra Municipal |
| Daffiama Senior High School | Senior High | public | Daffiama Bussie Issa |
| Dominion Senior High School | Senior High | private | Jirapa Municipal |
| Eremon Sec. Tech School | Senior High | public | Lawra Municipal |
| Funsi Senior High School | Senior High | public | Wa East |
| Funsi Senior High School, Upper West | Senior High | public | Wa East |
| Han Senior High School | Senior High | public | Jirapa Municipal |
| Hilla Limann Senior High | Senior High | public | Sissala West |
| Holy Child Senior High School | Senior High | public | Sissala East Municipal |
All 50 senior high schools in Upper West Region
Universities and colleges in Upper West Region
1 universities, technical universities, colleges of education and other tertiary institutions on the register carry a Upper West region. 7 nursing and midwifery training colleges are listed.
| School | Level | Ownership | District |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wa Polytechnic | Technical university | public | Wa Municipal |
Search universities in Upper West Region
Schools near me in Upper West Region
Looking for schools near you, or near Upper West Region? Open the near me tool and, if you choose to share your location, it lists the closest schools to where you are. Your position is used once to work out the list and is not stored. You can pick a town instead.
Find schools near meQuestions people ask about schools in Upper West Region
- How many schools are there in Upper West Region?
- 1,931 schools across 11 districts, which is 4.4% of every school in Ghana. 50 of them are senior high schools.
- Which district in Upper West Region has the most schools?
- Wa Municipal, with 322 schools.
- How do I find schools near me in Upper West Region?
- Open the schools near me page and allow your location, or choose your town. It lists the closest schools to you from the schools whose position we trust. Each district page in Upper West Region also lists its schools.
- What are the best schools in Upper West Region?
- We do not rank schools. Well-known names include Nandom Senior High School, a Catholic school begun by the FIC Brothers, and tertiary institutions in Wa such as UBIDS and Dr Hilla Limann Technical University. To compare schools by results, boarding, programmes and location, use the SchoolRegistry directory.
- Which universities and colleges are in Upper West Region?
- Wa is home to the Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies, Dr Hilla Limann Technical University (formerly Wa Polytechnic) and Nusrat Jahan Ahmadiyya College of Education.
- Is Upper West one of Ghana's new regions?
- No. Upper West was created in 1983 from the old Upper Region. It was not among the six regions created in 2019, so its exam and census figures are filed under the same region name before and after that year.