Ghana Genealogy

Guide to Ghana ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

Country Information
Ghana is a country in Africa bordered by the Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and Togo. Parts of the country were formerly ruled by Portugal, The Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Germany, and Great Britain. The official language is English. Ghana was known as Gold Coast because of the abundance of "Gold" discovered by the colonial powers in the coastal areas. Gold coast used to be the capital town of Ghana. The rich history and activities of the colonial powers are still evident in the life of the people.

Ghana Map
Genealogy records are kept on the local level in Ghana.



Regions
Genealogy records are kept on the local level in Ghana.

There are 16 regions in Ghana. A referendum on creating new regions was held in Ghana on 27 December 2018. Voting took place in the 47 districts that would potentially become part of new regions which would be created by splitting four of the existing regions. The proposed splits were:


 * Northern split into Northern, North East and Savannah;
 * Volta split into Volta and Oti;
 * Western split into Western and Western North;
 * Brong-Ahafo split into Bono, Ahafo and Bono East.

All proposed new regions were approved, with 'yes' votes above 99% in all regions and turnouts ranging from 80% to 90%.

FamilySearch Resources
Below are FamilySearch resources that can assist you in researching your family.
 * Facebook Communities - Facebook groups discussing genealogy research
 * Learning Center - Online genealogy courses
 * Historical Records
 * FamilySearch Center locator map
 * Ghana Oral Histories

Online Resources

 * 1863-2003 at FamilySearch — index and images