The latest Ghana Multidimensional Poverty Report, published by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), presents a sobering overview of poverty across the nation, identifying employment and living conditions as the most significant factors contributing to multidimensional poverty.
The report reveals that 7.3 million Ghanaians, representing 24.3% of the household population, are living in multidimensional poverty, which considers deprivations in education, health, and living standards. Alarmingly, 43.8% of these individuals are experiencing severe poverty.
Employment and living conditions were found to be the leading contributors to multidimensional poverty, with their impact ranging from 47.8% to 12.7% and 35.9% to 15.5%, respectively, across various regions.
Omar Seidu, Director of Social Statistics at GSS, emphasized the link between educational attainment and poverty, stating, “Four out of ten households where the head of household has no education are multidimensionally poor.”
The disparity between rural and urban poverty is striking. In rural areas, 36.7% of residents fall below the poverty threshold, with the severity of poverty being nearly identical in both rural (44.0%) and urban (43.4%) settings.
The Savannah Region has the highest proportion of multidimensionally poor households at 49.5%, nearly double the national average. Despite this, the Ashanti Region has the highest number of multidimensionally poor individuals, totaling 959,031.
Seidu noted, “The Ashanti Region tops the list in actual numbers because of its large population, accounting for 18% of the multidimensionally poor.”
Nine regions exhibit alarming poverty levels, with over a quarter of their populations facing multiple deprivations. These regions are Savannah (49.5%), North East (48.1%), Upper East (43.0%), Oti (40.8%), Northern (38.4%), Upper West (37.4%), Volta (27.3%), Western North (27.0%), and Western (25.7%).
Employment contributes 32.6% and living conditions 27.9% to multidimensional poverty. Health insurance also plays a critical role, accounting for 21.5% of poverty indicators.
Poverty incidence is higher among female-headed households (27.0%) compared to male-headed households (23.0%). Younger household heads below 25 years and older heads above 60 years are more susceptible to poverty.
Educational attainment significantly affects poverty levels. The report indicates, “Four in ten multidimensionally poor persons have never attended school.” Households whose heads have only basic education have a poverty incidence of 20.0%, which is significantly higher than those with tertiary education (7.1%).
Households headed by individuals working in agriculture face the highest poverty rates (34.3%), compared to those in the services sector, who are more than 5.5 times better off, and those in the industry sector, who are 3.8 times better off.