General

Number of slum dwellers in Ghana on the rise.

10 Dec, 2006

The number of slum dwellers in Ghana is set to reach 5.9 million in 2010, up 500,000 from 5.4 million in 2005 (against a total population of 22.5 million), according to UN Habitat, the United Nations' human settlement agency based in Nairobi. This figure is predicted to rise to 6.5 million in 2015 and to 7.1 million by 2020. The increase is in keeping with the general trend across sub-Saharan Africa, where the annual urban growth rate and the annual slum growth rate are the highest in the world, at 4.58 per cent and 4 per cent respectively. Over 70 per cent of the urban population in the region already lives in slums and informal settlements.

In recognition of the problem the government of Ghana has said that it is looking for new ways of mobilising private capital to finance slum improvement projects and basic services with a special focus on providing affordable housing for the lower income groups.