The President of the Republic of Ghana, H.E Akuffo Addo and his family have been enumerated today in the ongoing population and housing census
On that note, H.E Akuffo Addo has appealed to Ghanaians to get counted to help know the population of the country and also for policy formulation
Ghana is holding the population and housing census after 11 years of the previous census which occurred in the year 2010.
The country was supposed to conduct the census last year but unable to do it because of the outbreak of the covid 19
Ghana has been conducting a population census every 10 years since 1891 where the country was under British colonial administration.
The 1891 Census was the first population census that happened in the country and the country was called Gold Coast under the rule of Governor William Edward Maxwell.
British Colonial Administration held five consecutive censuses in ten years intervals thus, 1891,1901, 1911, 1921,1931.
Ghana did not hold a population census in 1941 due to World War 1 which happened between 1939 to 1945
The last population census under British Colonial Administration was held in 1948 after which the power struggles between Ghanaian political leaders led by Dr Kwame Nkrumah led to independence in 1957
The first population census after independence was held in 1960 and during that time, the Prime Minister, Dr Kwame Nkrumah championed the exercise and the state recorded 6.7 million Ghanaians
The 1970 population census recorded 8.5 million and the figure represent a 27% increase in the population size as compared to 1960. No census took place in 1980 due to political instability. The 1984 population census under the military rule of the PNDC leader, J.J Rawlings record 12.3 million people and the figure represent double population growth compared to 1960. The major contributing factor was the political tensions between Ghana and Nigeria popularly called ‘Ghana Must Go’ in 1983. Nigeria deported over 1 million Ghanaians
The 2000 and 2010 Population and Housing Census under Fourth Republic 18.9million and 24.7 million respectively. It has been estimated that the 2021 population census will be more than 30 million Ghanaians