According to the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), the elderly population has nearly doubled in the last six decades, from just over 200,000 (213,477) in 1960 to nearly 2 million (1,991,736) in 2021.
In a statement issued to commemorate the International Day of Older Persons, GSS revealed that the elderly population (60 years and older) is made up of 861,830 (43.3%) males and 1,129,906 (56.7%) females.
According to the report, 341,960 elderly people live alone, with 62,480 of those people being 80 or older.
The findings also revealed that one out of every four (25.7%) elderly people is multi-dimensionally poor, which is slightly lower than the overall population (29.9%).
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“In the Greater Accra Region, the incidence of multidimensional poverty among the elderly ranges from 8.8% to 53.0%.” A little more than a third (37.5%) of the elderly population is employed – five out of ten (50.0%) for those aged 60 to 69 years, about three out of ten (28.6%) for those aged 70 to 79 years, and one out of ten (10.7%) for those aged 80 and older.”
“Nine out of ten (90.1%) employed elderly people work in the private informal sector, with eight out of ten (80.0%) self-employed without employees.” Nationally, 395,693 older people are in vulnerable employment, accounting for more than half (53.2%) of the employed elderly population.”
GSS requested an assessment of Ghana’s readiness to protect the well-being of the country’s growing elderly population.
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