Demand
Who is here, and how many
Tema Metropolitan Assembly is a coastal district in Greater Accra Region, about 30 kilometers east of Accra.
The plan's own description of the district116 words
Tema Metropolitan Assembly is a coastal district in Greater Accra Region, about 30 kilometers east of Accra. It covers an area of about 121km2 within the coastal savannah zone, is bordered to the south by the Gulf of Guinea, and has Tema as its capital; the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly forms an in-lock enclave within it. The 2010 Population and Housing Census recorded a total population of 292,773, comprising 47.8% males and 52.2% females. The local economy rests on agriculture, industry and commerce/services, with industry and services as its backbone; Tema Harbour, built in 1957, has made the Metropolis the country's industrial hub, while agriculture, mainly food crops and fishing, employs about 9.0 percent of the population.
From Tema Metropolitan Assembly MTDP 2018-2021 (prior cycle, indicative), pp. 16–87. Plan-stated: figures in the text are the assembly's own.
Who is here
| Indicator | Value | Against Ghana | vs Greater Accra | vs Ghana | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (2020 estimate)modelledi11% below the census count; a modelled surface, not a count | 158,657 | −11% | +57% | ||
| Share of the region's peopledistrict | 3.3% | – | – | ||
| Land area (km²)district | 43 | ≈ | −93% | ||
| Density rank in Ghanadistrict | 20 of 260 | – | – | ||
| Under 15district | 28% | −0.4 pts | −8 pts | ||
| Working age (15-64)district | 68% | ≈ | +8.6 pts | ||
| 65 and overdistrict | 4.4% | +0.5 pts | +0.1 pts | ||
| Sex ratio (males per 100 females)district | 97 | ≈ | ≈ | ||
| Named localitiesproxyiGazetteer coverage, not a settlement count. | 8 | – | – | ||
| Households (2021 census)district | 55,037 | – | – | ||
| Mean household size (2021 census) (people per household)district | 3.2 | – | – | ||
| Urban share of population (2021 census)district | 100% | – | – | ||
| Population, 2010 censusdistrictiOn the 2019 boundaries, as re-tabulated by GSS. | 168,932 | – | – | ||
| Population growth 2010 to 2021districtiWorked out from GSS's district counts: 168,932 in 2010 and 177,924 in 2021. | 0.5% a year | – | – |
How to read these
For housing, the working-age share and the dependency ratio read as household formation; for retail, the same people are the catchment. Households, household size and the urban share are the 2021 census's own district tables. The strip places Tema Metropolitan among Ghana's districts: it runs from the lowest to the highest, the shaded band is the middle half of districts, the tick is the median district in Ghana and the diamond the median district in Greater Accra. Counts sit on a log axis, so the ends are far apart; hover the strip for the figures.
The economy that pays the rent
What the place trades on
- Agriculture and crops
- Industry (broad sector)
- Trade and commerce
- Services (broad sector)
- Transport and logistics
Leading sectors as named in the district's own plan, in order of first mention. Plan-stated, not measured.
| Indicator | Value | Against Ghana | vs Greater Accra | vs Ghana | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employed population, 15 and over (2021 census)district | 69,392 | – | – | ||
| Employed in agriculturedistrict | 6.8% | – | – | ||
| Employed in industrydistrict | 18% | – | – | ||
| Employed in servicesdistrict | 75% | – | – | ||
| Sectors named in the planplan-stated | 6 | – | – | ||
| GDP per capita (national)nationaliNational envelope: identical on every district page, never a local income. | $3,257 | – | – |
What is not measured here
Establishments, anchor employers and poverty incidence are not published for any district in Ghana. “What we do not know yet” below lists what would close each.
Cost to build, cost to occupy
What building and housing cost
| Indicator | Value | Against Ghana | vs Greater Accra | vs Ghana | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Housing CPI (region) (index (2021 = 100))regionaliBase 2021 = 100; Greater Accra Region, Jan 2026; applied to every district in the region. Ghana's index: 329. | 385 | – | +17% | ||
| Housing CPI, year on year (region)regional | 9.1% | – | −0.2 pts | ||
| Construction PPI (national) (index (2020 = 100))nationaliBase 2020 = 100, Apr 2026; national, identical across districts. | 226 | – | – | ||
| Construction PPI, year on year (national)national | 0.9% | – | – | ||
| Owner-occupieddistrict | 45% | – | – | ||
| RentingdistrictiThe size of the rental market, as a share of dwellings. | 44% | – | – | ||
| Compound housesdistrict | 14% | – | – | ||
| Separate (detached) housesdistrict | 26% | – | – | ||
| Flats and apartmentsdistrict | 2.7% | – | – |
Tenure and dwelling type are the 2021 census's own district tables. No price is measured in Tema Metropolitan: the housing index is the region's and the construction index is Ghana's. Asking rents, land prices and local build costs are listed under “What we do not know yet” below. See the region's price series.
Getting there, getting served
Transport, power, water and connectivity
Tema Metropolitan in the 2021 census
| Indicator | Value | Against Ghana | vs Greater Accra | vs Ghana | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Households lit by electricitydistrict | 96% | – | – | ||
| Households on mains electricitydistrict | 94% | – | – | ||
| Basic drinking-water servicedistrict | 99% | – | – | ||
| Basic sanitation servicedistrict | 65% | – | – | ||
| Own a mobile phonedistrictiPopulation aged 6 and over. Adoption, not signal: no open coverage map exists for Ghana. | 82% | – | – | ||
| Own a smartphonedistrictiPopulation aged 6 and over. | 77% | – | – | ||
| Used the internet on a phonedistrictiIn the three months before the census; population aged 6 and over. | 85% | – | – | ||
| Used mobile moneydistrictiMobile money alone or with other transactions; population aged 6 and over. | 60% | – | – |
Getting to Tema Metropolitan
| Indicator | Value | Against Ghana | vs Greater Accra | vs Ghana | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nearest airport with scheduled flightsdistrict | Kotoka International Airport (ACC) | – | – | ||
| Distance to that airport (km)district | 18 | – | – | ||
| Distance to Kotoka International, Accra (km)district | 18 | – | – | ||
| Nearest seaportdistrict | Tema Port | – | – | ||
| Distance to that seaport (km)district | 4.9 | – | – | ||
| Distance to a trunk or primary road (km)district | 0.8 | – | – | ||
| Trunk and primary roads (km)district | 22 | – | – | ||
| Major roads (km)district | 94 | – | – | ||
| Major-road density (km per km²)district | 2.2 | – | – | ||
| Railway line (km)district | 24 | – | – | ||
| Bus and lorry stations mappedproxy | 11 | – | – | ||
| Distance to a mapped bus or lorry station (km)proxy | 1.4 | – | – |
Straight-line distances from the district capital, GeoNames point, not road distance. Airports are those with scheduled passenger service (OurAirports, public domain); the seaports are Tema and Takoradi. Roads, rail and stations are what OpenStreetMap has mapped, and its coverage varies by district: a station count is what is mapped, not what exists. Drive times for a specific site are part of a site analysis.
What Tema Metropolitan's plan says about its infrastructure
- priorityProvision of roads/transportation infrastructure p. 168
- priorityProvision of sewer infrastructure p. 168
- issueWeak central sewer infrastructure leading to frequent spillage of sewage/effluent p. 173
- issuePoor state of market infrastructure p. 173
- issueIneffective waste collection and management systems in the metropolis p. 173
- issuePoor state of roads/transportation infrastructure p. 173
Priorities, issues and committed projects from the district's own development plan that name roads, power, water, sanitation or connectivity assets; plan-stated, page-cited, not measured. Night-time lights and business density are not measured yet: see “What we do not know yet” below.
Ghana. Nothing on transport, power, water or connectivity is published for Tema Metropolitan itself; these are the national figures, with Sub-Saharan Africa and the World beside them.
- Access to electricity
- 92% Sub-Saharan Africa 55%World 92%
- Basic drinking water
- 90% Sub-Saharan Africa 68%World 92%
- Internet users
- 72% Sub-Saharan Africa 34%World 71%
- Logistics Performance Index
- 2.5 Sub-Saharan Africa 2.5World 3
Land, planning and what is permitted
What the statutory plan says
Prior-cycle plan, indicative
Tema Metropolitan Assembly MTDP 2018-2021
Vision1
- The Tema Metropolitan Assembly envisions an international standard Metropolis where its inhabitants will enjoy the full benefit of modernization and comfort on a peaceful, reliable and sustainable basis. p. 22
Development goal1
- To attain sustained accelerated growth and improve on the standard of living of the people in environmentally sustainable manner. p. 17
Stated priorities4
- Provision of roads/transportation infrastructure p. 168
- Provision of sewer infrastructure p. 168
- Provision of health infrastructure logistics and health equipment p. 168
- Provision of land for agric development p. 168
Key issues the plan names6
- Weak central sewer infrastructure leading to frequent spillage of sewage/effluent p. 173
- Inadequate access to educational infrastructure p. 173
- Poor state of market infrastructure p. 173
- Inadequate access to health infrastructure and services p. 173
- Ineffective waste collection and management systems in the metropolis p. 173
- Poor state of roads/transportation infrastructure p. 173
Committed projects2
- Development of LED strategy for TMA, community awareness creation, provision of start-up kits for beneficiaries and LED catalytic programme under the CLGF programme p. 147
- Segregate waste at source in selected communities such as community 10, 6, and 4 under the Green Economy Transition in Africa Programme p. 134
| Indicator | Value | Against Ghana | vs Greater Accra | vs Ghana | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pages in the plan documentplan-statediEvery page cited on this page lies within it. | 337 | – | – | ||
| Development plans helddistrict | 1 | – | – | ||
| Plan cycles helddistrict | 2018-2021 | – | – | ||
| District capitalplan-statedistated in the district's own plan, medium confidence. | Tema | – | – |
Spatial plans that apply
- Ghana National Spatial Development Framework (NSDF)national · 2015-2035 · spatial development framework; SDF (executive summary)
- Greater Accra Regional Spatial Development Framework (GARSDF)region · unconfirmed · spatial development framework
Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority. Sub-regional and local plans are listed only where the plan's own text names this district. Whether a structure or local plan covers a specific site is a question for the assembly's Physical Planning Department, and for CAD's site analysis.
What a site analysis includes
Scope
- Demand: who is in the catchment, from the 2021 census down to the localities around the site, with household formation for residential and the retail catchment for commercial.
- The economy that pays the rent: the sectors, the establishments and the anchor employers around the site, from field survey and the assembly’s own records.
- Cost to build and to occupy: dated, graded asking rents and land prices for the corridor, reconciled with the prime-market reports; build-cost benchmarks.
- Land, planning and what is permitted: the statutory plan and the spatial framework read for the parcel, the stool or skin that holds the land, and the permit route through the assembly.
- An underwritten view: absorption, rent and yield assumptions carried into a cash-flow model, with every input sourced and tiered.
Deliverables
- A written site analysis with every figure sourced, dated and tiered, the same standard as this site.
- The catchment map and the plan overlay as files you can reuse.
- The underwriting model, with the assumptions sheet.
- One working session to walk through the findings.
Who you have to deal with
The assembly, the region, the stool
Who decides what: the statutory route for each need7 decisions
| You need | Who decides | Under |
|---|---|---|
| Development / building permit | The Assembly's Physical Planning Department, decided by its Spatial Planning Committee | Land Use and Spatial Planning Act 2016 (Act 925) |
| Plans, budgets and the district's project pipeline | The District Planning Coordinating Unit (DPCU), under the Coordinating Director | Local Governance Act 2016 (Act 936) |
| Assembly decisions, by-laws and fees | The Presiding Member, who convenes the Assembly | Local Governance Act 2016 (Act 936) |
| Political sign-off and inter-agency escalation | The MMDCE, as political head of the Assembly, then the Regional Coordinating Council | Local Governance Act 2016 (Act 936) |
| Community consent at site level | The Assembly Member for the electoral area, and the unit committee | Local Governance Act 2016 (Act 936) |
| Customary land, site acquisition and tenure | Here: Tema (Newtown), Nungua — the paramount stool or skin and its traditional council, with the Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands on stool-land revenue | Constitution 1992 arts. 267, 270-277; Chieftaincy Act 2008 (Act 759) |
| National-level representation | The Member of Parliament for the constituency | Constitution 1992 art. 93 |
Statutory; the same route in every district, with the stool named where the plan names it.
Traditional authority
- Tema (Newtown)Seat: Tema Newtown. Named in Tema Metropolitan Assembly MTDP 2018-2021, pp. 78, 110.
- NunguaSeat: Nungua. Named in Tema Metropolitan Assembly MTDP 2018-2021, pp. 78, 110.
The stool or skin holds the land. Structure and titles only: no occupant is named, and a contested succession is never shown as settled. Verify with the Regional House of Chiefs and the Office of the Administrator of Stool Lands before relying on any of it.
| Indicator | Value | Against Ghana | vs Greater Accra | vs Ghana | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assembly typedistrict | metropolitan assembly | – | – | ||
| Regional capital (Greater Accra)district | Accra | – | – |
The assembly
- Metropolitan/Municipal/District Chief Executive appointedLocal Governance Act 2016 (Act 936)
- Coordinating Director appointedLocal Governance Act 2016 (Act 936)
- Presiding Member electedLocal Governance Act 2016 (Act 936)
- Regional Minister appointedConstitution 1992 art. 256; Local Governance Act 2016 (Act 936)
The offices set by statute. Who holds each one is not published on this site; the assembly itself is the source.
Parliamentary constituencies are not shown. The Electoral Commission's register carries no reuse licence, so CAD does not reproduce it. The assembly and the traditional council are shown because their sources allow it. Report an error or a dispute.
Industry fit
Which industries this district suits
How Tema Metropolitan compares with Ghana's other districts for each industry. Prime means the top fifth of districts, Poor the bottom fifth.
| Industry | Band |
|---|---|
| Manufacturing | Prime |
| Food & farm processing | Prime |
| Warehousing & distribution | Prime |
| Construction | Prime |
| Shops & restaurants | Prime |
| Offices & business services | Prime |
| Schools & clinics | Prime |
CAD Complete · paid access
Tema Metropolitan: scores and what drives them
CAD Complete is the paid tier of this site: the detail behind the free figures, for teams deciding where to build or invest. It includes:
- A score out of 100 and a national rank for each industry
- Which industries are this district's stronger ones
- The input helping each score most, and the one holding it back
Opens your email app. We reply with pricing within two working days.
Mining services and Hotels & tourism are not scored yet. See the national maps and how the scores work
What we do not know yet
And what we can measure for you
Some of what a site decision needs is not on this page: 7 indicators the Ghana Statistical Service publishes for every district and this site has not yet taken in, 3 that CAD derives from open geodata for a catchment, and 5 that nobody in Ghana publishes at all: land prices, asking rents, build costs, anchor employers. Those last are what a site analysis measures.
What is missing, why, and how CAD closes it
The public data on this page is free; detailed industry scores come with CAD Complete. The analysis is the service: a demand study, a catchment, rent and land evidence collected for your site, the plan and the stool read for what they permit, and an underwritten view of whether it works.
Request a site analysis for Tema MetropolitanTake it with you
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One A4 sheet, every figure numbered to its source, ready to print or save as a PDF.
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