Introduction

Reliable and timely demographic and socio-economic data underpin any sound and effective decision-making in all spheres. The population size and age-sex composition is the major source of information on all aspects of the population of a district. The size and distribution of the population also inform policy formulation and implementation within a geographical area (district).

This chapter presents the analysis of the demographic characteristics information collected during the 2010 Population and Housing Census on the population size and distribution, the age-sex structure, fertility, dependency ratios, rural-urban place of residence, mortality, birthplace and migration on Suaman District.

Population Size and Distribution

Table 2.1 shows the population by age, sex and type of locality. The total population reported for the district during the 2010 census is 20,529. Males constitute (51.9%) and females (48.1%). The age group 0-4 has the highest proportion (14.1%) followed by 5-9 age group (13.2%) and 10-14 age group2 (12.7%). The age distribution therefore shows a pattern of reduction in population across the age groups as age increases up to 85-89 age group. However, the only exception is the age group 90-94 which increased instead of decreasing.

Table 2.1 indicates that, the sex ratio of the population is 107.7. The sex ratio is the measure of the number of males to every 100 females in the district. This means that for every 107.7 males there are 100 females.

A greater percentage of the population are in the rural areas (61%) compared to the urban centres (39%).

Table 2.1 further shows the dependency ratio (the measure of dependent population made up of those below 15 years and persons 65 years and older to those in the economically productive ages of 15-64 years).

The overall dependency ratio for the district is 74.7. This implies that, every 100 persons in the active population (15-64) supports about 75 persons in the dependent age. The dependency ratios for males and females in the district are 72.0 and 77.7 respectively. This implies that at least each person within the active population whether male or female takes care of at least one person within the dependent age bracket. The child dependency ratio is 69.9 while that for old age is 4.9.

In terms of the rural – urban proportions, the rural dependency ratio (80.0) is higher than that of the urban areas (67.0). This implies that more people in rural communities in the district depend on the few active working population and therefore puts more pressure on the working group to provide economic and social needs of the dependents. The male and female old age dependencies are almost the same in the district (4.9 and 5.0) respectively.

Age-Sex Structure

Figure 2.1 presents the population pyramid of Suaman District. The age structure of the population depicts a broader base that gradually decreases with increasing age. The 0-4 age group is identified to be the largest, followed by the 5-9, 10-14, and 15-19 age groups while the 95-99 age group is the least in terms of its population size. The proportion of male to female population at birth is the same among the age group 0-4. However, the female proportion decreases between the ages within age groups 0-4 and 20-24. The broader base of the pyramid indicates that the population of the district is very young. The implication of the age structure is that much resource is needed for the provision of schools, health care facilities and employment opportunities for the youth.

Migration, Fertility and Mortality

Fertility

Fertility, mortality and migration are the most crucial determinants of population growth. The fertility and mortality rate of a given population reflect the health status and population change over a period of time. The total fertility rate (TFR) is the average number of children that would be born to a woman by the time she completes childbearing if she were to experience the prevailing age-specific fertility rates.

Table 2.2 presents the reported total fertility (TFR), general fertility rate and crude birth rate by District and Region. The total fertility rate for the district (3.2) is comparatively lower than the regional rate (3.6). The reported crude birth rate (CBR) is 23.5, which means that the number of births in 2010 divided by the mid-year population is about 25 in the district. The general fertility rate (GFR) is 93.8 per 1000 women showing that the number of births in 2010 divided by the mid-year population of women in the age group 15-49 is about 94. With the exception of Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis which reported the lowest figures of TFR (2.8), GFR (81.5) and CBR (23.0), all the values for the rest of the districts are in the same range as that of Suaman District.

Table 2.3 presents female population 12 years and older by age, children ever born, children surviving and the sex of child. The total number of children ever born to women of child bearing age (12-49) is 14,806 and the number surviving is 13,203 children. The distribution by sex shows that more female children (7435) were born compared to male children (7371) and more female children (6704) survived than male children (6499). The table shows that, there is a high concentration of children ever born as the age of the women increases, especially from age group15-19 up to age 40-44. For instance, in age group 30-34, 2,079 children were born to 687 women as compared with 103 children born to 1,126 women in age group 15-19. The distribution further shows that, female population between the age group 12-14 gives birth to the least number of children. This could be attributed to the fact that most of the women aged 12-14 years could be schooling or in apprenticeship training and therefore would not have begun child bearing as much as those in the older ages. However, childbearing among the 12-14 year-olds has serious social, economic and reproductive health implications.

Mortality

Mortality rate measures the number of deaths that occur within a population. The incidence of death can indirectly reveal much about a population’s standard of living and health care.

Table 2.4 presents the population, deaths in households and crude death rate by district and Region. The number of households that recorded death is ninety-eight (98). Suaman District is the only district in the region to have recorded the least number of deaths in the households (0.7%). All the other districts recorded more than hundred households having deaths within the last twelve months preceding the census. Although Suaman District recorded the least number of household deaths (98), it has a slightly higher crude death rate (4.8%) when compared to districts like Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipal, Sefwi Akontombra and Bia East districts which recorded more than hundred deaths. Crude death rate (CDR) refers to the number of deaths per 1000 population.



Age specific death rate by sex

Figure 2.2 shows the reported age specific death rate by sex in 2010. It is observed that, there is a higher male death rate (67 per 1000) than females (28.4 per 1000) among the age group 70+. The 60-64 age group also recorded 27.4 deaths per 1000 females to 0.0 per 1000 males. However, from age group 10-14 to 35- 44 the female death rates are higher than the male death rate. This may be because most women within these age groups are within their reproductive ages and are likely to be affected by pregnancy related diseases or suffer from maternal mortality.

Migration

Migration is one of the factors that influence population change. It influences the socio-demographic structure by influencing population growth by directly affecting fertility and mortality as well as labour force of the areas of origin and destination (GSS, 2010).

Table 2.5 shows birthplace by duration of residence of migrants. The total number of migrants in the district is 8,827. About fourteen percent of these migrants were born elsewhere in the region while 83.1 percent were born elsewhere in another region and 2.7 percent were born outside Ghana. Nearly 16 Close to sixteen percent of the migrants have lived in the district for less than a year, 28.6 percent have been residents for 1-4 years, and 18.6 percent for 5-9 years, 21.4 percent for 10-19 years and 15.9 percent for 20 years and above. For those born elsewhere in the region, 31.6 percent have resided in the district for less than a year, 25.1 percent for 1-4 years, 12.7 percent for 5-9 years, 15.9 percent for 10-19 years and 14.7 percent for 20 years and more.

Upper East Region has the highest number of migrants (17.5%) in the region and a greater percentage of them (36.2%) have been residents for 1-4 years during the time of the census. The second highest number of migrants (15.6%) are from Brong Ahafo Region with (27.2%) residing in the district for 1-4 years. The least number of migrants are from the Greater Accra Region (1.5%) and 46.5 percent have resided in the district for 1-4 years.