Accra - Post Report Question and Answers
What is the relative size of the expatriate community? How would you describe overall morale among expatriates?
US Expat community is large. The embassy has the Regional USAID office and the Ghanaian one. This is large embassy. Morale ebbs and flows. I would say more people are unhappy than happy, but I suspect that is more because of their jobs (or a bad house) than actually living in Ghana. There are many expats in Ghana of all nationalities. - Sep 2023
There is a large expat community, mainly through foreign embassies. There are also large Lebanese and Chinese communities. Morale at the embassy is generally pretty good. - Nov 2022
Fairly large and in my opinion, fairly positive. The biggest downside is that this is a historically-difficult to staff post. It seems like there are lots of activities for singles, couples and families. From weekend trips, to biking and climbing in the hills (1-2 hours away for all of that), or poker nights or restaurants, there's a lot to do. - Sep 2022
Post is large, about 200 USDH plus their families. There are surprisingly a lot of Americans in Accra that are not part of the Embassy. There are a lot of diplomats here too. Morale is average. - Mar 2022
Quite large from a lot of different countries. Morale is middling to good. Some struggle with Africa, those with experience on the continent appreciate that Ghana is pretty manageable relatively speaking. Accra can be a bit sleepy, kind of a make your own fun post so that is an issue for some as well. - Nov 2019
I think there's a reasonably large expat community, though I haven't had as much opportunity as I would have liked to meet more people outside the US Embassy community. There are many other diplomatic missions and certain international business concerns, as well as development agencies/NGOs. There are also some expats who run guest houses, restaurants, etc. I'd say morale is moderate. We love it here, but not everybody does, and there's large "luck-of-the-draw" component to housing for embassy families. We landed in a very social compound with great neighbors. I think it would have been a bit more difficult to be in a standalone house. - May 2019
I don't know. There are a good number of Westerners. Their morale depends on how much they rely on the local economy (aka, don't have DPO) and how long they have lived here. - Apr 2018
There are a few Westerners here affiliated with the government. I've seen a few people from the Middle East and a conspicuous Chinese population here. - Aug 2017
It is pretty large. There is a large diplomatic community plus a large gold mining community, oil and gas and textiles. Generally most expats make the best of it. You do find the odd person who loves Ghana. - Apr 2017
I would say it is relatively large (I don't feel like I know everyone or even half the people). Morale seems high. - Aug 2016
There is a good group of us here and morale varies. Most people are excited to leave. - May 2014
Medium. Mostly businessmen and students. The tourist numbers are small, but growing. - Apr 2012
Huge - Aug 2011
The expat community is large here. - Jun 2011
Pretty large, I think. Over 8,000 American currently. - Feb 2010
Medium? - Feb 2010
Seems large. - May 2009
