The Akyem are an Akan people.

The term Akyem (Akim or Aki) is used to describe a group of three states: Akyem Abuakwa, Akyem Kotoku and Akyem Bosome.

These nations are located primarily in the eastern region

The term is also used to describe the general area where the Akyem ethnic group clusters.

The Akyem ethnic group make up between 3-9 percent of Ghana's population depending on how one defines the group and are very prominent in all aspects of Ghanaian life.

The Akyem are a matrilineal people.

The history of this ethnic group is that of brave warriors who manage to create a thriving often influential and relatively independent state within modern-day Ghana.

When one talks of Ghanaian history, there is often mention of the Big Six: six leaders of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), the leading political party in the British colony of the Gold Coast.

They are detained by the colonial authorities in 1948 following disturbances that led to the killing of three Second World War veterans.

They are pictured on the front of the Ghana cedi notes.

Of the big six, people of Akyem descent make up the majority.