Introduction

The main factors that affect the growth of any given population are migration, fertility and mortality, which are largely influenced by age and sex. This chapter examines the population distribution of the Zabzugu District. Other demographic issues like migration, fertility and mortality are analysed by sex and various age group categories.

Population Size and Distribution

The district has a total population size of 63,815 distributed over a total area of about 1,100.1km squared. This gives a population density of about 58.0 persons per square km. The number of females (32,509) is higher than the males (31,306). This gives a sex ratio of 96.3.

Table 2.1 shows the population of the district by age, sex and type of locality. The district has the highest proportion of its population within the age group 0-4years with a total population of 11,611. The total number of males in this age group is 5,960 and the females are 5,651 giving it a sex ratio of 105.5. The lowest proportion of the district’s population is in the age group of 95-99, which has a total population of 59 out of which 33 are males and 26 are females. This also represents a sex ratio of 126.9.

The population in age group 0-4 years is slightly higher than that of 5-9 years where the population begins to decline as the age increased. The trend of decreasing population with increasing age changed at age group 60-64, where there is an upward turn in the population from the previous age group.

Generally, one can observe a decline in population as age increased except for a few instances where there are spikes in population for certain age groups. In the urban locality for instance, there are spikes in the population for age groups 0-9, 60-64, 70-74, and 80-84 where the population rise from the previous age group. This could be attributed to age misreporting where people who are not sure of their age reported their age to the nearest whole number ending in zero. In the urban areas, patterns that do not conform to the declining numbers with advancing age are noticed in age groups 5-9, 60-64 and 70-74.

The Population of the District is 79,201 (2000 Population and Housing Census) comprising of 38,696 males and 40,505 females. With a growth rate of 2.9%, the District’s population is projected to be 94,018 in 2006. The population density is 40 persons per square kilometer.

The 20 largest communities with their respective populations based on the 2006 projections are:

•    Zabzugu……………………….11,269
•    Tatale…………………………...6,592
•    Nakpali (Kworli)……………….3,155
•    Kuyuli…………………………..2,693
•    Woribogu……………………….2,193
•    Gbandi………………………….1,487
•    Kuntumbiyili……………………1,091
•    Kandin…………………………..1,038
•    Old Gor…………………………..1,037
•    Sanguli…………………………...1,037
•    Yachedo………………………….1,032
•    Nahuyili…………………………….987
•    Sabare No. 1………………………..987
•    Kukpaligu…………………………..885
•    Kpalbutabu…………………………861
•    Kpalgagbini…………………….......802
•    Jayondo……………………………..861
•    Chakundo…………………………...761
•    Gor – Kukani……………………….758
•    Omualdo……………………………742

The proportion of children under 15 years is about 53%. The dependency ratio that is the ratio of non-productive persons (0 – 15 years and 65 years and over) to persons aged 16 – 64 years is 1.1. This means for every dependent there is one productive household member or, in other words each adult household has himself and one additional person to care for.

Households in Zabzugu District are predominantly male-headed. The proportion of female-headed households is 4.2%. The average household size is 7.7 with the smallest household comprising one member and the largest household having 30 members.

Age and sex structure

As illustrated in Figure 2.1, the population distribution by age and sex for the district bears a resemblance of a typical population pyramid developing country, which has a broad base and a narrow apex. This kind of pyramid denotes a youthful population. The population in age group 0-4 years is slightly higher (11,611) than that of 5-9 (10,433) where the population begun to decline as the age increased. The trend of decreasing population with increasing age changed at age group 60-64 and 70-74 where there is an upward turn in the population from the previous age group.

It can also be observed that, in most cases, the males in the various age groups tended to be higher than the females. From age group 0-19, males are more than the females. The situation reversed from age group 20-44 where there is female dominance in terms of numbers. From age group 45-69, it could be seen that there is a return in the dominance of the males in the population. There are however general fluctuations in the figures for the remaining age groups in terms of the male-female populations.

Sex Ratio

The Sex ratio is the number of males per hundred females in a given population (GSS Compendium). The sex ratio for the district could thus be interpreted as that: there are 96 males for every 100 females. The sex ratio shows changes at different age groups. Table 2.1 reveals that, from age zero to 19 (0-19), there are changes in sex ratio for example 96.3 in age group 0-4 to 109.8 in age group 15-19. At this stage, there appeared to be a sharp decline in the sex ratio from 109.8 in age group 15-19 to 75.7 in age group 20-24.

This indicates that from that age group there are about 75 males to every 100 females. This trend continued to age group 45-49 where there is again an increase in the sex ratio (108.8) to male dominance. From that particular age group and above, the ratio is more than 100 except for age groups 70-74 and 80-94, which denoted a slight dominance in female populations.

Dependency ratio

Table 2.1 also depicts the Age dependency ratio of the district as 100.2. Age dependency ratio is an expression of all people in the dependent ages (age 0-14 and 65 year and above) over those in the economically active age group (15- 64 years) and multiplied by 100. Thus a high dependency ratio will mean that there is a high burden on the economically active group. A dependency ratio of 100.2 therefore implies that for every 100 people in the working age group, there are about 100 people that depend on them for their livelihood. In the urban locality the dependency ratio is 83.1 while that of the rural locality is 109.3

Fertility, Mortality and Migration

The main determinants of a country’s population growth, rests on three major factors. These are fertility, migration and mortality.

Fertility

Total fertility in Ghana has declined from seven children per woman to four over the last 30 years (Ghana Statistical Service, 2009). Fertility is the natural capability of a woman to produce offspring. There are several ways of measuring fertility in a given population. One such method is the general fertility rate which is derived by dividing the number of births in a year by the number of women aged 15-44 times thousand. Another is total fertility rate, which measures the total number of children a woman would bear during a lifetime if she are to experience the prevailing age-specific fertility rates of women.

Table 2.2 illustrates the total fertility rate, general fertility rate and crude birth rate in the districts in the Northern region. The region has a total fertility rate of 3.54, a general fertility rate of 101.9 per 1000 and a crude birth rate of 24 per 1000. The Zabzugu district figures are below that of the regional figures. The district’s total fertility rate is 2.4, the general fertility rate is 65.2 per 1000 and a crude birth rate of 15.9 per 1000. The district is ranked the least among the districts in the region with a lower total fertility rate. It is also the least in the general fertility rate and crude birth rate among the districts in the Northern region

Children ever born and surviving

Table 2.3 shows children ever born and children surviving by sex. The total number of children ever born by women 12 years and older (20,077 women) in the district is 45,368 with only 39,582 surviving. Children ever born increased gradually from age groups 12-14 years to 20-24 where the number of births increased sharply. From age 25 and above woman have higher probabilities of giving birth which accounts for the higher figures of children ever born. The wide disparity between the children ever born and the children surviving indicates the high death rates of children in the district.

Out of the 45,368 children ever born for women 12 years and older, 23,473 were males while 21,895 were females. The highest number of male children ever born (4,014) belong to mothers within the age group 30-34. In the same vein the highest of female children ever born (3,908) belong to mothers within the ages of 30-34. On the children surviving, it is not surprising that mothers within the age groups of 30-34 have the most children surviving (7,153) out of which 3,628 are male children surviving and 3,525 female children surviving.

Mortality

Mortality is another determinant of a country’s population growth, which is defined as susceptibility to death. A low death rate could mean a high population growth if all other things are held constant

.

Death in Household

Crude Death Rate is the number of deaths per 1,000 population in a given year. Table 2.4 depicts the death in households and crude death rate by districts in the northern region. Out of the total population of 63,815 in the Zabzugu district, about 196 deaths were recorded in all households in the district giving a crude death rate of 3.1 per 1000 population. This indicates that there are approximately three deaths in every 1000 population in the district, which is lower than the regional average of 5.9.

Causes of Death

Table 2.5 indicates death in household at regional and at the district level. The region had a total 14,715 deaths in households in 2010. Out of this, 1,434 representing 9.7 percent are due to accidents/violence/homicide/suicide and the remaining 90.3 are due to other causes. The Zabzugu district’s total deaths in households is 196. Deaths due to accidents/violence/homicide/suicide accounted for 12.8 percent of total deaths and all other causes of death accounting for 87.2 percent. The district ranked the least among the districts in the region with low deaths in households.

Age specific mortality rates

Figure 2.2 shows the reported age specific death rates by sex in the Zabzugu district. Age-specific death rate is the number of deaths of people in a specified age group per 1,000 population of that age group. From the figure, the death rate for both male and female populations reduced drastically from ages below 5years but the male mortality is slightly higher than the female in both 5-9 and 15-19 years age group and they merged at the 10-14 and 20-24 year age group. The death rate for the male population tipped up for the age group 25-29 but both male and female population start to fluctuate for the remaining age group up to 55-59. From age 60-64 and above the death rate increased as age advanced.

Migration

Migration is a change in one’s usual place of residence, which involves the crossing of an administrative boundary. Table 2.6 illustrates the birth place of migrants in the district and the number of years spent in the district. A total of 3,546 migrants could be found in the district out of which 2,478 are migrants born elsewhere in the Northern region. The region with the least migrants in the district is the Central region, which had a total of 5.

The region with the highest migrants who had stayed less than one year in the district is Eastern region (65.4%) while Upper West also leads in the number of migrants who had stayed in the district between 1-4 years (84.6%). For migrants who had stayed in the district between 5-9 years, those who came from outside Ghana are in the lead with a total proportion of 18.9 percent.