Hon Emmanuel Kofi Ntekuni
Pru West

Mr Speaker, I am profoundly grateful for this pristine opportunity to draw national attention to an issue that lies at the heart of our development, prosperity, and collective future on World Population Day.

World Population Day, commemorated annually, serves as a global platform to focus attention on the agency and significance of population issues. The root of this day traces back to the 11th of July, 1987, the historic day when the world’s population reached 5 billion, a milestone that underscored the pressing need to reflect on population trends and their implications for our shared future.

Mr Speaker, each year, the United Nations selects a theme that reflects the evolving population development agenda, guiding nations to examine how population growth impacts social, economic, and environmental outcomes. The theme for this year is “Empowering young people to create the families they want in a fair and hopeful world”. It reaffirms the promise of the 1994 International Conference on population and development that every person has the right to make informed choices about their lives and future.

At the very heart of that promise lies the family, the most fundamental unit of society. Many young people today face economic uncertainty, gender inequality, health challenges, climate crisis and conflict. Still, they are leading with courage, conscience, and clarity. And they are calling for systems that uphold their rights and support their choices.

Mr Speaker, the world’s population, according to the United Nations, is now projected to reach an estimate of 8.2 billion and 9.9 billion people by the end of 2025 and 2050 respectively. At the end of 2025, the population of Africa is projected to be approximately 1.54 to 1.55 billion (United Nations, 2025).

This rapid increase makes Africa the fastest growing region, home to nearly 19 per cent of the population of the world. Ghana alone contributes approximately 36 million to this figure, representing about 0.43 per cent of the global population. Behind these statistics are real lives, young people yearning for opportunity, women striving for empowerment and families aspiring for dignity and security. It is a reminder that our national agenda must place young people and families at its centre.

According to the United Nations Population Division (2024), many developed countries are experiencing fertility rates well below their replacement level of 2.1 births per woman, which is necessary to maintain a stable population. Meanwhile, in many developing countries, including those on our continent, Africa, families are confronted with an entirely different set of realities, with rapid population growth, high fertility rates, and persistent socio-economic barriers that limit young people, especially young women from making informed choices about marriage, childbearing, and family life.

Mr Speaker, according to the latest data from the Ghana Statistical Service and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the current total fertility rate in Ghana stands at approximately 3.6 children per woman. This represents a gradual decline from a total fertility rate of 4.2 in 2010 and over 6.4 in the 1980s, signaling progress in reproductive health education and services.

However, it is worth noting that while the national average shows a downward trend, significant disparities exist. Rural areas still record higher fertility rates, around 4.4 children per woman, compared to 2.8 in urban areas. This shows that Ghana’s total fertility rate of 3.6 is higher than the global average currently estimated at 2.3 births per woman, but it aligns with broader demographic trends of sub-Saharan Africa, which remains one of the fastest growing regions in the world. Early and unintended pregnancies, lack of access to sexual and reproductive health education, unemployment, and economic pressures often constrain young Ghanaians from building the families they truly desire.

Mr Speaker, as articulated in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 5, which demand that we meet the needs of today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs, it calls for a delicate balance between economic growth, social inclusion, gender equality, environmental protection, and respect for human rights.

Mr Speaker, as we join the global community to celebrate this day, we must recognise the fundamental human rights of every individual, especially young people, to make informed decisions about if, when, and how many children they wish to have. But these choices do not happen in isolation. They are influenced by education, access to health care, economic circumstances, climate change, and cultural factors. This reality presents both opportunities and challenges. On one hand, our youthful population offers the potential for demographic dividend, where a large, educated, and empowered workforce drives economic growth. On the other hand, high fertility rates, if unmanaged, can strain health care systems, deepen poverty, and hinder sustainable development.

Mr Speaker, I believe we are on the right path, and I say this with confidence, especially in light of the tireless effort and goodwill demonstrated by H. E.John Dramani Mahama, a Leader whose unwavering commitment to human development, population management, and job creation continues to resonate across Ghana. Under this renewed leadership, we are witnessing bold, people-centred policies that directly empower our youth, giving them the tools, dignity, and voice to shape their own future.

Mr Speaker, this Government is listening and responding. Let us stand with the young people and build a future where every person can shape their destiny in a world that is fair, peaceful, and full of hope. As rightly put by Kofi Annan, former UN General-Secretary, a nation that fails to invest in its young people mortgages its future. This requires that the Government of Ghana takes population issues more seriously to also fulfil the spirit enshrined in Article 37(4) of the 1992 Constitution of the country, which states that: “The state shall maintain a population policy consistent with the aspirations and development needs and objectives of Ghana’’.

Mr Speaker, I thank you for this opportunity.