Introduction

The population of every country is not static but dynamic. The dynamism of every population is largely influenced by some major elements such as fertility mortality and migration. For the purpose of national, regional and district planning, the population distribution is very key and also, the age-sex structure and dependency ratio are vital in policy formulation and  decision-making in the country. This chapter presents the population of the Nabdam District in terms of urban-rural analysis, age structure and dependency ratio and the three critical factors that influence population; fertility mortality and migration..

Population Size and Distribution

The total population of the Nabdam District is 33,826, representing 3.2 percent of the regional population. The proportion of males in the district is 16,871 constituting 49.9 and females 16,955 also constituting 50.1 percent. The sex ratio for the District is 99.5 males per 100 females. This indicates a slight predominance of the female population. The sex ratio(s) for the population in the district with the exception of a few cases declined from one age group to the other with advancing age. The district has a 100 percent rural population since there are no localities with urban status.

Population density

Population density is the number of persons per square kilometre of land. This measure assumes equal distribution within any given area, hence it is known as crude density. The population density of the district is 138.1 per person per kilometer square, which is higher than the regional figure of 118.4 per person per kilometre square. A high population density implies more pressure on the existing social amenities, infrastructure and other resources in the district.

Age-Sex Structure

Figure 2.1 presents the age structure of the population. The highest proportion of the population (14.5 percent) is in the 5-9 year age group, and the lowest proportion (0.2 percent) is in the oldest age group of 95-99.

 In terms of sex differentials, the highest proportion of males (14.4 percent) is found in the 0-4 year age group and for females the highest proportions (14.5 percent) is in the 5-9 year age group. The district?s population has a youthful structure, with a broad base, typical of a developing country, consisting of a greater proportion of children and an apex of a small number of aged persons (Figure 2.1).

There is a large proportion of children under 15 years and a small proportion of elderly persons aged 65 years and older. The age structure of the district?s population is basically shaped by the effects of high fertility and decreasing mortality rate.

1 Age dependency ratio

Table 2.2 shows the total dependency ratio of persons in the dependent ages (0 -14 and 65 years and older) to those in the economically productive ages (15-64 years) in the Nabdam District population.

 The total age dependency ratio of the district is 94.1. This means that for every 100 persons in the working age group, there are 94.1 persons to cater for in the district. A high dependency ratio is critical since it means that there are more non-working people being looked after by the working population. However, this relationship does not translate into economic dependency since some of the people in the 0-14 and 65 years and older were actually working and some of those in the 15-64 were not be working. The table also shows that, male and female age dependency ratios are 97.1 and 91.2 respectively.

 The child dependency ratio that is the ratio of people under 15 years to those in the age group 15-64 is 80.9 percent. The old age dependency ratio, which represents the ratio of people in the 65+ age group to those in the economically productive ages of 15-64, is 13.2 percent.

Fertility, Mortality and Migration

The growth of every population depends mainly on the three factors-fertility, mortality and migration.

 Fertility refers to the actual birth performance, that is, frequency of childbearing among a population.

Mortality rate is a measure of the number of deaths in a population, scaled to the size of that population per unit of time. Migration refers to the movement of people from one geographical location to another either to stay temporally or permanently.

Fertility

Table 2.3 provides information on reported total fertility rate, general fertility rate and crude birth rate in the Nabdam District. Of the population 33,826 people in the district, 7,355 persons are women in their child-bearing years (15-49 years). Within this age group, the total number of births in the last 12 months preceding the census night is 773.

The total fertility rate, which is defined as the average number of children that would be born to a woman by the time she ended childbearing is 3.6 children. This implies that, women in Nabdam District would bear 3.6 children each if the age-specific rates continue unchanged. This fertility rate is higher than the regional fertility rate of 3.4 children.

The general fertility rate (fertility rate) is the number of live births per 1,000 women aged 15- 49 in a given year. The general fertility rate of the district is 105.1 live births per 1,000 women aged 15-49. This is higher than the regional general fertility rate of 97.5.

 The crude birth rate means the number of live births per 1,000 populations in a given year. The table indicates that the crude birth rate is 22.9 births per 1,000 population in the Nabdam District. The district?s crude birth rate is lower than the regional rate of about 23 births per 1,000 populations.

Table 2.4 shows that there are 11,316 females 12 years and older in the Nabdam District and the total number of Children ever born in the district is 33,233. Female population in the agegroup 12-14 years recorded the lowest proportion of children ever born and 60years and older recorded the highest proportion of children ever born.

Out of the total number of children ever born, 50.3 percent are males and 49.7 percent are females. This indicates that the number of male children ever born is higher than female children ever born. Female children surviving (50.3) are more than male children surviving (49.7) even though male children ever born are more than female ever born.

Mortality

The quality of life in the district and the region as a whole rests ultimately on the basic conditions which influence health, morbidity and mortality in the population. These factors include the biological make-up of individuals, prevalence and severity of specific diseases, social, economic and environmental conditions as well as the availability, accessibility, affordability and utilization of health care facilities.

The conventional measurement of mortality requires information on the number of deaths, the socio-economic characteristics of the dead, and on the population at risk of dying. Data was obtained from responses to questions on “births and deaths in the last 12 months” and those obtained from responses relating to children surviving.

Table 2.5 shows the total population, deaths in the households and crude death rate by district and region. The death rate also called the crude death rate is the number of deaths per 1,000 people in a given year. Nabdam District recorded a crude death rate of 14.0, which is higher than what was recorded in most of the other districts in the region with the exception of the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly and the Talensi District, which recorded 17.2 and 15.0 respectively. The Table also shows that the District has a crude death rate that is higher than the regional crude death rate of 10.8. This may be due to the poor nature of health service delivery.

Age specific deaths by sex

Figure 2.1 shows age specific deaths by sex in the Nabdam District. The graph shows that at birth up to age 4 years, there is a high proportion of a male death than that of females. At age 15-9 the proportion of deaths for females was higher than that of males. At ages 20-39 the proportion of for males was much higher than that of the females. At age 40 - 44 the proportion of deaths for both males and females are equal. At ages 45-49 the proportion of death of males increased above that of the females and then fell to close the gap a little from 50-59 years and then rose sharply from age 60 and older. The graph indicates that apart from 0-14 years and

15- 19 years where there are more female deaths than males and from 35- 39years and 40-44years where equal deaths are recorded by both sexes, more male deaths are recorded in rest of the age groups.

Household death

Table 2.6 shows the causes of death by district in the region. Information was collected on the causes of death of household members that occurred 12 months before the census night. There are 473 deaths recorded in the district within the period of which 16.7 percent are due to accident/violence/homicide/suicide and 83.3 percent are due to other causes. The proportion of deaths caused by accident/violence/homicide/suicide in the district is lower than both the regional and national figures, which are 84.8 percent and 88.4 percent respectively.

The table also shows that pregnancy-related deaths account for only 0.8 percent of total deaths recorded in the District as compared to 1.7 percent and 1.9 percent at the regional and the national levels respectively. Deaths that are not pregnancy-related account for 99.2 percent in the district, which is higher than the regional proportion of 98.2 percent and the national level proportion of 98.1 percent.

Migration

The 2010 census classified migrants as persons who were enumerated in a place different from where they were born, whilst non-migrants were persons who were enumerated in the place they were born.

Table 2.2 presents the population classified by birthplace and duration of residence of migrants. Migrants born elsewhere in the region (Upper East) but outside the Nabdam District constitute 70.1 percent of the total number of migrants. About 42.7 percent of migrants, born elsewhere in another region were born in the Ashanti region, constituting the highest proportion of migrants from the regions into Nabdam District. In terms of duration of residence, 37.5 percent of the migrants in the district have resided in the district for 20years or more.

 Only 0.84 percent of the migrants from other regions into the District were born in the neighbouring Upper West Region. The proportion of migrants born outside Ghana in the district is 1.5 percent.