Ghana has earned a significant ranking in the newly released most peaceful nations by Global Peace Index (GPI), 2021.
According to current projections, Ghana’s positioned second (2nd) on the top of the ranking, with scores of 1.72 in Sub-Saharan Africa and first (1st) in the West-African region. Globally, the 4th republic’s positioned thirty-eigth (38th) on the world’s ranking — making her one of the four (4) from Africa to peak in the top fifthy (50).
The Global Peace Index measures peacefulness based on 23 quantitative and qualitative indicators each weighted on a scale of 1-5. The lower the score the more peaceful the country. This is a study of 163 independent nations and territories around the world, comprising approximately 99.7% of the world’s total population, that analyzes which nations are the most peaceful, as well as which are the most dangerous.
According to GPI 2021, Ghana’s population will continue to grow the rest of the century, reaching 78.71 million people in 2099. This means that Ghana will more than double its current population of 31.07 million people over the next 80 years.
Ghana is currently growing at a rate of 2.15% per year, which has slowly decreased from 2.95% in 1985 but still remains high. The main cause of this growth is Ghana’s high fertility rate of 3.89 births per woman and the country’s efforts to minimize birth mortalities.
Ghana’s population growth is alarming to experts as the country is not equipped to handle the dramatically increased needs for food, water, sanitation, education, and employment that comes with a rapidly growing population. Efforts to slow the population growth are rooted in family planning, which would reduce the number of births or help families properly space out births.
President Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo, celebrating the noteworthy score in a tweet on Wednesday, charged Ghanaians to co-exist harmoniously to enable the country enjoy the peace it has experienced for several years. “Lets continue to maintain the peace we have in Ghana”, he said.
