Question 3. Table: Distribution of population 15-49 years and their births in 2015 in Ghana
Age groups
Number of
Number of
Number of births in
Number of girls
women
men
age group
among births
15-19
12,249
11,850
421
213
20-24
11,181
11,150
1340
670
25-29
10,798
10,500
3832
1916
30-34
9,924
9,450
2252
1128
35-39
7,439
7,350
1083
560
40-44
6,484
6,157
611
310
45-49
5,584
5,138
250
131
Compute the Total Fertility Rate and the General Fertility Rate
Compute the sex ratio among the births of this year 2015
Why do we have small numbers at 15-19 and at 45-49 years?
To calculate the Total Fertility Rate (TFR), we use the formula: TFR = (sum of number of births in each age group) / (sum of number of women in each age group)
TFR = (421 + 1340 + 3832 + 2252 + 1083 + 611 + 250) / (12,249 + 11,181 + 10,798 + 9,924 + 7,439 + 6,484 + 5,584)
TFR = 8789 / 63365
TFR = 0.139 or 139 births per 1000 women
To calculate the General Fertility Rate (GFR), we use the formula: GFR = (sum of number of births in each age group) / (sum of number of women 15-49 years old)
GFR = 8789 / (12,249 + 11,181 + 10,798 + 9,924 + 7,439 + 6,484 + 5,584)
GFR = 8789 / 63,665
GFR = 0.138 or 138 births per 1000 women aged 15-49
To compute the sex ratio among the births of 2015, we add up the number of boys and number of girls for each age group of births and calculate the ratio.
Total number of boys = 421 + 670 + 1916 + 1128 + 560 + 310 + 131 = 5,136
Total number of girls = 213 + 670 + 1916 + 1128 + 560 + 310 + 131 = 4,928
Sex ratio among births = Total number of boys / Total number of girls = 5,136 / 4,928 = 1.04
The small numbers at 15-19 and 45-49 years can be attributed to the fact that women in these age groups may be less likely to give birth compared to those in their peak reproductive years (typically 20-34 years old). In the case of the 15-19 age group, fertility rates may be lower due to factors such as education, access to contraception, and societal norms. Similarly, the 45-49 age group may have lower fertility rates due to factors such as menopause and declining fertility with age.