Population Size And Growth Rates

The 2000 Population and Housing Census gave the population of the district at 146,028 comprising 71,904 males and 74,124 females. The percentage of males and females population is 49.2% and 50.8% respectively. The district share of the region’s population is 4%.

In 1984, the district had an estimated population of 87,325 and a projected population of 117,872 for the year 1996. The estimated growth rate of 3.0 % is less than the regional growth rate of 3.4%.  The age dependency ratio for the district is 0.8:1 while the economic dependency ratio is almost equal to the age dependency 0.76:1. These dependency ratios on the surface look favourable but the critical issue is that the people are not gainfully employed.

Population Density

The population density of the district has been increasing steadily over the years with 1984 recording a density of 128 persons per square kilometer in 1994. Comparatively, this is higher than the national average density of 52 persons per square kilometer in 1984. The regional densities are also lower than the district densities. The region recorded 86 persons per square kilometer for the district in 1984. This underscores the fact that district are comparatively higher.

Spatial Distribution: Settlement Patterns

The district is made up of 130 settlements with varied population sizes. Most of these settlements have less than 500 and are mostly farmsteads of mainly farming communities. Of all the settlements in the district, only two can be classified as urban with their respective population of 7368 and 5,023 according to 2000 population census. Settlements like Foase, Trede, Trabuom, Twedie, Nwineso No. 1, Kuntanase, Kromoase, Ahenema Kokoben, Aburaso, and Esereso are estimated to have between 2,860 and 4,871 people. Nine settlements also have population ranging between 2,011 and 2,651.The table below shows the population of the 20 largest settlements in the District. National Population and Housing Census (2000)

Settlements are mainly of linear and scattered type. Houses in the peri- urban location are scattered with few indigenous houses located along the road. However, those of the rural communities are located along the roads.

Household Sizes

Households are of the family and compound types especially in the rural areas. Relatives and family members live together in houses with an average household size of eight people. This is made up of extended family system of grandfather, father, grandmother, children and mothers. Most houses are built of landcrete with few made of sandcrete. Buildings are roofed with thatch and bamboos especially in remote areas of the district. Nevertheless, in some of the major settlements there are houses built and roofed with aluminium sheets. Some of the peri- urban settlements have roofs made with tiles.

Age and Sex Composition

The age and sex structure of the district depict for all censal years, a situation where females (50.3%) out- number males (49.7%). This can be explained, among other reasons by the fact that, it is mostly, the men who migrate in search of jobs leaving the women to take care of the children. 

The dependent population conceptually, is made up of age group 0-14 years (child dependency) and 65 years and older (older dependency). The dependent population of the district is 75,618 (51.7%) and the working population is 70,410 (48.3%). The ratio was estimated to be 0.8:1, which implies that, there are more people in the working age group and therefore fewer mouths to feed. The critical issue here is their productivity levels and how many of these people are gainfully employed. The economic dependency ratio is estimated at 0.76:1 that is even lower than the age dependency. This means, there is a potential for savings that can lead to investments and job opportunities in the district.

Labour Force

The agricultural sector dominates the labor force and employs a significant number of people. The composition of the labor force in the small- scale industries shows that 37%  are paid laborers and 26% are apprentices. In the medium scale, 6% are owner workers, 8% are family workers ad 70% are paid workers while apprenticeship takes 16%.

Occupational Distribution

The major occupation in the district is agriculture that employs 62.6% of the labor force. Of this, crop farming employs 57.4% and fishing 5.2%. About 41% of those engaged in other occupation still take up agriculture as a minor occupation.

The second highest occupation is service. It employs about 19.1% of the working population. This sector comprises government employees, private employees and other workers. The educated labor force dominates this sector. Industrial activities are undertaken in both small and medium scales. It also employs about 16.7% of the working population. The problem with the industrial sector is its weak backward and forward linkages with the agricultural sector. Only 12% is agro based.

Another category in the occupational structure is trading which employs about 11.31% of the working force. Women dominate this sector. About 56% of the goods are industrial hardwares brought from Kumasi and sold within and outside the district.

Even though it would be very difficult to really assess real unemployment, seasonal or disguised unemployment form about 4% of the working age group. Even though the district is described as a rural district in terms of population and social amenities, its economic characteristics show some urban features.

A substantial amount of household income of about 54.5% is spent on food, which does not reflect a typical rural district in Ghana. Income is relatively higher in the industrial sector with a monthly income of ¢56,547 while farming and trading are behind with income of ¢49,276 and ¢49,494 respectively. With an average household income of ¢73,983 a month, the per capita income of individuals comes up to ¢14,796 a month. This gives an indication of the low standard of living in the district. The average monthly household expenditure for 1996 was estimated at ¢40,354 with food accounting for 66.26%. About 43.75% of the households save some part of their income either at the bank (51.67%) or at home (24%).

Migration Trend

Migration towards the urban centers is high causing lower densities in some rural areas; it is also empirically evident that most people commute from the district to look for jobs in Kumasi, thereby reducing the migration rate in the district. This situation poses a problem for the distribution of higher order services and functions in the district. This is because certain services require some threshold populations before they can be provided. This implies that many of the several small communities may not qualify for higher order services such as banks, senior secondary schools, post offices and hospitals. Therefore, services would be located in central places for the benefit of three or more settlement.

Rural - Urban Split

The district’s rural- urban split is 96:4 compared to the regional rural- urban split of 49:51. Since human beings are the ultimate beneficiaries of the development plan, it is important for planning to take into consideration the population dynamics of the district. The increasing population density over the years can put pressure on services and infrastructure. There is therefore the need to provide enough services and infrastructure to ensure that future growth in the population does not outstrip the few stock of infrastructure in the district.

About 62.6% of the district’s labor force is in agriculture that is a potential for the district. If the district develops its industrial and service sectors, the agricultural sector can shed off some labor to these sectors. There is the need for the development of the human resource in the agricultural sector by giving them a lot of extension services to improve farmers’ activities.

Migration of people from the district to Kumasi affects agriculture by reducing the level of production and income. There is also the problem of distribution of services to the small communities since they might not have the threshold population required. They will therefore lack services such as post offices, hospitals, banks, senior secondary schools etc. the provisions of services would be spatially skewed to the district capital and other few towns and this does not augur well for proportional development of the district.

Spatial Analysis
Settlement Systems and Linkages

The District has over 70 dispersed settlements with numerous small scattered villages.  This has come about as a result of the agrarian form of the local economy which demands demand large tracts of land for the farming purposes.  The effect of the scattered settlement is evidenced by the small population sizes of the communities. No settlement in the District has a population of 5,000 and above. The largest community has a population of about 3,500.

The dispersed nature of these communities and their linkages affects the distribution of infrastructural facilities as most communities do not meet the population threshold for the provision of educational and health facilities. 

Functional Heirarchy of Settlements and its Implications (Scalogram Analysis)

From the reconnaissance survey and responses received from base line data collected from these communities, the various services and facilities present at some towns in the district were identified. The population figure for 2000 population and housing census were taken and using the district growth rate of 3.1%. The settlements were rank –ordered.

A cut off point of 1,000 population was set as communities of below 1,000 people were considered as too small for the analysis and were not considered.

Facilities and services available in selected communities were identified and weighted. The total centrality for each settlement was calculated by adding all the weighted centrality indices (which is the total centrality divided by the number of functions) applicable to each settlement.