Structures

The 2021 PHC General Report Volume 3N, which is on Structures, presents statistics on the number, type, level of completion and usage of structures. The statistics are disaggregated by region and type of locality (urban/rural).

Table of contents

1. Highlights
   • Level of Completion of Structures
   • Fully Completed Structures
   • Structures That are Uncompleted and Without Roofing
   • Roofed Structures
   • Residential Structures With Some Form of Roofing But Not Fully Completed
   • Not Fully Completed Structures With Some Form of Roofing Used for Residential Purposes
   • Conventional and Non-Conventional structures
   • Non-Conventional Structures
   • Non-Conventional Structures Used for Residential Purposes
   • Non-Conventional Residential Structures
2. Background Information
3. Related Links

Highlights

Level of Completion of Structures

Of the 10,659,542 structures at various levels of completion, 8,545,049 (80.2%) are fully completed, an additional 1,065,387 (10.0%) are completely roofed but not completed and 223,739 (2.1%) have some form of roofing. The proportions of structures at various levels of completion are almost equal in urban and rural areas.

Figure 1: Proportions of Structures at Various Levels of Completion.

Fully Completed Structures

The proportions of fully completed structures vary from 76.3 percent in Central Region to 89.6 percent in North East Region. In urban areas, Upper West (74.1%) has the lowest proportion of fully completed structures and Western North (84.9%) the highest, while rural areas have wide disparities ranging from 64.0 percent in Greater Accra to 92.3 percent in North East

Figure 2: Proportion of Fully Completed Structures by Type of Locality and Region

Structures That are Uncompleted and Without Roofing

About 8 percent (825,367) of structures are uncompleted and without roof. The highest proportion (Upper East, 10.9%) is more than twice the lowest (Western North, 4.4%). In all regions, the proportions are higher in urban than rural areas except for Volta Region where they are about the same, and Greater Accra Region where rural (17.3%) is more than twice as high as that of rural (6.4%).

Figure 3: Proportion of Structures That are Uncompleted and Without Roofing by Type of Locality and Region

Roofed Structures

About three-quarters (73.9%) of roofed structures are single detached, and the proportion is higher in rural (84.4%) than in urban (64.3%) areas. One in five (20.4%) roofed structures are metal containers, wooden structures and kiosks, and they are more of an urban (27.3%) than rural (12.8%) phenomenon.

Figure 4: Roofed Structures by Type and Type of Locality

Residential Structures With Some Form of Roofing But Not Fully Completed 

About 15 percent of all residential structures are not fully completed but have some form of roofing, and there is a marginal difference between urban (15.1%) and rural (13.8%) areas. The proportion ranges from 4.9 percent in Bono East Region to 17.8 percent in Savannah Region and 17.6 percent in Greater Accra Region.

Figure 5: Proportion of Residential Structures With Some Form of Roofing But Not Fully Completed by Type of Locality and Region

Not Fully Completed Structures With Some Form of Roofing Used For Residential Purposes

Two-thirds (65.8%) of not fully completed structures with some form of roofing are used for residential purposes, and the proportion is higher in urban (71.3%) than rural (60.8%) areas. Among the regions, the proportions are highest in Greater Accra (75.2%) and Upper West (71.5%) regions and lowest in Western North Region (47.9%). Majority of not fully completed structures with some form of roofing are used for residential purposes in urban areas in all regions, ranging from 56.6 percent in Oti Region to 76.6 percent in Upper West Region. Similarly, in rural areas, the proportions are above 50 percent in all regions apart from three regions (North East, 38.7%; Western North, 45.0%; and Ahafo, 47.5%).

Figure 6: Proportion of Not Fully Completed Structures With Some Form of Roofing Used For Residential Purposes by Type of Locality and Region

Conventional and Non-Conventional Structures

Proportion of non-conventional structures (metal containers, wooden structures, and kiosks) are 20 percent or higher in five regions and less than 10 percent in four.

Figure 7: Conventional and Non-Conventional Structures by Type of Locality and by Region

Non-Conventional Structures

Nearly half (46.8%) of all non-conventional structures are wooden and almost 40 percent are metal containers. In urban areas, metal containers dominate (47.3%) while in rural areas it is wooden structures (69.3%). In 10 regions, wooden structures constitute more than 50 percent of non-conventional structures, while in three regions, metal containers make up more than 70 percent. Greater Accra (23.0%) and Volta (16.3%) regions have the highest proportions of kiosks among non-conventional structures. Proportion of metal containers among non-conventional structures in Upper East Region (80.6%) is over six times that in Western North (12.7%) and in Western North (75.3%) the proportion of wooden structures is 13 times that of Upper East (5.7%).

Figure 8: Non-Conventional Structures by Type, Type of Locality and by Region

Non-Conventional Structures Used for Residential Purposes

About 14 percent of non-conventional structures (metal containers, wooden structures and kiosks) are used for residential purposes and is higher in urban (15.3%) than rural (9.2%) areas at the national level and in only Greater Accra and Ashanti regions. In rural areas in Savannah(79.2%), North East (46.8%), and Upper West (48.1%), almost 50 percent or more of non-conventional structures are used for residential purposes. Three in 10 non-conventional structures in Greater Accra and two in 10 in Savannah regions are used for residential purposes.

Figure 9: Proportion of Non-Conventional Structures Used for Residential Purposes by Type of Locality and Region

Non-Conventional Residential Structures

Six in 10 (59.0%) non-conventional structures used for residential purposes are wooden and about three in 10 (28.4%) are kiosks. In both rural (65.4%) and urban (57.3%) areas, wooden structures dominate as residential structures. In 12 regions, wooden structures constitute more than 50 percent of non-conventional structures used for residential purposes, while in Greater Accra, kiosks constitute 41.1 percent. In four regions (Upper East, Upper West, North East and Northern), structures made of other materials such as reed, straw, thatch and rubber sheets are predominant among non-conventional structures used for residential purposes.

Figure 10: Non-Conventional Residential Structures by Type, Type of Locality and by Region

Background Information

Download the full report for data tables, background information and information on methodology and data quality.

Related Links

Housing Characteristics, February 2021

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