Ghana’s population is projected to reach 37.23 million in 2030 and 58.77 million in 2050, according to latest figures released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).
The population projections for 2021 to 2050 indicates that nearly 72,000 persons will be added, each year, to the number of people in the country.
The report launched in Accra, Tuesday, predicted that the proportion of children would decline to 29.1 percent while that of persons aged 60 and above would increase to 10.8 percent in 2050.
GSS predictions relied on information from the 2021 population census, other historical data, as well as factors such as migration, fertility and mortality rate.
The 2021 population census puts Ghana’s population at 30.83 million, and the figure in 2024 is said to be 1.07 times higher than that of 2021.
Presenting highlights of the report, Dr. Faustina Frempong-Ainguah, Deputy Government Statistician in charge of Social and Population Statistics, said the population projection, would among other things, help track the implementation of the national, continental, and global development goals.
In the regional breakdown, she noted that the “population pressure on Accra will deepen” by 2030. The population density in the region is expected to reach about 2,143 persons square kilometre by 2030.
On the other hand, the report established that the population in nine out of 16 regions “will continue to remain rural” by 2030. These include Volta, Oti, Western North, North East, Upper West, Savannah and Upper East Regions.
To that end, Dr Frempong-Ainguah, suggested more developmental projects and job creation in less populated areas to help “redistribute” the population in Accra.
She called for efficient use of land in the capital city as more people continued to move in to undertake diverse economic activities.
“There is pressure on Accra but there are other things that can be done…In Accra, we can decide not to have one story buildings; we should be able to put up more high-rise buildings.
“There some areas that are not dense like Accra, factories can be set up and jobs created to attract people to move to those areas as well,” she told Ghana News Agency on the sidelines.
The government statistician also urged policy makers to make provisions for the elderly as there would be more people in that age bracket in future.
GSS again predicts that the number of people of school going age will reach 15.86 million in 2030 with that of Greater alone projected to reach 2.96 million by that period.
GNA