  | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| Ghanaian Americans 119,789 (2013 American Community Survey)[1] 136,967 (Ghanaian-born, 2014)[2] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| New York City,Boston,Philadelphia,Columbus,Lansing,Chicago,Milwaukee,Washington, D.C.,Providence,Newark,Worcester,Hartford,Delaware,Maryland,Virginia,North Carolina,Atlanta,Miami,Orlando,Kentucky,Minnesota,Iowa,Texas,Denver,Seattle,California | |
| Languages | |
| English,French,Akan,Kwa,Twi,Ga,Ewe,Dagbani other languages of Ghana | |
| Religion | |
| PredominantlyChristian,Islam, other minorities.[3] | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Ghanaians,African Americans |
Ghanaian Americans are an ethnic group ofAmericans of full or partialGhanaian ancestry or Ghanaian immigrants who becamenaturalized citizen of theUnited States.
The first people to arrive from the region then known as theGold Coast were brought asslaves via theAtlantic slave trade. Several ethnic groups such as theAkan, the Ganga[4] or theGa people were imported as well to the modern United States and the third of these groups appear to have an influence on the language of theGullah people.[5][6] Because Ghanaian ports were major routes for European slave traders. Captives from ethnic groups and tribes from all over West Africa were brought there to be held and sent to the New World. Most them were imported toSouth Carolina,Virginia andGeorgia, although other places in the United States, such asSpanish Florida andFrench Louisiana also had many slaves of this origin.[4]
Ghanaians began arriving in the United Statesen masse after the 1960s and in the 1970s amidst thecivil rights movement and thedecolonization of Africa. In 1957, Ghana became the first African country to gain independence from colonial rule. Ghana's first president,Kwame Nkrumah, studied at American universities and worked withBlack American leaders for the rights ofBlack people around the world. NotableAfrican-American intellectuals and activists such asW. E. B. Du Bois andMalcolm X used Ghana as a symbol of black achievement. Most of the early immigrants from Ghana to the United States were students who came to get a better education and planned on using the education acquired in the United States to better Ghana.[7] However, many Ghanaians that migrated in the 1980s and 1990s, came to get business opportunities. In difficult economic times, the number of Ghanaians who emigrated to the United States was small. However, when these economic problems were paralyzed, they built resources for their emigration to the United States.[7]
First- and second-generation Ghanaian immigrations to the U.S. make up a small portion (0.3%) of the total number of foreign-born Americans.New York City metropolitan area andWashington, D.C. metropolitan area have the highest numbers of Ghanaian immigrants.[8] The state with the largest number of immigrants from Ghana is New York, followed by Virginia, New Jersey, and Maryland.[8]
The2010 U.S. census tallied 91,322 Ghanaian Americans living in the United States.[9]
TheU.S. Census Bureau'sAmerican Community Survey for 2015 to 2019 estimated the total number of immigrants from Ghana in the U.S. to be 178,400.[10] The top five counties of residence wereThe Bronx (19,500),Prince William County, Virginia (6,400),Franklin County, Ohio (6,400),Cook County, Illinois (5,200),Essex County, New Jersey (5,100),Montgomery County, Maryland (5,000),Worcester County, Massachusetts (4,700),Prince George's County, Maryland (4,500),Gwinnett County, Georgia (4,100),Fairfax County, Virginia (3,300),Brooklyn (3,200),Tarrant County, Texas (2,700),Los Angeles County, California (2,500),Middlesex County, New Jersey (2,400), andDallas County, Texas (2,400).[10]
A 2015 report by theMigration Policy Institute noted that theeducational attainment of first- and second-generation Ghanaian-Americans was similar to the overall U.S. population.[8] About 18% of Ghanaian diaspora members in the U.S. age 25 and over had a bachelor's degree as their highest credential, compared to 20% in the overall U.S. population ages 25 and older. About 12% of Ghanaian diaspora members had an advanced degree, compared to about 11% of the overall U.S. population.[8]
Ghanaian Americans speak English, and often also speakAkan,Ga,Ewe andTwi.[7] Ghanaians have an easier time adapting to life in the United States than other immigrants because their homeland of Ghana has theEnglish language as the official language and it is spoken by the majority of Ghana's population.[7]
A 2015 study identified 63 Ghanaian diaspora groups based in the U.S.; these include social groups, charitable and humanitarian organizations, and professional associations (such as the Ghana Physicians and Nurses Association), and regional groups (such as the Ghana National Council of Chicago).[8] Some Ghanaian American organizations are pan-ethnic, while others focus on specific ethnic backgrounds, such asEwe,Asante, andGadangme. Most organizations do not have full-time professional staff or large budgets; the largest Ghanaian American organization in terms of revenue was theAshesi University Foundation, which is based on Seattle.[8]
| Lists of Americans |
|---|
| By U.S. state |
| By ethnicity |
Ghanaian diaspora | |
|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
