High fertility rates in Ghana – Blessing or bane? – Part 1

“And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:28 (ESV)

Christians have often quoted this scripture as the human mandate given by God to have many children. Indeed, having many children is a Christian blessing, mostly invoked during marriages for the new couple. Children are also considered blessings and gifts from God. A childless marriage is, therefore, one that would garner many fervent prayers for the gift of the fruit of the womb. Some may even view childlessness as some kind of punishment from God.

For some, the encouragement to have more children is also in obedience to the command in Genesis 1:28, quoted above. The claim is that human beings have not yet filled the earth. In terms of this Christan stance, it is instructive to note what God said to the Israelites when they came to the promised land, “Little by little I will drive them out from before you until you have increased and possess the land.” Exodus 23: 30(ESV). Some may call this strategy God gave to the Israelites sustainable growth; I call it flourishing. Yes, increase! Indeed, be fruitful. Not in a self-destructive manner, but after a planned, coordinated, and progressive strategy. This speaks to how the nation should plan for and receive an increasing population. Possessing the land, so to speak, does not just come by a boom in population but by expanding in a structured, sustained manner.  It calls for a national strategy for population management.

For others, the strategy is that God takes care of the children, and it is our responsibility to have them. Yet Paul instructs Timothy to give the following instruction to the believers so they may be above reproach. “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” 1 Timothy 5:8 (ESV). God expects us to be fruitful and multiply but in manageable chunks. Every household should also see how they can fit into the national strategy and comfortably manage their family.

The Christian stance is corroborated in the Ghanaian culture setting. In the past, in Akan societies, it is said that when a woman has her tenth child, the husband must gift her the Badudwan,to wit, “the ‘tenth child’ goat.” This is so because it is considered a feat, a blessing, and a cause for celebration. Such a woman is honored and made to feel special. In the past also, a man with many children was considered rich. Not particularly because he can cater to their needs but because he will have access to many hands to labor on their farms. He is, therefore, more likely to expand his farms and grow more crops. Children themselves were counted as wealth and couples were proud to have many of them in their household. Again, because of the high mortality rate in times past, it was statistically favorable to have more children. By so doing, a couple increases the odds of having surviving children for their future security. In some cases, smaller families had access to less land, so having a bigger family was more key to the survival and enrichment of the entire family. The high fertility rate was, therefore, a blessing. But are these reasons tenable today?

These religious and cultural stances notwithstanding, this writer argues that the high fertility rate in Ghana today is a bane to society at the household and national levels. The paper, therefore, proposes a national policy on population management through education about fertility management and access to reproductive health care. We will look at the statistics on the ground and their implications. We will also discuss the lessons and where we go from here.

The Statistics

(culled mainly from Human Resource to Human Capital: The Essence of Population Management, Appiah, 2024)

Ghana’s population has almost doubled in the last 21 years, from 18.9 million in 2000 to 30.78 million in 2021. That represents a growth of 63%. Ghana’s annual population growth rate is 2.1% compared to Africa’s 2.4% and the global average of 1.1%. If the global population growth rate stays at 1%, the world population will double in 70 years. At the sustained growth of 2.1%, however, Ghana’s population will double in 33 years!

Ghana’s population under 15 years is 38% of the population. The global average is 26%, whereas Africa has 41% of its population under 15 years. This means that the dependency ratio in Africa and Ghana is very high. The reality in Ghana is that young people depend on their parents well beyond 18 years, meaning that consumers significantly far outweigh producers, putting a strain on our productive resources. In simple terms, those who need to be taken care of outnumber the workforce who are creating wealth to care for those who need to be cared for. One can only imagine the pressure this places on household and state resources. The ongoing reality of teenage pregnancy and child marriage leaves the situation more precarious. The statistics show that incidents of teenage pregnancy have hovered between 14% and 15% over several years. According to the Ghana Statistical Service 2021, 18% of girls in Ghana are married off before the age of 18 years.

Ghana’s fertility rate has been marginally declining in the last decade, according to the 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS). According to the Survey, the fertility rate fell from 4.2 children per woman in 2014 to 3.9 in 2021. This translates into an average of 1.2 million children born in Ghana annually. The global average fertility rate as of 2021 is 2.4 children per woman, while in Sub-Saharan Africa, the rate is 4.6 children per woman. Looking at Ghana’s fertility rate in the light of Ghana’s first Population Policy Paper of 1969 leaves many questions. The Policy Paper pointed out that with Ghana’s death rates falling, the fertility rate must be managed to parallel the death rates to avoid certain poverty in coming years. The paper projected that fertility rates (well above six children per woman at the time) must be brought down to 1.7 children per woman by 2000 to ensure the nation meets its developmental goals. This has not happened.

Concluding Remarks

The implications of this are many and varied. Due to its youthful population, Ghana has a high dependency ratio; hence, consumers outnumber producers with its attendant problems. The population rate is increasing rising at a concerning rate, which far outpaces development, and future outcomes cannot be good for both households and the nation at large. Considering our religious and cultural understanding of fertility, what can we do as stakeholders to grant every citizen the quality of life that will lead to flourishing for all? In the second part of this paper, a deeper reflection on the implications of these statistics will be presented, as well as the lessons learned and the way forward. My hope is that religion and culture will partner with policy-implementing agencies to ensure a good life for all Ghanaians.