7 Facts about Population in Sub-Saharan Africa. Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania, DRC, Niger, Zambia, and Uganda will contribute millions of people to the world total. Main Factors Driving Population Growth. It cannot be justified on the simplistic basis of the need to promote rapid industrialisation through the creation of economies of scale. The phenomenon of rapid population growth in Africa is probably at its most acute in East Africa. To empower members to confidently understand and navigate a continuously changing and complex global environment. According to the International Planned Parenthood Federation, many African governments have now officially established family planning programmes, and others either provide some services or support organisations or individual doctors that run such programmes. Africa has the highest rate of population growth among major areas. The ideal family size in Africa is 5 to 7 children. Of the world’s top ten countries with the youngest populations, eight are in sub-Sahara Africa. According to recent UN projections, Kenya’s population will grow by around 1 million per year – 3,000 people every day – over the next 40 years and will reach about 85 million by 2050. with Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1986-90. rapid population growth. This large percentage has to be supported by the working class. While there are too many people in some areas of the continent, there are too few in others. Strategic Priority 2: Massive programme to build economic and social infrastructure. First, the continent has a young population with a growing labour force – a highly valuable asset in an ageing world. The harsh reality is that, despite family-planning initiatives, the only effective means of population “control” has been death by starvation or famine. There must be a search for new ways in which these effects could be mitigated. Rapid Population Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: Issues and Policies Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa continue to lag behind other developing countries in the demographic transition from a regime of high mortality and fertility to a regime in which death and birth rates stabilize at much lower levels. Africans view large families as an economic asset and as a symbol of worth and honor, and parents see it as security during old age. While the many benefits of organized and efficient cities are well understood, we need to recognize that this rapid, often unplanned urbanization brings risks of profound social instability, risks to critical infrastructure, potential water crises and the potential for devastating spread of disease. GNP per capita or GDP is used in comparing economic growth between countries because these consider the differences in population between countries. While Africa’s collective long-term prospects are strong, the growth trajectories of its individual countries will differ. Thus, many local leaders are prone to regard birth control measures with disfavour and suspicion; a plot to castrate and weaken the country; a capitalist conspiracy perhaps emanating from the one and only CIA. Illiteracy 4. In this paper, we re-examine the data on the particular relationship between population trends in sub-Saharan Africa and economic growth and development. Various “guesstimates” suggest that the total population figure for Africa is now around 1 billion. If you continue to navigate this website beyond this page, cookies will be placed on your browser. Proper health care facilities and services have helped to cure and control different diseases. Family-planning programmes have tended to be constrained by lack of facilities for distributing birth-control information, and to bump against the obstacle of ethno-cultural traditions and considerations which encourage large families. In Kenya, 43 per cent of the population is below 15 years. Tentative judgment, based on a number of mortality rate information available also leads to the conclusion that life-expectancy in Africa is only 46 years. Yet the commodity boom explains only part of Africa’s broader growth story. responses that rapid population growth requires. That’s about 11 million people a year for the past 60 years or approximately 670 million people in 60 years. The rapid growth is largely leading to overburdening of infrastructures, leading to low-quality life for most people. Birth Rate; It is the average number of the children born in a country compared to the rest of the population. negative effects of rapid population growth appear to have weighed most heavily on the poorest group of countries in the developing world during the 1980s and also throughout the two previous decades. In some areas, the choice is between increased starvation and effective population control. In the final analysis, the issue in Africa is really neither population growth nor its control. Therefore, it is to be expected that multinational companies of the West looking for cheap labour would be inclined to move their businesses to Africa, instead of East Asia. Prices for minerals, grain, and other raw materials also soared on rising global demand. Easier access to health care which will reduce infant and maternal mortality. Population Explosion: Definition and Causes of Rapid Population Growth! Otherwise, Africa would definitely not qualify as over-populated. Ageing population . However, at the same time, Africa's population boom poses grave threats to the region's political stability and social cohesion if sufficient economic and employment opportunities remain unavailable for expected newcomers. Kenya’s population will grow by around 1 million per year – 3,000 people every day – over the next 40 years and will reach about 85 million by 2050. Background: The consequences of rapid population growth for development and policy options for addressing undesirable population trends remain at the core of demographic enquiry in developed and developing countries. Writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, the authors, all of whom have field … Otherwise, Africa would definitely not qualify as over-populated. Countries that have managed to reduce both mortality and fertility rates increasingly find that the bulk of their population now consists of working age people and young adults. ... Factors influencing the population growth. 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