About 12,000 persons internally displaced due to socio-political factors in Ghana – GSS

Findings from the 2021 Population and Housing Census indicate that there are 11,717 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Ghana.

The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) in a press release issued in Accra on Monday to commemorate International Migrants Day, attributed the internal displacement to socio-political factors.

The findings also showed that one in every ten of the IDPs had stayed less than one year in their current place of residence with six in ten having been displaced for five years or more.

“More than half of 57 point three per cent of IDPs reside in four regions: Greater Accra 19 point 2 per cent, Northern, 14 point one percent, Ashanti, 13 point seven per cent and ten point two percent in the Central region,” it said.

The release said the adult literacy rate for IDPs was twice that of persons that were not displaced.

It said four in every ten IDP representing 41 point three IDPs aged 15 years and older were not literate compared to two in every ten non-IDPs.

The percent of children aged four to 17 years who have never been to school is three times higher for IDPs than non- IDPs.

The statement said the census also provided statistics on international migrants in Ghana.

It said the leading drivers of immigration in Ghana was employment, settlement and marriage or family unification.

For males, getting employment is the most frequent purpose for migration while for females, it is migration for marriage or family unification.

A greater share of migrants is male compared to females and almost half of international migrants have lived in Ghana for five years or more.

The statement said some migrants had moved from one community to another as a result of conflict in their previous community.

It said there were migrants who had moved into a different locality or country due to flood, famine, or drought.

GNA