Prospects of Ghana’s Achievement of Demographic Dividend

Like many other African countries, Ghana has had youthful population with high concentration of the population in ages under 15 years. The economic implications of Ghana’s youthful population have been stressed by policy makers and researchers. But the recent realization of demographic dividend by some Asian countries provides evidence of the potential of benefits that Ghana can derive from its large population in future. The present paper examines the prospects of demographic dividend in Ghana. The findings show that the population of the working ages (14 million) at the 2010 census will almost double by 2040 (27.8 million). By 2050, it will constitute 65% of the total national population while children (0- 14 years) and the aged (65+ years) will form 27% and 8% respectively. The age dependency burden will drop as the working age has fewer children. Prospects of stable economic and governance structures and social development also indicate that Ghana may emerge as one of the few African countries that may reap demographic dividend during the first part of the 21st Century. The paper recommends that Ghana’s human development agenda should not neglect population management now and in the future.