Introduction

Changes in any population are brought about through the dynamics of fertility, mortality and migration. In particular, structural changes that occur in the context of population growth have a direct as well as indirect impact on development. Areas of impact include economic growth, poverty reduction, resource allocation, productivity, and the general welfare and well-being of the population.

This chapter provides information on population size and distribution, age and sex structure, fertility, mortality and migration in the district. The system and administration of planning in Ghana require that statistics be provided on size and distribution of the population at the local level.

 Population Size and Distribution

A fundamental demographic parameter is the number of individuals in a population (Elberton et al., 1992). Table 2.1 shows population of Ningo-Prampram district by age, sex, sex ratio and type of locality in 2010. The total population of the district is 70,923 out of which 47.3 are males and 52.7 females. Also, 41.7 percent of the population live in urban localities and the remaining 58.3 percent are in rural localities. This therefore calls for more attention in the rural areas since a greater portion of the district population are there.

The highest proportions (14.3%) of the population are in 0-4 year age group, followed by 5-9 years age group (12.5%) and 10-14 years age group (10.9%). The lowest proportion is the oldest age group, 95 years and older (0.1%). The distribution of the population by sex also shows the highest proportions among males (15.4%) and among females (13.4%) are in the 0-4 year’s age group. The proportions of the population 0-4 years in urban locality and in rural locality are almost similar, 14.4 percent and 14.3 percent, respectively. The district population has a very youthful structure with most of it in the young age groups less than 15 years. Furthermore, the population decreases in each subsequent age group as age increases. The decreasing nature of the population may be attributed to high mortality rate as age increases and also, to some extent, to migration.

Age dependency ratio

One of the important demographic tools for any developing country is the age dependency ratio. Table 2.1 indicates a total dependency ratio of 75.4 for the district. Thus, for every 100 people in the economically active group (15-64 years of age) there are 75.4 persons who are dependent on them. This is more than the regional estimate of 53.4. Males have a higher dependency ratio (78.3) than females (72.7). The dependency ratio in rural locality is slightly higher (75.7) than in urban locality (74.7).

Sex ratio

Figure 2.1 shows sex ratio of the district as 89.6; that is, for every 100 females, there are 89.6 males. This conforms to the estimates for the other districts in the region that there are more females than males. However, the 0-4 years age group depicts a different trend with the sex ratio being 100 females to 103 males. The ratio starts to decline from the age group (5-9 years). It may be attributed to a high mortality rate among male children than among female children at the early ages.

The Figure 2.1 shows that there are more males in the 0-14 age group (97.7) and the lowest is in the 65years and older age group with a sex ratio of 64.7.

Age-Sex Structure

Age and sex are the most basic characteristics of a population. Every population has a different age and sex composition. Thus, the number and proportion of males and females in each age-group and type of locality can have considerable impact on the population’s social and economic situation, both present and the future.

 Population pyramid

The population pyramid (Figure 2.2) illustrates the age-sex structure of the Ningo-Prampram district. The pyramid shows a broad base and narrows as the population age increases. The phenomenon depicts youthful population with the age cohorts 0-4 years having a majority of the population. With increasing age, the age-sex structure looks slightly thinner for males than for females. Thus, as age increases, the proportion of males becomes lower than that of females. However, for the age groups 0-4 years and 15-19 years, the proportions are higher for males than for females. The high proportion of the populations aged 0-4 and 5-9 years indicates that the population in the district has the potential to grow in future. This has implications for the economic development of the district. This type of age structure is typical of many developing countries.

Age-Sex Structure

Age and sex are the most basic characteristics of a population. Every population has a different age and sex composition. Thus, the number and proportion of males and females in each age-group and type of locality can have considerable impact on the population’s social and economic situation, both present and the future.

 Population pyramid

The population pyramid (Figure 2.2) illustrates the age-sex structure of the Ningo-Prampram district. The pyramid shows a broad base and narrows as the population age increases. The phenomenon depicts youthful population with the age cohorts 0-4 years having a majority of the population. With increasing age, the age-sex structure looks slightly thinner for males than for females. Thus, as age increases, the proportion of males becomes lower than that of females. However, for the age groups 0-4 years and 15-19 years, the proportions are higher for males than for females. The high proportion of the populations aged 0-4 and 5-9 years indicates that the population in the district has the potential to grow in future. This has implications for the economic development of the district. This type of age structure is typical of many developing countries.

Fertility, Mortality and Migration

The levels and changes in fertility, mortality and migration are important for socio-economic planning and policy adoption. In developing countries, such as, Ghana and for that matter Ningo-Prampram district where population registers are non-existent, censuses provide the comprehensive data on fertility, mortality and migration in terms of coverage than surveys and other sources. The aspects of migration, fertility and mortality covered by the 2010 PHC that are relevant for socio-economic planning and policy adoption in the Ningo- Prampram district are examined in this section.

 Fertility

Table 2.2 displays fertility rates for the districts in the Greater Accra region. The Ningo-Prampram district has a total fertility rate of 2.8 children per woman, a general fertility rate of 82.3 per thousand women and a crude birth rate of 22 per thousand women. These rates are slightly higher than the regional estimates of 2.6, 75.7 and 22.7, respectively. The Ada West district has the highest total fertility rate (4.0) and general fertility rates (115.3) in the region with Ga South municipal having the highest crude birth rate (31.8). La Dade Kotopon municipal has the lowest total fertility rate (2.0), general fertility rate (61.0) and crude birth rate (18.9) in the region, followed by Accra Metropolis (2.1, 63.7 and 19.7, respectively).

Children ever born, children surviving and sex

The 2010 PHC collected data on-“births and deaths in the last 12 months” and children ever born and children surviving to estimate fertility and mortality rates as indicators of the health status of the population. Table 2.3 shows female population aged 12 years and older, children ever born, children surviving and sex of children. Out of a total of 63,834 children ever born, males are 49.8 percent and females 50.2 percent. The total number of surviving children is 54,861 of which 49.2 percent are males and 50.8 percent females. The highest numbers of children ever born and children surviving are in the 25-54 years age groups and the lowest numbers are in the 12-14 years and 15-19 years age groups.

Mortality

Mortality is also one of the important dynamics of population. The 2010 PHC collected data on deaths in households in the 12 months preceding the 2010 census. Table 2.4 shows that 50 deaths occurred in the district with a crude death rate of 7.8 per thousand population. Accra metropolis has the highest number of deaths (7,276) with a crude death rate of 4.4 per thousand population while Adenta municipal has the lowest number of deaths (265) with a crude death rate of 3.4 per thousand population.

Age specific mortality rate

Figure 2.3 shows age specific death rates by sex in the Ningo-Prampram district in 2010. The graph indicates that, there is a higher mortality rate in female children less than 5 years of age than their male counterparts. The graph depicts a sharp fall after the under 5 years age group indicating a massive reduction in female mortality. Figure 2.3 also shows a higher male deaths or mortality rate for 5-9 years age group than their female counterparts. In addition, males have higher mortality rate at ages 55-70 years and older, whereas females have higher mortality rate in the 35 -44 years age groups. The mortality rates for males and females are the same for the 20-24 years age group.

Causes of death

Table 2.5 shows the causes of deaths in households. From the table, there are 550 deaths in the district compare with the regional deaths of 17,363. Out of the total deaths in the district, 18.0 percent is caused by accident/violence/ homicide/suicide whiles 82.0 percent are due to other causes.

Migration

Migration is one of the components of population and its dynamics. Migration out of the district decreases the size of the population, while migration into the district increases the population size. In addition, the variations in the migration process in terms socio-demographic characteristics can have significant impact on development. The measurement of migration can be done in a number of ways. The 2010 PHC measured migration with respect to birthplace and usual place of residence. Table 2.2 shows the migrants population and how long they have stayed in the district. The population of migrants is 26,074 or 36.8 percent of the total population. The highest proportion of the migrants have stayed in the district for 1-4 years (36.1%), followed by those who have stayed under one year (23.3%). The lowest proportion of the migrants have stayed for twenty years and more (11.1%).

About 41.9 percent of the migrants are born in the region, majorities of 53.6 percent are born elsewhere in another region and 4.5 percent are born outside Ghana. The highest proportion of migrants born elsewhere in another region are from Volta region (35.0%), followed by Eastern Region (30.1%), Central region (11.5%) and Ashanti (9.0%). The lowest proportion are from Upper West Region(0.8%), followed by Upper East region (1.2%), Brong-Ahafo region (3.1%) and Northern Region (4.2%).The highest proportion of the migrants who have stayed 20+ years in the district are among those from Eastern Region (13.9%), followed by Central Region (12.6%) and Upper West Region (11.2%). The highest proportion of migrants born outside Ghana (38.7%) have stayed in the district for under one year and the proportion decreases steadily as the years of stay increases to 5.7 percent for 20+ years.