Introduction

This chapter presents analysis on household population by composition, structure, marital status educational level, economic activity, nationality and religious affiliation. This information is often used by policy makers and planners for planning and development purposes since changes in the household composition have impact on the distribution of goods and services.

Household Size, Composition and Structure
Household size

The total household population for the district is 60, 371 found in 11,201 households. This gives an average household size of 5.4 which is above the regional figure of 4.6. This means that, on an average, there are about 5 people in a household in the district.
 
Household composition
 
 The data show that children constitute the highest percentage (48.6%) of household population, followed by household heads (18.6%), spouses (11.4%), other relatives (7.3%) and grandchildren (5.5%). Also, significant is the number of brothers and or sisters (4.0%) and non-relatives (2.5%) who also form part of the household. In terms of household composition by sex, the household population comprises a higher proportion of male household heads (27.4%), which is about three times that of female heads (8.7%).

Also, there are more male (50.3%) children than female (46.7%) children in the district. This pattern is different in the categories for grand-children and other relative in which females recorded higher percentages than males, as well as female spouses who constitute a higher percentage (23.1%) than male spouses’ (0.7%) . The difference between male and female spouses is as should be expected because in many societies in Ghana husbands are supposed to be heads of households. Also at marriage it is the woman who moves to stay with the husband. In the category of non-relatives, the proportion of males (3.1%) is higher than that of females (1.8%).
 
 Household population by structure

In general, majority of the households (56.7%) could be broadly classified under the extended family system, with only 43.3 percent which could be classified under the nuclear system. The difference only underscores the prevalence of the extended family system in Ghana particularly in the rural areas. However, while under the nuclear family system the traditional spouse(s) and children dominates (33.1%), under the extended family system the head spouse’s children and relatives of the head of household make up the largest proportion of 30.8 percent.

That implies that the nuclear household structure made up of parents and children is the largest single household structure in the district. Similarly, in the largest single household structure under the extended family system children feature prominently. Thus, the importance of children in our traditional set up, whether under the nuclear or extended family system cannot be overemphasized. In general, a similar pattern could be seen among the males and females. However, under both the nuclear family system and the extended family system, females are more likely than males to be single parents (8.0% versus 6.6% and 13.3% versus 10.1% respectively).

Marital Status

Marital status questions were asked of persons 12 years and older. This section presents information on marital status by sex, level of education and economic activity.

Marital status by sex

Marriage is a cherished institution in various parts of Ghana, and early marriage and several forms of marriage can be found in many parts of the country. The different forms of marriage are traditional, ordinance and Islamic marriages. This section presents information on marital status of persons 12 years and older by sex and socio-economic characteristics. The distribution of marital characteristics in the Sene East District. In 2010, nearly half of the population 12 years and older (49%) were married and another 4 percent were in informal/consensual union/living together. As much as 39 percent had never been married and less than 10 percent had ever married and were either widowed (3.0%), divorced (3.0%) or separated (2.0%).

 Presents persons 12 years and older by sex, age-group and marital status. The table shows that, a little below half (47.0%) of the male population has never been married compared to a third (30.7%) of females. That indicates that more females than males are married (53.2% versus 44.4%). Similarly, the proportion of females who are widows (5.9%) is more than twice the proportion for males (1.3%) while the proportion of divorced females is about a percentage point more than that of males. The former may be an indication of high mortality rate among males while the latter may suggest high rate of re-marriage or polygamy among males.

Nearly 95 percent of the people 12 years and over are never married whiles only 4.5 percent of those 65 and above are in that category. That means that marriage is almost universal in the Sene East District. Conversely, the proportion currently married generally increases with age and reaches its peak at age group 40-44 (83.0%) and declines steadily till the oldest age group.

The lower proportions of the currently married in the oldest ages is clearly due to the effect of mortality as the last three oldest age groups post the highest proportions of the widowed (11.2%, 15.5% and 28.8% for the age groups 55-59, 60-64 and 65+ respectively). The concentration of widows in the last three oldest ages is heavier among the females than males underscoring the general observation that more wives outlive their husbands. Another interesting observation is that there is a significant concentration of people in informal/consensual union/living together in the age groups 20-24, 25-29, 30-34 and 35-39 (7.8%, 8.4%, 7.1% and 5.2% respectively). Females are a little more likely to enter into this kind of marital union than males.
 
Marital status and level of education

Information on persons 12 years and older by sex, marital status and level of education. From the table, apart from the never married, majority of all the other marital categories have no education. In the total population the highest proportion of 82.1 percent is found among the widowed. The pattern is repeated among the males and females but the proportion of females with no education (85.6%) is far more than that of males (67.2%). Among the never married, however, the majority (54.8%) has basic education and another 10.3 percent have secondary education. The never married could still be young and are perhaps still pursuing education. In all the marital categories less than one percent of the people 12 years and above has tertiary education.
 
Marital status and economic activity

Persons 12 years and older by sex, marital status and economic activity status. The majority of the total population are employed (79.1%), 1.1 percent unemployed and 19.8 percent are economically not active. Of the never married 60.9 percent are employed, 1.2 percent are unemployed and 37.9 percent are economically not active. Furthermore, 67.0 percent of the widowed are employed, 0.2 percent are unemployed and 32.7 percent are not economically active.
 
Nationality

Information on population by nationality and sex. The table shows that about 97.5 percent of the population of the district are Ghanaians (31,358 males and 28,170 females) while 2.5 percent (1,548) are non-Ghanaians. An overwhelming majority of the district’s population are Ghanaians by birth (93.0%), with less than five percent (4.5%) being dual nationals and Ghanaians by naturalization. Most of the non-Ghanaians are from other ECOWAS countries.

Religious Affiliation

Information on population by religion and sex is presented in Table 3.8. The table indicates that about 65.4 percent of the population professes the Christian faith and as much as 15.4 percent do not have any religion. Another 10.8 percent presented themselves as belonging to the traditional religion with only 7.3 percent being Muslims. Between the sexes, whiles females are more likely than males to be Christians (67.8% versus 63.3%), the reverse is true in the case of no religion (16.9% versus 13.8%), Islam (7.7% versus 6.8%) and traditional religion (11.1% versus 10.5%).
 
Literacy and Education
Literacy

Distribution of the population 11 years and older by literacy status and by age and sex. In the total population majority of the people can read and write English and Ghanaian language together and another 39.1 percent can do so in English language only. Less than ten percent (8.6%) can read and write Ghanaian language only. French, both alone or with English language or Ghanaian language, is read and written by less than one percent of the people. The proportions of people literate in English and Ghanaian language are highest in the older ages above 50 years and a similar pattern could be observed with Ghanaian language only. However, literacy in English only is highest among the younger ages. It seems to suggest that the younger generation in the district is paying more attention to English language than their older generation did. Between the sexes, males are better literate in English and Ghanaian language than females (54.8% versus 48.0%). However, females are better literate in English only (41.6% versus 37.3%) and in Ghanaian language only (10.2% versus 7.5%).

About 47.7 percent of the population 3 years and older have never attended school while 32.3 percent are now or currently in school and 20.0 percent have attended school in the past (Figure 3.2). There are variations in terms of male and female. There are more females who have never attended school (51.2%) compared to their male (44.6%) counterpart.

Population three years and older by level of education, school attendance and sex. A total of 17,589 of the population of the district are currently attending school. Almost all of them (93.4%) are attending basic schools, with 24.2 percent in pre-school (14.9% in kindergarten and 9.3% in nursery) and the remaining 69.2 percent at the basic level proper (55.3% in primary school and 13.9 percent in JHS/JSS. Only 6.2 percent are in secondary schools and less than one percent (0.5%) is in tertiary institutions.

There are more females than males at the pre-school level (10.2% versus 8.5% at the nursery level and 15.6% versus 14.2% at the kindergarten level) and at the primary level (56.5% versus 54.2%). The reverse is true from the Junior High School level (15.3% males and 12.1% females) and through the Senior High School level (7.0% males and 5.2% females) to the tertiary level (0.6% for males and 0.2% for females). The trend seems to suggest that school dropout among females after the primary school is a major issue in the district.

Information about the past school attendance in the district. In effect, that represents the current level of education of the population in the district. The table shows that the level of education of the general population of the district is low indeed. As much as 84.2% of the educated people in the district have basic education only, comprising primary (35.0%), JSS/JHS (28.3%) and middle school (20.9%). Only 9.0 percent have secondary education and just 2.1 percent have tertiary education. Generally more males have higher education (secondary school and above) than females.

   Housing

Introduction

Housing is essential for the wellbeing of mankind however, the conditions of the house are of significant importance in understanding the sanitation status of a household. Poor housing and sanitary conditions are usually associated with poor health and poverty in general. In addition, the condition of a structure could be an indicator of the welfare status of a household. This chapter presents information on housing stock, ownership status of dwelling, main construction material for outer wall of dwelling, main type of fuel used for lighting and cooking, type of toilet facility, access to improved water, and others in the district using the 2010 population and housing census data.

Housing Stock

Information on stock of houses and households by type in the district. Overall the district has a total of 10,452 houses with 11, 210 households. The average household per house is 1.0 in the district which is below both the country and the regional averages of 1.6 and 1.5 respectively. On the contrary, the district has an average household size of 5.3 which is higher than both the regional (4.6) and national (4.5) averages. This means that, in the district each household has almost 5 persons living in it.

Type of Dwelling, Holding and Tenancy Arrangement
Type of dwelling

The type of occupied dwelling unit by sex of household head in the district. Rooms in separate houses are the predominant occupied units by households in the district. It accounts for 58.8 percent of the dwelling units. Compound houses constitute the second largest proportion of households occupied dwelling units with 28.2 percent. Cumulatively, households that use flat/apartment, semi-detached houses and hut/buildings (same compound) are almost twelve percent (11.8%) in the district. A few households use tents (0.3%) and kiosks/containers and uncompleted buildings (0.2%) as their dwelling units in the district.
The data also reveals that, female-headed households constitute 59.3 percent of the separate houses, while male-headed households account for 58.7 percent. A similar pattern is observed for compound housing. Interestingly, both male and female-headed households have the same proportions of households living in improvised home (kiosk/containers) (0.2%) and uncompleted buildings (0.1%).

Ownership status of dwelling

Ownership status of dwelling by sex of household head. Altogether, 80.5 percent of the households in the district reside in their own houses and nine (9) percent are owned by relative not household member while other private individual constitutes 8.2 percent. A little more than 8 out every 10 (83.4%) of dwelling units in the district owned by household member are male-headed household while 7.2 percent are owned by other private individual. Among the female-headed households, 70.2 percent of dwellings are owned by household members and other private individual constitutes almost 11.5 percent. The table shows that 1.2 percent of dwelling units in the district are public/Government owned and a little more of them are used by female-headed households (1.7%) compared to male-headed-households (1.2%).
 
Construction Materials

Main construction material for outer wall of dwelling unit
Generally materials used for the construction of a house are usually viewed as a measure of the quality of housing as well as an indicator of health risk. During the census, information was collected on the main construction materials of the outer wall, floor and roof of dwelling units. Table 8.4 presents information on main construction material for outer wall of dwelling units in the district. Almost eight in every ten houses (80.5%) had outer walls made out of mud bricks and earth while close to two in every ten (14.5%) households had dwellings with outer walls made out of cement blocks/concrete in the district. The table further shows that, landcrete houses are 1.9 percent and palm leaf/thatch/raffia constitute 1.0 percent of materials used for outer walls of houses for households in the district.
 
Main construction material for the floor of dwelling unit

The  main construction materials for the floor of dwelling units in the district. The data reveals that, cement or concrete (53.5%) and earth/mud (44.6%) are the two main construction materials used for floors of dwelling units in the district, while the rest of other construction materials constitute a cumulative of less than two percent (1.9%) used for floors of dwelling units in the district.
 
Main construction material for roofing of dwelling unit

The main material for roofing of dwelling units in the district. The table shows that the main roofing materials used for dwellings in the district are thatch/palm leaf or raffia and metal sheet. The data reveal that, almost six out of every 10 dwelling units in the district are roofed with thatch (54.8%), underscoring the largely rural status of the district. Another four out of every ten dwellings are roofed with metal sheet (40.2%). The third major roofing material used for dwelling units is mud/mud bricks/earth which constitutes 3.0 percent in the district while the rest of roofing materials accounts for a cumulative percentage of two percent in the district. They include bamboo (0.4%), wood (0.4%), cement/concrete (0.3% and roofing tiles (0.3%).
 
Room Occupancy

Information on household size and number of sleeping rooms occupied in the dwelling unit in the district. The number of rooms used for sleeping gives an indication of the extent of crowding in households. Crowding in one sleeping room increases the risks of infectious diseases. The results in Table 8.7 reveal that, a little above a third (39.4%) of households used only one room for sleeping in the district and just about a third (32.4%) use two rooms for sleeping. . Generally, the proportion of the number of households in sleeping rooms decreases with increasing number of sleeping rooms.

The proportion of households living in one room decreases steadily with increasing size of households. As much as 88.0 percent of one member households occupy one sleeping room and another 8.9 percent occupy two rooms. Only 3.9 percent of households of 10+ people occupy nine rooms or more. As much as 63.8 percent of 10 member households or more occupy 1-4 sleeping rooms and 78.7 percent occupy 1-5 sleeping rooms. Although the quality of housing in the Sene East District is not quite high, there appears to be no serious congestion in the district.

  Access to Utilities

Information on household utilities and facilities give clear indication of how accessible certain basic facilities and necessities are either available or not available to communities.
 
Main source of lighting

The distribution of households in living quarters by type of lighting is useful in determining the extent of electricity coverage in the district for planning purposes. Figure 8.1 and Table 8.8 present data on sources of lighting for households. The data in Table 8.8 reported that, the major sources of light for households in the district are Flashlight/Torch (46.1%), followed by Electricity (28.4%) and Kerosene lamp (23.9%). From the table it is seen that, the rest of the sources of lighting for households in the district account for less than two percent (1.9%).
 
Main source of fuel for cooking

The main source of cooking fuel used by households. In spite of the promotion of cooking gas, wood still remains the main source of cooking fuel in the district and used by overwhelming majority of 87.3 percent of the people in the district. Charcoal is the second major source of cooking fuel used by and constitutes 9.1 percent of households. Together 96.4 percent of the main source of cooking fuel in the district is wood based, which is a great threat to forest in the district. Only a few households in the district use gas for cooking (0.8%).
 
Cooking space used by households

The main cooking space used by households in the district. A large majority of households in the district (67.0%) do not have proper cooking spaces, made up of 33.0 percent who use structures with roof but no wall, 30.0 percent who use open space in the compound and 4.0 percent that do not have any cooking space at all. The figures cut the picture of what pertains in the typical rural areas in many places of the country. Many young couples maintain sleeping rooms in the extended family house where they retire to in the night but have separate kitchens on compounds usually at the outskirts of the village where they spend much of the day time. These kitchen compounds are in fact the plots the young couples hope to build their own residential houses in future. That explains the many structures with roofs but no walls. Only 20.0 percent of households have separate rooms for exclusive use by the household and another 7.0 percent cook in the veranda.
 
Main Source of Water for Drinking and for other Domestic Use

The availability of and accessibility to improved drinking water is an important feature in the health of households. The source of water supply particularly for drinking has a tremendous effect on the burden of diseases. For instance, one of the main health benefits of clean drinking water supply is a reduction in diarrhea cases. Water sources are often classified as ‘improved’ or ‘unimproved’: Sources considered as improved are piped public water into homes, public standpipe, borehole, protected (lined) dug well, protected spring, and rainwater collection; unimproved are unprotected wells and springs, vendors, and tanker-trucks (WHO and UNICEF, 2000).

 Main source of water for drinking

The main source of drinking water of dwelling units. The data in the table show that, according to the WHO definition, about 40.1 percent of the population in the district has access to improved sources of water, made up mainly of bore-hole (31.5%) and pipe-borne water (inside dwelling, 0.2%; outside dwelling, 2.8%; and public tap/standpipe, 4.5%). The rest are protected wells (0.8%), protected spring (0.1%) and rainwater (0.2%). That leaves majority of households in the district with access to unimproved sources of water mainly from rivers/streams (38.4%) and dugout/pond/lake/dam/canal (19.8%). Another 1.4% of households rely on unprotected wells as sources of water for drinking in the district.
 
Main source of water for domestic purposes

The main source of water for domestic purposes. The major sources of water for domestic purposes for households in the district are river/stream (39.6%), bore-hole/tube well/pump (29.5%) and Dugout/dam (20.2%). A few households use other sources either than those mentioned above for domestic purposes. On the whole the picture does not depart very much from the main sources of water for drinking.
 
Bathing and Toilet Facilities

Information on bathing and toilet facilities is also considered important for housing as well as for public health policy formulation.

Bathing facility used by households

Bathing facilities used by households in the district. The table shows that the major bathing facilities in the district are own bathroom for exclusive use utilized by 31.1 percent of households, open space around house (17.6%) and shared separate bathroom in the same house (17.2%). The table further reveals that, other bathing facilities are also used by the residents of the district among which are, private open cubicle, shared open cubicle and bathroom in another house. Like cooking spaces, bathing facilities also reflect the status of settlements in which they are found. As explained earlier, as increases in size, young married couples who want some kind of privacy take up plots at the fringes of the village to try to establish themselves. They first put up what they call kitchens on the plot where they spend the best part of the day. They only go to the main family house to sleep when the day’s chores are over but not until they have had a bath. Any temporary structure such as an open space around the kitchen house or an open cubicle outside could serve the purpose of a bathing facility.
 
Toilet facility used by household

 The type of toilet facility used by households in the district. The data show that, more than half (52.6%) of the total households in the district have no toilet facilities and use the bush and open fields. This shows how residents of the district are patronizing open defecation which is very dangerous to human health. Other toilet facilities used by household in the district are public toilets (29.6%), pit latrine (14.5%) and KVIP (2.5%). The dominant toilet facilities are a reflection of the largely rural nature of the district.
 
Method of Waste Disposal

The methods of solid waste disposal in the district are presented in Table 8.15.Nearly half of the households in the district (42.8%) dispose of their solid waste indiscriminately and almost all the remaining half (46.6%) use the public dump to dispose of their solid waste (39.7% into public containers and 6.9% into open spaces). There are also some households that either burn their solid waste (3.1%) or burry them (2.2%). The danger of these two methods of solid waste disposal is that of late solid waste generated by many households, even in the rural areas, includes many non-biodegradable materials and others with toxic chemicals. When these are buried in the ground they destroy the soil texture or release toxic chemicals into the soil. Similarly when burned, they may release dangerous chemicals into the atmosphere.
 
Liquid waste disposal

The methods of liquid waste disposal are presented in Table 8.16. The table presents a picture of a general lack of the proper way of disposing of liquid waste in the district. Again that is reflection of the generally underdeveloped nature of the newly-created district. Nearly all the households in the district (95.7%) throw their liquid waste onto the compound (77.7%) or into the street or outside. Only 2.6 percent of the households in the district dispose of their liquid waste into gutters and less than 2.0 percent (1.7%) of households in the district dispose of their liquid waste through a sewerage system, through drainage system into gutter and through drainage into a pit (soak away).

The high proportion of persons disposing of liquid waste on compounds and streets should be a matter of grave concern. It could create unsanitary conditions in most of the settlements in the district where the liquid waste could become stagnant and become potential sites for breeding disease-causing insects. Since the district is a newly created one and settlements in the district are rural communities which do not have well-constructed and adequate gutters, the District Assembly needs to draw up an integrated and comprehensive medium term District Environmental and Sanitation Plan (DESSAP) to facilitate good sanitation and hygiene behaviors among residents in the district.

Information Communication Technology (ICT)
Introduction

Information Communication Technology (ICT) has become an important tool in today’s knowledge-based information society and economy. The role of ICT in a developing economy such as Ghana has been widely recognized at various levels and therefore gained grounds and has seen positive growth over the past years. It has brought about a positive transformation in the socioeconomic development of the country. The recognition is reflected in actions such as the development and deployment of national ICT infrastructure, institutional and regulatory framework, and the promotion and use of mobile and internet facilities that have positive contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). For the first time in the history of Ghana, the 2010 Population and Housing Census gathered data on access to and use of ICT by individuals and households. This chapter presents information on ownership and access to mobile phones, desktop or laptop computers by individuals or households, the use of internet facility either at home, internet cafe, on phone or other mobile devices. 

Ownership of Mobile Phones

Population 12 years and older who own mobile phones and those who use internet facility by sex. Overall 7,838 persons own mobile phones in the district representing 20.7 percent of that population. Out of the total number, males 12 years and older who own mobile phones in the district are almost twice (26.3%) as much as the females (14.5%) of the same age category who own mobile phones in the district. To a large extent ownership of mobile phones has been linked to urbanization. According to the regional report, twice as many persons in urban areas had mobile phones as rural dwellers (GSS, 2013). Therefore the relatively rural environment of the district may account for the limited ownership of mobile phones in the district. Urbanization of the district therefore may also provide opportunities for service providers to expand access and use of ICT in the district including ownership and use of mobile phones.

 Use of Internet

Internet access is not only via computer, but also by mobile phones, game machine and digital television. Table 5.1 shows internet facility usage by sex for the district. Less than one percent (0.7%) of the population 12 years and older in the district use internet facility. The proportion of males who use the internet is more than twice that of females (1.0% against 0.4%).

Household Ownership of Desktop or Laptop Computer

Ownership of desktop or laptop computers by households is essential in enhancing self-study and the use of the internet. Table 5.2 presents data on households having desktop or laptop computers. On the whole, 134 households (1.2%) in the district own desktop/laptop computers. Also, the percentage of households with desktop or laptop computers varied among male and female headed households, with male-headed households (1.3%) having slightly higher proportion than females (1.0%) in the district.