Prof. Samuel Kobina Annim – Government Statistician
Provisional results from the 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC) in Ghana shows that the female population is still higher with 50.7 per cent, as against 49.3 per cent for males.
The data shows a national sex ratio of 97 males for every 100 females.
This shows that the female population makes up a greater proportion of the country’s population as has been the trend for the past four decades, outnumbering males in 10 out of the 16 regions.
The regional sex ratios, however, ranged from 91 males for every 100 females.
The Volta Region has the highest female population with 89 sex ratio while the Western North Region recorded the highest male population with 105 sex ratio.
Chief Census Officer, Professor Samuel Kobina Annim, announced this in Accra on Wednesday, when providing provisional results for the 2021 PHC.
Prof. Annim, who is also the Government Statistician, said the country’s population provisionally stood at 30.8 million, which has increased by 6.1 million from 24.7 million recorded in the 2010 Census, with an annual inter-censal growth rate of 2.1 per cent.
He said the 2021 PHC final results would be released on November 18, 2021.
Prof. Annim attributed the population changes to fertility, mortality and migration factors.
The 2021 PHC recorded 8,345,414 households enumerated with an average household size of 3.6 persons.
Ghana’s first fully digital census started on June 13, 2021 with counting of structures and the Census Night beginning on Sunday, June 27, 2021.
The Census should have ended on July 11, 2021 but due to some challenges it was extended in some places for mop up exercise until August 15, 2021.
Prof. Annim announced that 10.7 million structures were enumerated nationwide with 20 per cent of them being metal containers, kiosks and wooden structures.
There were 75,000 computer tablets deployed for the Census to improve operational efficiency, enhance the quality of the data and ensure timely release of the data.
30.8m Population
Ghana’s population is now 30.8 million, provisional figures from the 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC) conducted by the Ghana Statistical Service, have projected.
At this rate, the chief census officer said the country‘s population would double within 33 years and by 2050, the population of Ghana would be over 50 million.
He said the provisional results can be used as official data and that the variation between the provisional and final results was expected but difference was expected to be minimal.
The national population density in the 2021 PHC is 129 persons per square kilometre.
Touching on the regional population, Prof. Annim said the Greater Accra Region had the highest population of 5,446,237, followed by Ashanti region with 5,432,485, and that these regions were both almost twice (1.9) times the size of the third most populous region, Eastern Region.
The Ahafo Region is the least populous region with a population of 564,536, taking the place of the Upper West which had been the least populous in all the previous post-independence censuses, while the Savannah and North East Regions were the second and third least populous regions respectively.
From the provisional figures, 10,661,421 structures were counted during the listing, out of which 8,547,391, representing 80.2 per cent were fully completed, which include roofed with windows and doors fixed.
Greater Accra Region recorded the highest number of both residential and non-residential structures with 19.3 per cent of all the total structures listed.
The number of structures in Greater Accra is greater than the number of structures in six regions-North East, Savannah, Ahafo, Upper West, Oti, Upper East combined, while the three regions -Greater Accra, Ashanti, and Eastern combined have 47.3 per cent of all structures listed.
The Government Statistician said the regional sex ratios in the 2021 Census range from 91 males for every 100 females in the Volta Region to 105 males to every 100 females in the Western North Region.
These rates, he explained were consistent with the findings from the 2010 Census where the then Volta region had the lowest sex ratio of 89 with the then Western Region recording the highest of 104.
Touching on households, the Professor said the total number of households had grown by 2.8 million, representing a 52 per cent increase over the 5,467,136 households enumerated in 2010.
He said the household size declined by 0.8, from 4.4 in the 2010 census and a similar decline of 0.9 was observed between the 2010 and 2000 censuses.
The 2021 Census was the country’s first fully digital exercise, which employed technology in all aspects of its implementation. It leveraged technology available to improve operational efficiency, enhance the quality of the data collected and be able to release results in a timely manner.
The 2021 PHC counted and collected detailed information on all persons that spent the Census Night, that is Sunday 27th June 2021, in the country .
The initial enumeration period was from June 27 to July 11, 2021 with a mop-up period, first for one week and subsequently extending it to August 15 in some areas with challenges.
Prior to the Census Night, the listing of structures took place between 13th and 25th June, 2021. Structures listed were completed buildings, uncompleted buildings at various levels of completion above window level and unconventional structures (such as metal containers, and kiosks).
The Census will provide important information to support evidence-based implementation of the national development agenda and support the tracking of achievements of the Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2063 of the African Union.
GNA