There are 27,7 million people in Uganda. But by 2025 the population will almost double to 56 million, close to that of Britain, which has a similar land mass. In 44 years its population will have grown by nearly as much as Chinas.
In fact, the latest global projections from the US-based Population Reference Bureau show Uganda as the fastest growing country in the world. Midway through the 21st century Uganda will be the worlds 12th most populous country with 130 million people – more than Russia or Japan.
A typical Ugandan woman gives birth to seven children – an extraordinarily high fertility rate that has remained largely unchanged for more than 30 years. Half the population is under 15, and will soon move into childbearing age. Fewer than one in five married women has access to contraception.
Taken together, the factors point to a population explosion that has demographers and family planning experts warning that efforts to cut poverty are doomed unless urgent measures are taken.
And not just in Uganda. Across much of sub-Saharan Africa the population is expanding so quickly that the demographic map of the earth is changing.
By 2050 Chad, Mali, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Niger, Burundi and Malawi – all among the poorest nations in the world – are projected to triple in size. Nigeria will have become the world’s fourth biggest country. Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia will have vaulted into the top 10 for the first time. Nearly a quarter of the world’s population will come from Africa – up from one in seven today.
Reproductive health experts say that a lack of information and of availability of female contraceptives plays a major role. In Ethiopia just 8 per cent of married women use contraceptives. In Uganda more than a third of all women say they would like to stop – or at least stall – having children.
Steven Sinding: This is a tragedy for Africa
For that, donors must share in the blame, said Steven Sinding, director-general of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF). He said the world had declared premature victory in the battle to cut fertility rates.
Curbing population growth is not one of the UNs Millennium Development Goals, which aim to halve poverty by 2015, and barely features in the Commission for Africa report championed by Tony Blair.
– In sub-Saharan Africa population remains a very serious problem, said Mr Sinding.
– Yet donors have completely shifted their focus to HIV/Aids and nobody is talking about it any more. Population is off the development agenda and thats a tragedy for Africa, stated he.
Kilde: The Push Journal
