Migration has become a significant topic in both development and political discussions due to the recent surge in global migration flows. Orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility-including the implementation of well-managed migration policies-are central to achieving Target 10.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In recent years, international migration has also been a focal point of political campaigns in countries such as the USA, the UK, France and other Western nations. International migration is now a hotly debated issue in many developed and developing nations, presenting critical political and policy challenges regarding integration, displacement, safe migration and border management.
However, evidence suggests that migration-driven by wage differences-can yield mutually beneficial outcomes for both the countries of origin and destination, as well as for the migrants themselves, provided the right structures and policy frameworks are in place to maximise these benefits. Migrants benefit from higher wages, destination countries gain from increased employment and higher gross national product, and origin countries benefit from remittances, job creation and the return of skilled individuals. These findings have fuelled advocacy for reducing migration barriers and promoting the optimisation of migrants' human capital.
Several theories explain the drivers of migration, with notable ones including the neoclassical macroeconomic and microeconomic theories, the new economics of migration theory, the dual labour market theory, and the migration systems theory. The neoclassical macroeconomic theory posits that migration is driven by economic development and wage differentials, with individuals moving from high labour supply and low-wage regions to low labour supply and higher-wage ones to maximise their earnings and job prospects. Host countries benefit from lower labour-to-capital ratios, while migrants send remittances home. Over time, this reduces the incentives for migration due to equalised wages and reduced regional disparities in labour markets. Microeconomic theorists extend this idea by arguing that migration decisions are based on cost-benefit analyses influenced by personal factors such as age, gender and skills.
Empirical evidence from developed countries supports these theories, showing that migration decisions are shaped by a combination of sociocultural, economic and environmental factors, changing technologies and means of communication, with economic motives often being the most significant. For example, migration flows from Africa to Europe and Mexico to the USA are largely driven by economic factors, influenced by unemployment rates and economic growth in both origin and destination countries. Similar patterns are found in Japan, China, Austria and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, where economic motives such wage/income, unemployment and employment disparities are key drivers of migration.
In Africa, the literature highlights how socioeconomic development drives intra-African migration. A study of 52 African countries found that factors such as population size, political risks, ethnic tensions and climate shocks play a role, but income levels in destination countries are a crucial determinant. Kirwin and Anderson (2018) found that economic factors were the main reason for migration in a study of six West African countries. Similarly, Schürmann et al. (2022) identified environmental and economic factors as the key drivers of migration in Ghana, Burkina Faso and Nigeria.
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Internal and International Migration in Ghana
Like many countries, Ghana experiences internal migration, immigration of foreigners and emigration of its nationals. Internal migration in Ghana primarily focuses on rural-to-urban, North-to-South and intra-regional movements. These migrations are typically driven by differences in economic opportunities, access to social services, infrastructure and environmental conditions. Individual (pull) factors, such as levels of education, literacy rates and access to healthcare, along with community-level (push) factors, were key determinants of migration, particularly for younger individuals. This is consistent with other studies that highlight the declining importance of agriculture and the lack of job opportunities in northern Ghana as key factors driving both young men and women to migrate from the region to the southern part of the country.
Similarly, international migration from Ghana has been largely motivated by the pursuit of better economic opportunities, particularly following the economic downturn in the mid-1960s, 1980s and 1990s, the political uncertainty that characterised the legal challenge of the 2012 election result, and the adverse impact of the COVID-19 and Russia-Ukraine war on the economy. Ghanaians in the Netherlands migrate primarily to earn money for themselves and their families, with an additional desire to enhance and maintain their social status back home.
Drawing on gender-disaggregated data from the seventh round of the Ghana Living Standard Survey (GLSS7), this paper examines how migrants' gender, prior work experience and skills influence their migration motives and integration into the labour markets of their destination countries or regions. Findings of the analysis indicate that more males migrate for economic reasons or to pursue education, while females migrate mainly for social reasons such as marriage or moving closer to family. Highly skilled migrants and those who have prior migration work experience are less likely to migrate for education or job-seeking purposes, but are more likely to find employment if they do relocate.
Youth and Migration: Challenges and Opportunities - Part 2
Migration Patterns of Ghanaians
According to the 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC), 28.9% of Ghana’s population of 30,832,019 were migrants. In 2020, an estimated 1 million Ghanaians, or 3.2% of the population, were living abroad. These emigrants were almost evenly split between African and OECD countries. In OECD countries, 90% of Ghanaian emigrants were concentrated in the USA, UK, Italy, Germany and Canada. Among Ghanaian emigrants in OECD countries, men made up a higher proportion (64%) than women. However, there is a growing trend of Ghanaian women migrating, particularly to meet the rising demand for care services. Women are the majority of Ghanaian migrants in other African countries.
Within Africa, 46% of Ghanaian emigrants reside in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries, with Nigeria hosting about a quarter of them. In countries like Côte d’Ivoire and Togo, a larger proportion of migrants are women (10% and 4%, respectively) compared to men (6% and 2.3%). However, in Nigeria, the proportion of male Ghanaian emigrants (6.4%) is higher than female emigrants (5.3%).
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The 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC) shows that internal migration accounts for 27% of the population, a decrease from 30.2% in 2000. Migration is more common in rural areas (33.9%) than in urban areas (22.2%), with women making up the majority of migrants (52.5%) and men accounting for 47.5%. Migration within the country is mainly interregional, with rates of 63.8% in 2000, 56.6% in 2010 and 55.1% in 2021.
Regions with positive net migration include Greater Accra, Western North, Bono East, Western, Ashanti and Ahafo. Across all three censuses (2000, 2010 and 2021), interregional migration has been more common among women (66.1, 58.9 and 54.6%) than men (61.6, 54.6 and 53.2%). Meanwhile, intra-regional migration has been more frequent among men (38.4, 45.4 and 46.8%) compared to women (33.9, 41.1 and 42.8%).
Emigrants are predominantly young adults, with a median age of 35 years. Over three-quarters (77.2%) are aged between 20 and 49, with a slightly higher proportion of men (77.8%) than women (75.9%). Over half (53.7%) of emigrants came from Greater Accra (26.9%) and Ashanti (26.8%) regions. Four other regions-Bono (8.5%), Central (7.3%), Western (7.1%) and Eastern (6.8%)-also contributed significantly. In seven regions (Greater Accra, Ashanti, Central, Western, Eastern, Volta and Oti), female emigrants outnumbered males. Most emigrants in Greater Accra (94.4%), Ashanti (78.0%) and Western (59.7%) were from urban areas, while in the other 13 regions, rural emigrants were the majority. Rural emigration was highest in Upper West (89.3%), Oti (87.5%), Savannah (82.4%), Upper East (82.8%), Western North (81.1%) and North East (80.8%).
These statistics suggest that internal migration involves a little above quarter of the population, a decline from 30.2% in 2000. Migration is more common in rural areas, with women representing a slight majority. Interregional migration is the dominant type, though the rates have decreased over time (63.8% in 2000 to 55.1% in 2021). Women consistently dominate inter-regional migration, while men are more likely to migrate intra-regionally. Geographically, the Greater Accra and Ashanti regions contribute over half of all emigrants, with other significant contributors being Bono, Central, Western and Eastern regions. Urban emigrants dominate in Greater Accra, Ashanti and Western regions, while rural emigrants predominate in the other 13 regions. In relation to demographics, Ghanaian emigrants are predominantly young adults (median age 35), with 77.2% aged 20-49 years. Men slightly outnumber women in this age group (77.8% vs. 75.9%).
Among the key hidden patterns of Ghana’s migration is that women are increasingly engaging in migration, both internally and internationally, with notable representation in care-related migration abroad. Female emigrants outnumber males in seven regions, highlighting regional disparities in migration dynamics. There is also a gradual decline in inter-regional migration, suggesting changing socio-economic factors or reduced mobility incentives over time. The dominance of rural emigrants in certain regions underscores the rural-to-urban push factors and international migration motivations.
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More importantly, Ghana’s migration patterns reveal significant diversity in gender roles, regional dynamics, and the interplay between rural and urban areas, driven by economic opportunities and societal shifts.
Ghanaian migration has increasingly become extra-regional. Although the majority of Ghanaian emigrants still stay within West Africa, a growing proportion is migrating to a diverse range of countries outside the region. According to 2008 estimates, Ghanaian migrants can be found in more than 33 countries around the world. Although emigration has been increasing at a faster rate than immigration, Ghana continues to be an important country of destination. According to recent census-based estimates, the migrant population constitutes more than 7 per cent of Ghana’s total population. The majority of immigrants to Ghana come from other ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) countries.
Historical Context and Policy Framework
Following the independence of Ghana in 1957, the number of people migrating to Ghana far surpassed the number who left. However, by the 1980s, Ghana had become a country of emigration, which it still is today. Around 970,600 Ghanaians emigrated in 2019 to Nigeria, the United States, the United Kingdom and Côte d’Ivoire. From 2000 to 2010, about 44.5% of the urban population were migrants, and continued urbanization and rural-urban migration have contributed to increasing rates in internal migration. There is a large southward migration, as the south is largely urbanised whereas the north is more rural.
Ghana is a party to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, the 1967 Protocol and the OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa of 1969. Ghana has three main pieces of migration legislation that address the legal and regulatory aspects of migration: The Immigration Act (573) of 2000, the Immigration Amendment Act (848) of 2012, and the Immigration Regulations (L.I 1691) of 2001. In 2009, the Ghana Migration Unit was founded to evaluate the effectiveness of migration policies and more importantly facilitate the development of a framework for national policies.
Concerning refugees and asylum seekers, in 1993, the country was at its peak when it provided refuge to over 150,000 persons. Because of this, the government passed legislation creating a Refugee Board to deal with refugee policy. Ghana has a Human Trafficking Act, which was enacted in 2005. It comprises three components of counter-trafficking: prevention of human trafficking, protection of trafficked persons and prosecution of traffickers.
Motives and Experiences of Migrants
Until recently, analysis of the migration process as a whole has received very little attention; rather, there has been a focus on migration in different areas, particularly relating to the causes and consequences of migration. The actual process, involving the reasons, the nature of movement, and the arrival and settling of the migrant, has been either viewed separately or ignored. This has led to suggestions that to obtain a nuanced understanding of people's migration, it is imperative to consider the entire process as a whole.
From the results, different reasons were provided to explain why the porters migrate. These include water crisis, forced marriage, lack of jobs, quest for wealth or 'looking for money', and high poverty rates in the North. A little over two-thirds of the female head porters (68.4%) reported that they travelled to Accra to look for money. Similarly, 13.9% of the respondents reported that they migrated to Accra due to poverty. About 4.8% reported water crisis in their places of origin as the reason for their migration. A small percentage (1.0%) attributed their migration to forced marriage, while about 3.3% mentioned lack of jobs at the source communities as the reason for the migration.
Across all the age groups, the most significant reason for migration was to look for money or, relatedly, to escape from poverty. In all, 73.3% of the respondents aged 15-19 years migrated to look for money, while those aged 10-14 years had the highest percentage (27%) migrating as a result of poverty. Those who migrated as a result of forced marriage were in the 15-19 years and 20-24 years age groups. There was also a significant proportion of respondents in the age group of 25 years and above who migrated for other reasons, such as escaping conflicts, joining a partner, and family pressure at the place of origin.
As illustrated by the cases of Abiba and Salma, some women provide assistance to their daughters to migrate, since they share in the aspirations to migrate. Additionally, the case of Abiba shows that boyfriends of some girls provided their initial transport and other related travel costs. Lack of social amenities that are important in sustainable livelihoods, especially water and good roads, are critical push factors associated with the porters' migration.
Migration to Germany
The migration of Ghanaians to Germany started in the early 1950s when a West Germany policy permitted the travel of students from some African countries to Germany to further their education. Economic hardships, wars, tribal conflicts and life struggles have been the reason a lot of people have left their country of origin. Three types of migration can be seen in the history of Ghanaians migrating to Germany. They include educational migration, asylum-seeking migration, and migration for family reunification.
The acceptance quotas for political refugees from Ghana have continuously been below one percent, as authorities classify most Ghanaian migrants as economic refugees. Migrants under this umbrella end up as those who permanently reside in Germany today. Illegal immigration from Africa to Europe through illegal means is significant. Most migrants who go on such journeys are from underdeveloped African countries looking for greener pastures in Europe. Ghanaians are reported to rank highly among migrants hoping to get to Europe though the country is more peaceful and politically stable than other countries where migrants originate.
| Key Migration Statistics (2020) | Value |
|---|---|
| Ghanaian Population Living Abroad | 1 million (3.2% of total population) |
| Internal Migrants | 28.9% of the population |
| Female Migrants (Internal) | 52.5% |
| Interregional Migration Rate | 55.1% |
| Median Age of Emigrants | 35 years |
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