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DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS

 Introduction


This chapter looks at the population size of the Tatale/Sanguli District and its distribution across the 169 communities. The chapter discusses population trends and density, the age-sex structure, nationality, ethnicity and religion as well as mortality, fertility and migration.


Population Size and Distribution


Table 2.1 shows that the Tatale/Sanguli District has a total population of 60,039, representing 2.4 percent of the regional figure (2,479,461) with about 50.4 percent females and 49.6 percent males. The district has a rural population of 81.4 percent of the total population and the urban population is 18.6 percent.


Sex ratio


Sex ratio measures the number of males in relation to every 100 females. The district has a general sex ratio of 98.4 males per 100 females. Sex ratio is very high in the age group 0-14 (105.3) and reduces to 92.9 in the economically active age group of 15-64 and increases slightly to 93.2 in the 65 and over age group. The figures show male deficit in the older ages. This could be as a result of higher fertility among males in the district or perhaps there is a high out-migration among males.


Age dependency ratio


In Economic analysis, dependency ratio looks at the proportion of the population who are too young and also those who are too weak to work. Therefore, dependency ratio refers to the proportion of the population under 15 years and over the age of 64 years (Ghana statistical service, 2010). The economic implication of this indicator is that, as the ratio increases, it results in an increasing burden on the productive age of the population (15-64 years) to sustain the needs of the economically dependent. Table 2.1 shows that the age dependency ratio in the Tatale-Sanguli District is about 99.8 percent.

This means that, every 100 persons in the productive force has 99.8 dependants to cater for. The ratio is much higher among males (105.8) than females (94.2). Similarly it is much higher in the rural areas (105.1) than in the urban areas (79.5). Again the male deficit observed in the sex ratios is reflecting on male-female and rural-urban differentials in age dependency ratios. This supports the explanation that there might be very high male out-migration in the district, which perhaps is from the rural areas to the urban areas.


Age and Sex Structure


Accurate information on age-sex structure is very important for effective planning and decision making. Data disaggregated by age and sex are crucial not only for demographic analysis of morbidity, mortality and fertility, but also for planning for various developmental areas. Any discussion of a country’s educational needs, labour force participation and migration, for example, will not be complete without information on the age-sex structure of the population.


Population pyramid


Figure 2.1 shows that the District’s age-sex structure is broad at the base and narrows upwards. The district’s population is therefore more youthful in nature and has the potential of increasing the productive work force with time. However, it also implies greater provision of social amenities such as schools, water, health facilities, and recreational centers to cater for the youthful population. With proper planning and prudent use of available resources, the youthful nature of the population should be considered an asset.



Fertility, Mortality and Migration


Population change is brought about by three demographic variables: fertility, mortality and migration. A change in any of the variables can affect the population. For instance if there is high fertility, it increases the population and a decrease in fertility retards the population growth. Also an increase in mortality of any population would decrease the population size and a decrease in mortality might increase the population size. Furthermore, when there is an increase or decrease in migration, it can have an effect on the size of the population


Fertility


The International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (1982) refers to fertility as the actual birth performance, that is, frequency of childbearing among the female population. Fertility rate therefore, is the number of children born per woman. There were two types of data that were collected on fertility: lifetime fertility and current fertility. Lifetime fertility refers to the total number of live births to females 12 years and older during their lifetime (children ever born). Current fertility refers to number of births that females 12 to 54 years have in 12 months preceding the census night.

According to the 5th edition of the population handbook, Total Fertility Rate (TFR) is the average number of children that would be born alive to a woman during her lifetime if she were to pass through her childbearing years conforming to the age-specific fertility rates of a given year. In effect, this is the total number of children a woman would have if the fertility rates for a given year applied to her throughout her reproductive life. The General fertility rate is the number of live births per 1,000 women ages 15-49 in a given year. The data in the table indicates that TFR in the Tatale-Sanguli District is 3.5 per 1,000 populations, which is lower than the regional rate of 3.54 per 1,000 populations.

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The District recorded 1,307 live births per 1000 women aged 15-49 years, 12 months prior to the census night. This translates to a GFR of 92.6 births per 1,000 women 15-49 years, which is lower than the regional rate of 101.9. The CBR for the District is, 21.8 births per 1,000 women, which is also lower than the regional rate of 24.0.


Mortality


Data on mortality are used as benchmarks to determine the health status and growth potential of the population. Table 2.3 shows the number of children ever born and their sexes in the district of females 12 years and older. Out of the total population of children ever born, males constitute 52.2 percent and females 47.8 percent. The table also shows that male children surviving are 52 percent and 48.1 percent are females.


Table 2.3 indicates that age group 30-34 recorded the highest number of children ever born (17%), and children surviving (17.7%). The age group which recorded the least number of children ever born is 12-14 (16 children). Out of that figure, children who survived are 15. The proportion of children ever born increases steadily from 0.7 percent in the age group 15-19 to a peak of 17.0 percent in the age group 30-34 and decreases again to 2.2 percent in age 55-59. In all the age groups there are more male births than female births.

The death rate (also called the crude death rate) is the number of deaths per 1,000 populations in a given year. Table 2.4 describes deaths in households and crude death rate by districts in Northern Region. Tatale- Sanguli district with a total population of 60,039 recorded 210 deaths as against the regional deaths in households of 14,715. The crude death rate for the general population in the district is 3.5 deaths per 1,000 population percent, which is lower than the regional rate of 5.9 deaths.



Figure 2.2 shows the age specific death rates for the population of the Tatale-Sanguli District. It shows that male deaths are higher in the early years of life, from age 0 to 14 years. Then from age group 10-14 to 20-24 male deaths fall a little below those of females only to pick up again from there up to age group 30-34. Female deaths from this age group to age group 50-54 are slightly higher than those of males. This may be attributed to maternal related deaths. In the extreme old ages (From 50-54 onwards), male deaths are generally much higher than those of females. It may be deduced from the figure that females in the district have a higher life expectancy than males.


Causes of deaths in households


From Table 2.5 the district recorded 210 deaths in the year preceding the census, compared to the regional total of 14,715 and 163,534 for the country. About 13 percent of the total deaths in the district were caused by accident/violence/homicide/suicide and 87 percent by all other causes. The proportion of deaths caused by accident/violence/homicide in the district is a little higher than both the regional and national averages. Also, the district recorded six pregnancy-related deaths of females 15 – 54 years, representing 3 percent of the total deaths, which is also a little higher than both the regional and national averages of 2.0 percent each.

 

Migration


Migration is an important element in a country’s population distribution. Migration is the physical movement of people from one place to another, usually involving a change of residence. The place of birth and the place of enumeration in a census are important for understanding the internal movements of the population in any district. People migrate either within or from one region to another for a variety of reasons such as economic and educational opportunities.


Table 2.5 shows the total number of migrants into the district and their duration of stay. It shows that the total population of migrants in the district as recorded by the 2010 PHC was 11,862. Out of this, people who were born elsewhere in the region were 9,228, constituting 77.8 percent of all migrants. Out of the total of 2,634 migrants who were born elsewhere, 1,494 or 56.7 percent were born outside the country. The situation has arisen because of the district’s proximity to both Burkina Faso and Togo. Brong Ahafo and Volta are the major source regions of migrants from elsewhere outside the Northern Region. These are the two regions closest to the district.

 

Table 2.5 also indicates the duration of stay of migrants in the district. About a quarter of the migrants (25.5%) have stayed in the district for between 1-4 years. As much as 44.5 percent of migrants have stayed in the district for 10 years or more, with 20.1 percent staying for 20 years or more.

In five of the regions, (Western [70.6%], Central [57.1%], Volta [51.3%], Eastern [51.3%] and Upper East [50.6%]), migrants who have stayed in the district for less than five years are in the majority. That means most of the migrants from other regions to the Tatale-Sanguli District are recent migrants. It is only among the migrants from the Upper West Region that majority (50.7%) have stayed for 10 years or more. With migrants from outside the country, 47.2 percent have stayed in the district for less than five years and a third have stayed for 10 years or more. It could be said then that the Tatale-Sanguli district has served as safe haven for non-Ghanaians for quite a long time.

 

 

 

 

Date Created : 11/21/2017 8:12:34 AM