Ghana needs a comprehensive migration study – GSS

The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has released the 2021 Population and Housing Census Thematic Report on Migration.

Among the key findings, it was discovered that Ghana is a sending, receiving, and transit country for migrants.

This situation according to analyses by the Ghana Statistical Service creates a complex situation for the formulation of a strategy to deal with international migration in the country.

As a result, it has recommended in its Thematic Report on Migration that Ghana urgently needs to conduct a study on migration.

“Ghana’s situation as a sending, receiving and transit country for migrants at the same time creates a complex situation for the formulation of a strategy to deal with international migration in the country.

“Any policy direction will be determined by which of the three is most dominant. This certainly calls for a careful study of the situation to come to a definite conclusion which cannot be achieved through the census. It is almost three decades since a comprehensive migration study was conducted in the country.

“It is time to have another one to help set the records straight,” parts of the Thematic Report on Migration launched on Thursday, March 9, reads.

The 2021 PHC Thematic Report on Migration is one of the thematic reports aimed at making data available to planners and decision-makers at regional and national levels.

The objective of this report is to describe, analyse and provide an explanation for patterns, trends, and the future perspective of both internal and external migration in Ghana.

The report dwells mainly on the 2021 PHC, supported by data from previous ones, mainly those of 2000 and 2010.

Among many other findings, it was discovered that migrants constituted 28.9% out of the total population of 30,832,019 enumerated in 2021 PHC with the majority (52.5%) of the migrants being females as against 47.5% males.

Also, there has been an increase in the number of Ghanaians who have travelled and settled outside the country between 2010 and 2021.

While 250,624 emigrants were recorded during the 2010 PHC, the figure now stands at 289,531 according to data from the 2021 PHC.

Speaking at the launch of the 2021 PHC Thematic Report on Migration, Government Statistician, Prof. Samuel Kobina Annim stressed that his outfit is focused on working to ensure that data is integrated into policymaking for the good of the country.

“What we seek to do is to highlight the status of migration in this country and also point to areas that will require that we as a country focus on why we need deeper studies around issues on migration.

“We are positioning Ghana Statistical Service as a pivotal agency to supply all the other Ministries of the relevant data that is needed. We want to incite policymakers and government to push for what we are calling integrating statistical targets in policy documents,” Prof. Samuel Kobina Annim.

He further expressed appreciation to all partners with special mention to the International Organisation on Migration (IOM) for the collaboration and sponsorship of the 2021 PHC Thematic Report on Migration.

In her address, the IOM Chief of Mission in Ghana, Ms. Fatou Ndiaye stressed the importance of the 2021 PHC Thematic Report on Migration, explaining that it is key to providing a basis for evidence-based policymaking in line with SDG 17 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as well as objective one of the GCM on migration data.

She said the call for improved migration statistics has gained currency in recent years given that data is critical to tracking progress on the SDGs as well as monitoring the 23 sets of objectives of the Global Compact on Migration, for which Ghana is a champion country.

With this, Ms. Fatou Ndiaye argued that the thematic report on migration, therefore, provides the very much-needed data to interrogate the state of play of migration in Ghana to inform the right policy engineering.

She added that additionally, the data will support the review of the migration profile of Ghana.

“I want to reiterate the International Organization for Migration’s commitment to supporting the Ghana Statistical Service in improving migration statistics for development. Through our new project, the EU-UN Building Migration Partnership project, which I had the opportunity to launch with madam Chief Director of the Ministry of the Interior and the UN Resident Coordinator, IOM will continue to support the building of the capacity of officials for effective management of migration in Ghana,” Ms. Fatou Ndiaye assured.