Ghana’s population growth rate worrying – NPC

The National Population Council (NPC) has urged Ghanaians to adopt smaller family numbers since the current growth rate is alarming.

According to Executive Director of the Council, Dr Leticia Adelaide Appiah, the current 2.5 per cent population growth rate by the country is highly above the global rate of 1.5 percent and this is a disturbing trend.

In this regard, Dr Appiah is advising Ghanaians to reduce their preference for large family sizes in order to accelerate development. She made this known when she appeared before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Friday, August 18.

She told the committee that Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) data estimates Ghana population to be 27 million and “annual increase is 700,000 to 800,000 which is quite alarming.”

In an interview with Class News after the PAC session, Dr Appiah said the increasing growth rate should be a source of worry to government since it can derail the country’s developmental agenda.

“We should strive to reduce it otherwise it is more difficult to grow economically. The way forward is to have population policies. The growth rate should be reduced,” she added.