Ghana releases detailed report on 2010 Census
A National Analytical Report of the 2010 Population and Housing Census was on Wednesday launched in Accra, with the aim of providing Government and stakeholders with current data to address socio-economic issues.
The report, which promises to provide the basis for assessing the achievements of various policies and interventions, is also expected to serve as the platform for comparing Ghana’s demographic characteristics with that of other countries.
It will also provide the basis for comparison of future censuses.
Speaking at the launch Dr Philomena Nyarko, Acting Government Statistician, announced that a replicate of the report would be sent to the regions for discussion.
She expressed gratitude to Government and development partners for providing technical and financial assistance for the project.
The analytical report is said to contain in-depth analysis of various topics covered in the 2010 Census including Disability; Information, Communication and Technology; and Agriculture which were not covered in previous censuses.
The report is being published two and a half years after the “census night” and more than a year after the final Population and Housing Census was released in May 2011.
Dr Bernard Coquelin, an Official of the United Nations Population Fund, called for the timely release of census reports to make them relevant for evidence-based policies and programmes.
He said though findings in the analytical report were positive, the document hid the existing marked regional and district disparities.
Dr Coquelin called for related evidence-based interventions and investments to remove the disparities.
“With the new National Development Medium Term Strategy being formulated, Ghana has the opportunity to use the revealed regional disparities evidence from the 2010 Census as the basis for a human-centred development strategy to eliminate regional disparities while targeting growth,” he said.
Dr Coquelin expressed confidence that Ghana could achieve the feat, stressing that the country has the rich tradition of development planning both at the national and district levels.
“With the continual availability of traditional resources and new ones being discovered… I see Ghana ready to shift into the new dimension-preparation for and utilisation of the four-decade demographic dividend… and population bonus mentioned earlier for rapid development with the potential benefit of removing regional and district disparities in levels of development,” he added.
He said some positive highlights of the Analytical Report indicated that literacy in Ghana had improved with 74 per cent of those who are 11 years and more reported to be literate.
Dr Coquelin added that since 2000 access to improved sanitation over the last 10 years with the proportion of dwelling units with access to water closet had doubled.
He said the report put the current average number of children per couple in Ghana at four.
“With increased investments in Family Planning Services this could be reduced to two per couple,” he added.
Dr Coquelin expressed the hope that the progress would present the opportunity for the country to enjoy the benefits of population bonus, which lasts for 40 years.
He underscored the value of providing adequate investment in education, health, environment, job creation and good governance.
Source: GNA