Introduction

Population size, composition and age-sex structure are important characteristics that have many social and economic implications. Population size and composition influence the district’s potential human resource requirement and level of provision of social services such as schools, hospitals/clinics and housing. The population composition by age and sex influences mortality, nuptiality, fertility, migration and other demographic processes that underlie population growth and ultimately socio-economic development. This chapter therefore discusses population size and distribution, age-sex structure, birth place, children ever borne and fertility in the district.

Population size and distribution
Introduction

Table 2.1 presents data on the demographic characteristic of the population with regard to age, sex and locality of residence. These characteristics are examined in the sub-sections that follow. In some cases simpler tables are derived from Table 2.1 to enhance the analysis of the characteristics.

Population Size, Distribution (Urban/Rural)

The distribution of the population by sex and locality of residence are shown in Table 2.1. The data show that the total population of the district was 108,614, representing 4.1 percent of the regional population. The female population was 54,604 and that of males was 54,010, an indication that there were slightly more females (50.3%) than males (49.7%) in the district.

In Ghana, the classification of a locality as urban or rural is based on population size. Localities with population of 5,000 or more are classified as urban. The table shows that the urban population was about one-third (27.5%) lower than that of the rural population (72.5%). Thus Fanteakwa District can be described as largely a rural district.

Sex Ratio

The sex ratio measures the number of males to females in the population, the balance of the sexes being 100. In most populations the sex ratio favours males at birth. The average sex ratio at birth in most populations is observed to be about 105 to 106. The sex ratio at birth in African populations is reported to be 103.

Table 2.1 shows that the sex ratio for the district is 98.9 which indicates an excess of females over males in the district; there are about 99 males to every 100 females in the district. Like most population, the data in the table also show that the sex ratio generally decrease with age as a result of sex differences in death rates at all ages which favour females.

Age-sex Structure

One of the most important characteristics of a population is its age-sex structure. Age and sex influence many demographic trends. An understanding of the age and sex structure of a population yields insights into changing population composition and highlights social and economic challenges.

Table 2.2 shows the age structure of the district’s population by broad age group and sex. The table shows that the district’s population has a youthful age structure with about 39.0 percent of the population under age 15 years and the proportion adolescents (aged 15-24 years) constituting 18.6 percent of the population.

The proportion of young adults (25-29 years) was only about 6.9 percent, probably reflecting the extent of rural-urban migration of this group to the district. About 9 out of 100 residents of the district are 60 years and older. The pattern of age distribution is not very different for the sexes.

An important tool for analyzing age and sex composition of a population is the age-sex pyramid. Figure 2.1 shows the population pyramid of the district. The shape closely depicts that of the regional pyramid, and typical of developing countries. It has a broad base gradually tapering off at the older ages. This supports the earlier observation that the district has a youthful structure with a broad base consisting of large numbers of children and a conical top of a small number of elderly persons. For both sexes, more females than males survive to higher ages although more males than females are in the age group 0-4years.

Dependency ratio

The dependency ratio is one of the key indicators of socioeconomic development. Generally the ratio is high in developing countries than developed countries, reflecting demographic experiences of the two countries. Table 2.3 provides information on dependency ratios for district. It can be observed that, dependency ratio of the district is quite high at about 83 dependents (child and old age) for every 100 people working. Large part of the total dependency ratio in the district is child dependency ratio as indicated by the age distribution.

The district recorded an old age dependency ratio of about 11 people 60 years and older per 100 working population.

Fertility, Mortality and Migration

Fertility, mortality and migration are the three components of population change that determine the size, age-sex composition and distribution of the population at a particular point in time. Data on these three components are critical for planning the overall socioeconomic development of the district. The 2010 Population and Housing Census examine the fertility, mortality and migration patterns.

Fertility

Two types of fertility measures are used to examine levels of fertility in the district. These are current fertility measures and cumulative fertility measures. Current fertility measures such as total fertility rate (TFR) are based on data covering a short period of time such as a year ( in the case of population censuses) or five years (in surveys), while cumulative measures such as mean children ever born are based on retrospective fertility data covering women’s reproductive performance over their lifetime

Current fertility measures

The most commonly used measures of current fertility are the total fertility rate (TFR). It is defined as the number of children a woman would have by the end of her childbearing years if she were to experience the currently observed age-specific fertility rates.

Table 2.4 shows reported total fertility rate, general fertility rate and crude birth rate by district for Eastern Region. The table shows that 2,769 births occurred in the Fanteakwa district in the 12 months preceding the census. The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) for the district was 3.7, which was higher than the regional average of 3.5.

This means that woman living in the district would have, on average, 3.7 children at the end of her reproductive period if the current age specific fertility rates continue to prevail. With the other measures of fertility, the district ranked eighth in terms Crude Birth Rate figure of 25.5 and thirteenth position in terms of General Fertility Rate of 107.2

Life time fertility (children ever born)

The number of children ever born per woman measures the lifetime or cumulative fertility performance of female respondents in the reproductive age group 12-49 years. Table 2.5 shows that the district recorded a total of 107,057 children have ever been born (53,938 males and 53,119 females) to the 37, 899 women aged 12-54 years. This translates to an average completed family size of 2.8 children for women aged 12 to 60 years and older.

Mortality

Table 2.6 presents information on mortality within 12 months preceding the census in the district. The table suggests that there were a total of 911 deaths recorded in the district.

The crude death rate which is the number of deaths per 1000 of the population in a given year is 8.4 in the Fanteakwa District. This implies that 8 out of 1000 persons died over the past 12 months preceding the enumeration.

Age Specific Mortality Rate

Death rates are calculated for specific age groups in order to compare mortality at different ages or at the same age over time. The Age Specific Death Rates (ASDRs) are computed as a ratio of deaths of people in a specified age group, for example the ASDR of 20-24 year-age is calculated by taking the deaths among the 20-24 year-age group and dividing it by the population in that age group (20-24 years) multiplied by 1,000.

Figure 2.2 provide information on age specific death rates. The data show that death rates for males and females are higher in ages under five years but lowest at ages 5-14 years. The death rates start rising at ages 20-24 with more females than males and intensifies with 22

increase in age until 40-44 years. Between ages 15-34 (the reproductive period), ASDRs for females are higher than males and this may be attributed to maternal mortality. ASDRs for males are higher at ages 50 years and older than females and this is an indication of a lower life expectancy for males compared to females. Additionally, at ages 50 years and older, differences between male and female ASDRs are very high compared with the lower age groups.

Causes of death

Out of a total 911 deaths recorded in the district, 73 occurred by accident, violence, homicide or suicide and 873 deaths occurred through other causes such as diseases.

In terms of exposure to the risk of dying as a result of pregnancy related causes, Table 2.7 indicates that only 13 out of the 911 deaths that occurred in the district were due to pregnancy.

Migration

Migration refers to change in usual place of residence. A migrant is therefore defined as a person whose usual place of residence is different from his/her place of birth or previous residence. The importance of measuring migration lies in its impact on the population size, structure and distribution in the region.

Migration out of the district decreases the size of the population in the district, while migration into the district increases the population size. In addition, the selectivity of the migration process in terms of age, sex, education and other socio-demographic characteristics can have significant impact on the overall social and economic development of the district.

The 2010 PHC collected data on the duration of residence in the place of enumeration which is used to assess migratory movements in the district.

Table 2.8 presents data on birthplace and place of enumeration by duration of residence. The data reveal that there were 29, 927 migrants who moved to the district in the 12 months prior to the 2010 Population and Housing Census. Out of this number, 20,704 persons were born elsewhere in Eastern Region, 8,787 persons were born elsewhere in another region and the remaining 481 were born outside Ghana. 

The largest number of migrants to the district moved to the district from the Volta Region (2,050) followed by Ashanti Region (1,605) and Greater Accra Region (1,483). The least number of migrants moved from Upper West Region (193).

With regard to the duration of residence, about 14 percent of migrants had lived in the district for less than one year, 28.4 percent had lived in the district between one to 4 years, 15.6 percent between 5 to 9 years and 42.2 percent over ten years.