Section 39 (Population and Development)
Title: Rapid Population Growth and Development in Ghana
Author: Eric Adjei Boadu
Population Impact Project
Department f Geography & Resource Development
P. O. Box 59
University of Ghana
Legon-Accra
Ghana
Tel: 00 233 21 500796
Fax: 233 21 500310
E-mail: Ericca98@hotmail.com
Ghana's Demographic and Health Surveys 1988 and 1993, and Ghana's 1984
Population Census report were used to examine the effect of rapid population
growth on 4 key sectors in Ghana. The population issue in Ghana concerns the
high rate of growth and not the number of people. The rapidly increasing
expenditure on education is associated with sharp increases in the proportion of
eligible children attending school. Repeated pregnancies and births affect health
conditions of child and mother while more people produce more waste causing
additional stress on earth's assimilative capacity. Three population projections
were prepared using the Spectrum Computer Package from 1990-2020, each
based on high, medium and low fertility and mortality assumptions as enumerated
in Ghana's National Population Policy. If fertility declines as assumed in the low
fertility assumption, the population of Ghana will be 30.7 million by the year
2020, with the medium assumption, total population will be 33.6 million.
However, with the high assumption, Ghana's population will reach 35.2 million
by 2020. These three population projections were subsequently employed to
highlight the impact of population on Ghana's Economic, Education, Health, and
Environment sectors.
1
RAPID POPULATION GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT IN GHANA
ERIC ADJEI BOADU
1 INTRODUCTION
There is a growing consensus in Ghana that while rapid population
growth may not prevent economic growth, economic improvements will occur
more rapidly without this obstacle. A slower rate of population growth will ensure
that more people will have better access to health care and social amenities
(Population Impact Project, 1994).
It must be emphasized that the population issue in Ghana concerns the
high growth rate of about 2.9% and not the number of people. In terms of absolute
numbers, Ghana cannot be considered as over populated. The United Kingdom
for example with about the same land area as Ghana (UK is 93,283 sq. miles and
Ghana 87,853 sq. miles) has more than three times Ghana's population (UK 59.1
million, Ghana 18.9 million, World Population Data Sheet 1998).
In Ghana, the warning that rapid population growth could be an
obstacle to development was not taken seriously by the previous governments.
There was large influx of foreign nationals, particularly those from sister African
countries. This was confirmed in the 1960 population census in which 12.3% of
the population was estimated to be foreigners. This situation persisted until 1969
when the issues of population was recognised as a critical factor in development
by the intellectuals as well as the political leaders of this country. Ghana then
became the third country in Sub-Saharan Africa to come out with a
comprehensive population policy in 1969 after Mauritius (1958) and Kenya
(1967). The policy was meant to affect the growth, structure or distribution of the
country's growing population.
Rapid Population growth means higher dependency burden which forces
the young population to work to supplement the family income. It also creates
social pressures on the government to spend more on the welfare of the people in
order to maintain a minimum standard of living.
Education occupies a highly important place in most plans for socioeconomic
development. In Ghana, the sector is important as a supplier of the
trained manpower that is a prerequisite for the accomplishment of other
development goals. The rapidly increasing expenditure on education has been
associated with sharp increases in the proportion of eligible children attending
school. Upgrading the country's human resources through
its population will increase
As of 2011, the population growth rate of Ghana is 1.787%.
The rate at which a population will increase with no limits is called its intrinsic growth rate. This rate is influenced by factors such as birth rate and death rate within the population. It represents the maximum potential for growth in ideal conditions.
This pattern is typical of exponential growth, where the population size increases by a constant proportion each year. Initially, the absolute increase will be small, but as the population grows, the rate of increase will become more significant. Over time, this can lead to a rapid growth in population numbers.
when country have discovers oil, its get money which effect in increases in population growth, which ultimately increase population growth rate
The population growth rate in Lebanon is currently estimated to be around 1% per year.
New Hampshire has the highest population growth rate at 0.65%.
The rate of natural increase in a population is determined by subtracting the death rate from the birth rate. This calculation gives the overall growth rate of a population without considering factors like immigration or emigration.
The total fertility rate measures the average number of children born to a woman in her lifetime, while the rate of natural increase is the difference between the birth rate and the death rate in a population. The total fertility rate directly influences population growth by determining the number of births, while the rate of natural increase reflects the overall growth rate of a population based on births and deaths.
Population growth is referred to as exponential growth when resources are not limited, as the population can continue to increase at an accelerating rate.
The increase in the rate of population growth in a given area may or may not be related to changes in the birth rate, since immigration also can have a large affect on population growth. If the population is growing because of an increase in the birth rate, then the average age of the population is falling, and young people will probably become more numerous than older people. That is not necessarily the case if the population increase results from immigration.
Increased birth rate and decreased mortality rate.