Gonja tribes depleted Muslim populations in the north while boosting that of the south. Population of Muslims in Ghana Muslim population is concentrated in northern Ghana and in zongo communities scattered across the country. Zongo communities are settlements predominated by immigrants from Sahelian areas of West Africa (Mandinka, Soninke, Hausa, Songhai, Fulani, etc.) who have adopted Hausa language as a lingua franca. Members of the Zongo community are mistakenly but commonly regarded as Northerners. However, the two communities are distinct, having different cultures and languages. The official Ghana Statistical Service census reports approximately 20% as being Muslims although that figure is being protested by independent organizations. The Coalition of Muslim Organizations maintain that the final figures released in 2002 "contained serious flaws and as a result could not be used as reliable data for planning and projecting the country’s development agenda". The call came at the same time groups mainly from the North petitioned the government to withdraw the results, expressing concern that some ethnic groups were underrepresented in the population count and that the service should open up their procedures for public scrutiny. CIA statistics put the population of Muslims in Ghana at 17.6 percent. Other accounts place the figure at 25 percent. The government of Ghana's allocation of funds for national development is heavily influenced by population demographics. Geographical distribution According to the 2017 Census, Muslims constitute about 18 percent of the population of Ghana. Muslims constitute a majority in Northern Region, the biggest religion in Upper East Region and a large minority Upper West Region. There a slightly less Muslims in the southern parts of Ghana. Sub groups Ahmadiyya The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at was formally established in 1921. By 1957, it had attracted about 100,000 converts, mostly from Christian backgrounds. The first Ahmadi missionary to Ghana, Maulvi Abdul Rahim Nayyar, came upon invitation from Muslims in Saltpond. According to the Pew "The World's Muslims" survey, 16% of Ghanaian respondents indicated that they identify with the Ahmadiyya movement. Sunni Islam reached the kingdom of Ghana during the ninth and tenth centuries, during a period of trade and competition with the Berbers of North Africa, who had adopted Sunni Islam, according to the Maliki rite of jurisprudence. By the 14th century, Ghanaian kingdoms featured mosques and palaces, as well as Arabic-style Muslim poetry. Contemporary Sunnism in Ghana includes a majority that follows the Maliki school, which is predominant in