An Analysis of the Characteristics of Households, Household Size, Household Heads and the Relationship within the Households

摘要

This analytical survey, containing extensive data collected on the patterns of home life in Ghana, has been compiled for use as a comprehensive rural health and family planning project. The Danfa region, in which this project is conducted, has been divided into four survey areas and includes the survey of approximately 50,000 rural inhabitants ranging 10 to 50 miles from Accra. Topics of the demographic survey include: characteristics of households and houses; relationships within the households; characteristics, and marital and occupational status of heads of households; and characteristics of heads of households of selected ethnic groups by religion, occupation, and relationship to head of household. Statistics are presented in tabular form by subarea, with short, narrative summaries analyzing the results under each topic. Extracted from the concluding section summarizing the main findings, it was demonstrated that while the average size of a household varies little between the four project areas (4.1 in Area II to 5.4 in Area IV), the average number of persons per house varies considerably, ranging from 5.9 persons per house in Areas II and III to 13.0 persons per house in Area IV. Additionally, farming and fishing are the primary occupations for all areas, but these activities vary in proportion from one area to the next. Heads of households tend to be male in both single and multiple member households; female heads of households suffer more frequently from divorce and widowhood than their male counterparts.