Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh – Ghana Has No Majority Ethnic Group

Ghanaian medical doctor and politician, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has dismissed long-held public assumptions that Ghana has a “majority ethnic group,” insisting that no single group constitutes more than 50 percent of the national population.

Speaking during an interview on Adom 106.3 FM, Dr. Opoku Prempeh argued that classifications that label specific ethnic groups as “majority” or “dominant” are misleading and not supported by demographic evidence.

According to him, the belief that one ethnic group makes up more than half of the population is a misconception fuelled by oversimplified ethnic categorizations. He explained that, contrary to popular claims, Ghana’s ethnic landscape is composed of several distinct sub-groups that must not be lumped together for convenience.

“There is no majority ethnic group in Ghana,” he stated firmly. “Every ethnic group is a minority on its own. There is no ethnic group which is more than 50 percent of the Ghanaian population. Do we have one tribe that says it is more than 50 percent of this population? The answer is no.”

Dr. Opoku Prempeh stressed that groups often presented as a single block, such as “Akan”, are in fact a collection of various sub-ethnic identities with distinct historical and cultural attributes. He referenced examples to illustrate this point.

“We have Bonos, Fantis, Ashantis, Adansi, Sekyere. So it is relative,” he noted. “If you don’t understand this, you will fall into the deception that we have one majority ethnic group.”