General

Ghana to get computerised population registry.

04 Apr, 2007

The registration of births and deaths in Ghana is to be computerised by the end of the year, senior assistant registrar Kingsley Asare Addo has told Ghana News Agency. The country currently operates a paper-based system which has been in place since 1912. The decision to make the switch is motivated by the desire to centralise records to avoid anomalies and the lack of storage space for paper records.

The number of new born babies registered in Ghana has varied significantly in recent years, from a record low of 17 per cent in 2002 to 67 per cent in 2005. Last year the percentage stood at 54 per cent. The number of registrations is closely linked to specific registration campaigns and the allocation of funding. There is also a difference between the number of registrations in urban and in rural areas, where registration centres are less accessible and there is also less awareness about the importance of registration.