GSS advocates proactive policies for Ghana’s youthful population
The government has been called upon to implement proactive policies to leverage the country’s growing population for sustainable national development.
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The Deputy Government Statistician, Dr Faustina Frempong-Ainguah, who made the call, said given that the country’s youthful population was youthful, it was an opportunity for the government to provide educational and skills training interventions that would equip young people to contribute meaningfully to national development.
She stressed that if the government failed to leverage the huge potential of the youthful population through innovative policies, the population growth could be counterproductive in the long run.
The population expert made the call at a forum organised by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) in Accra yesterday to disseminate Ghana’s population prospects, district-level population projections, the launch of the maiden district ranking report and the Ghana stats mobile application.
The event was organised in collaboration with the University of Ghana and the Regional Institute for Population Studies.
Context
The GSS has projected Ghana's population to increase by 20 million by 2050, taking the total population to over 53 million. Currently, the GSS puts the country's population at 33.07 million.
Prof. Kofi Awusabo-Asare (2nd from right), Professor Emeritus at the Department of Population and Health, University of Cape Coast, declaring the launch of the Ghana Statistical Service Application with Dr Grace Bediako (right), Chairperson, Ghana Statistical Service Governing Board; Prof. Ayaga A. Bawah (left), Director of the University of Ghana Regional Institute for Population Studies, and Prof. Samuel Kobina Annim (2nd from left), Government Statistician. Pictures: CALEB VANDERPUYE
The service further projects that from now till 2030, the national population will increase annually by 711,706. In terms of the youth (15 to 35 years), she said the youthful population was projected to increase from the current 14.12 million to 15.85 in 2030.
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Against that backdrop, Dr Frempong-Ainguah said the population projections required progressive policies to harness the huge potential of the youth for development.
World projections
In a related development, the global population is projected to peak at 10.2 billion people by 2080, up from the current 8.2 billion, according to the World Population Prospects report.
The report, which was presented by the Director of the University of Ghana Regional Institute for Population Studies, Prof. Ayaga A. Bawah, showed that after peaking, the world population would start declining gradually to end the century at 10.2 billion people.
He said in 63 countries containing 28 per cent of the global population, the size of the population had already peaked before 2024.
Again, he said in the other 48 countries with 10 per cent of the world population, their population growth would peak between 2025 and 2054.
"In the remaining 126 countries, the population is likely to continue growing through 2054, potentially reaching a peak later in the century or beyond 2100," he added.
Providing further highlights of the report, Prof. Bawah said the main driver of global population increase throughout mid-century would be the momentum created by growth in the past, with Africa leading the charge.
He also said countries with youthful populations and declining fertility had a limited time to benefit economically from the increasing concentration of the population in the working age.
Relevant data
A Senior Policy Advisor at the Office of the Vice-President, Prof. Kwaku Appiah-Kubi, said the population statistics put out by the GSS were relevant and timely because it was crucial for effective policy-making, targeted intervention and achieving development goals.
"The discourse on Ghana’s population prospects is timely and relevant given the current global and national population trends and the need for policy intervention that would promptly respond to the trends," he said.