History, size, and administrative set-up
Small villages under the kingdom of Dagbon once made up the Tamale area, which was a popular destination for cattle trails in the area. In 1907, the British decided to establish administrative headquarters in the area with assistance from the Dakpema after German officials had taken over Yendi. With the addition of a road in 1920, known as the "Great North Road," Tamale turned into an important center of business in the Northern Territories5. Tamale's population continued to grow rapidly throughout the 20th century. The Tamale Metropolitan Assembly was established by a legislative instrument (LI 2068), which elevated the then Municipal Assembly into a Metropolis in 2004. Currently. The North East and Savannah regions were part of the Northern region until they were created by referenda in December 2018. The Metropolis is one of the six Metropolitan Assemblies in the nation and the only Metropoliz in the five Northern regions: Savannah, North East, Upper East, Upper West, and Northern regions. It has Tamale as the Metropolitan capital city and, at the same time, the regional capital of the Northern Region.
One of the 26 districts in the Northern Region, the Tamale Metropolis is bordered to the west and north by the Sagnarigu District, to the east by the Mion District, to the south by East Gonja, and to the south-west by Central Gonja. The estimated total land area of the Metropolis (GSS, 2010) is said to be 646.90180 square kilometers. The Metropolis is geographically located between latitudes 9º16 and 9º 34 North and longitudes 0º 36 and 0º 57 West and has a total estimated land size of 646.9sqkm (2010 PHC Report). The Metropolis consists of 1165 communities of which 41 (35%) are urban, 15 (13%) being peri-urban and 60 (52%) of them being rural in nature. The rural parts of Tamale are the areas where land for agricultural activities is available and serve as the food basket for the Metropolis. However, these communities have inadequate basic social and economic infrastructure such as good roads, school blocks, hospitals, markets and recreational centers. Tamale, one of the cities in the nation with the greatest rate of growth, faces enormous difficulties in managing its solid and liquid waste. The largest environmental issue facing the Metropolis is garbage management, both solid and liquid. The Assembly can clear only 7.5 of the 150 tons of solid waste produced each day. Eighty percent of people rely on using illicit or public restrooms.
