RURAL-URBAN MIGRATION IN GHANA: AMENACE OR BLESSING?

• Published in: Current politics and economics of Africa 2015-10, Vol.8 (4), p.597
• Main Authors: Sulemana, Mohammed, Ngah, Ibrahim Bin, Majid, M Rafee
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acquisitions & mergers; Agriculture; Cities; Developing countries; Earnings; Farmers; Farms; Growth rate; Industrial development; Infrastructure; LDCs; Population growth; Rural areas; Rural urban migration; Shortages; Urban areas; Urbanization
• ISSN: 1098-4070

Rural-urban migration has its advantages as well as disadvantages. It has a twofold effect on both the origin and the destination. It is a phenomenon affecting the rural community as well as the destination urban centres. The origin is losing able-bodied men and women and at the same time affecting the origin positively through remittances. On the other hand pressure is being imposed on the destination. Data on the socioeconomic activities and demographic characteristics of migrants were obtained using a questionnaire survey. The questionnaire captured basic information of migrants such as gender, age, level of educational attainment and income level among others. Data analyses revealed that, the migrants earn an average income of USD15 per day compared to their counterparts in the rural areas who earn just USD0.13 per day. The average daily earnings of the migrants surpass the World's Bank poverty line of USD1 per day whilst their rural counterparts earn far below that. The analyses revealed further that, the underlying reason to migrate is based solely on perception and expectation of earning a higher income in the city and the propensity to migrate is not at all associated with the level of educational attainment. For some of the origin villages, net migration loss of able men and women have undermined local economic development by reducing the availability of labour for farming and the size of local markets for goods and services. In others, rural-urban migration has contributed positively to household wellbeing by the transfer of remittances from urban-based workers back into rural areas which have stimulated new forms of development. We therefore conclude that, rural-urban migration in Ghana in general is a blessing rather than a menace.