FACT-CHECK: Has Ghana’s Population Increased by Over 5 Million in the Last 8 Years?

Claim: Ghana’s population has increased by over 5 million in 8 years

Source: Dr Mahamudu Bawumia

Verdict: FALSE

Researched by Benjamin Tenkorang

Has Ghana’s population increased by over 5 million in 8 years?

During the launch of the NPP manifesto on August 18, 2024, the party’s flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who is also Ghana’s Vice President, claimed that (4:47:21 – 4:47:40) Ghana’s national population has increased by over 5 million in the last 8 years alone. 

“We are equally committed to creating more job opportunities that will significantly reduce youth unemployment among the national population that has increased over 5 million in the last 8 years alone,” he said. 

This fact-check report seeks to verify the claim.

Fact-Check 

In this fact-check, we used data from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) to verify this claim. According to the GSS report titled ‘Projected Population by Sex 2010 – 2016, the total population in 2016 was projected to be at 28,308,301. 

Fig 1 – A screengrab from the GSS report

According to population projections for 2021 to 2050, Ghana’s 2023 population was 32,275,647 whereas the projected population for the end of 2024 is 33,007,618. 

Fig 2 – A screengrab from GSS population projection

From the above, the difference in projected population figures between 2016 and 2023 is 3,967,346, which is a result of deducting  28,308,301(2016) from 32,275,647 (2023), giving an outcome less than the 5 million claimed.

The difference in the projected population for 2016 and 2024 is 4,699,317 after deducting 28,308,301(2016) from 33,007,618(2024) which is also less than the 5 million figure.

Verdict

The claim that the national population has increased by over 5 million since 2016 is rated false.