Uganda’s population growth spells doom
The population of Uganda increased more than five times in 54 years from five million in 1948 to 24.2 million in 2002. If present trends continue, the population will double in 20 years.
Jacklyn Abongowath
The population of Uganda increased more than five times in 54 years from five million in 1948 to 24.2 million in 2002. If present trends continue, the population will double in 20 years.
Over the next 25 years, another 32 million people will be added to the Ugandan population, even after taking into consideration the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on population growth. The rapid growth of the population in such a short period of time has serious implications on Uganda’s ability to attain and sustain rapid economic growth and structural transformation and therefore frustrates efforts in poverty eradication.
In the recent past, Uganda registered impressive achievements with average GDP growth of about 6.3 percent per annum. However, the high population growth rate of 3.2 percent has put undue pressure on social sector spending and has undermined the economic gains made in the recent past. A nation’s population needs to be of high quality in terms of health, education, incomes, housing and nutrition.
Population growth may however not benefit a country if the growth rate is too high such that the country’s rate of development cannot match the population growth rate. Population growth results in a structure that leads to more consumption than production and investment, as is the situation in Uganda, where young people dominate the population. This leads to high dependency ratio, high demand on social services, degradation of the natural resources and could also lead to civil unrest as competition for the scarce resources increases.
The percentage of the population below the poverty line has increased. This explains why, despite the good economic performance at the macro-level, poverty seems to be on the increase at household level.
Rapid population growth rate becomes a destabilizing factor for good governance and stability when otherwise progressive migrants have differences with host communities over ideological, political, cultural and religious differences. Such problems result into destruction of property, separation of families and death.
If fertility is reduced it can create an opportunity for rapid economic growth at the macro level and enhance poverty reduction at the household level.
The population of Uganda increased more than five times in 54 years from five million in 1948 to 24.2 million in 2002. If present trends continue, the population will double in 20 years.
Over the next 25 years, another 32 million people will be added to the Ugandan population, even after taking into consideration the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on population growth. The rapid growth of the population in such a short period of time has serious implications on Uganda’s ability to attain and sustain rapid economic growth and structural transformation and therefore frustrates efforts in poverty eradication.
In the recent past, Uganda registered impressive achievements with average GDP growth of about 6.3 percent per annum. However, the high population growth rate of 3.2 percent has put undue pressure on social sector spending and has undermined the economic gains made in the recent past. A nation’s population needs to be of high quality in terms of health, education, incomes, housing and nutrition.
Population growth may however not benefit a country if the growth rate is too high such that the country’s rate of development cannot match the population growth rate. Population growth results in a structure that leads to more consumption than production and investment, as is the situation in Uganda, where young people dominate the population. This leads to high dependency ratio, high demand on social services, degradation of the natural resources and could also lead to civil unrest as competition for the scarce resources increases.
The percentage of the population below the poverty line has increased. This explains why, despite the good economic performance at the macro-level, poverty seems to be on the increase at household level.
Rapid population growth rate becomes a destabilizing factor for good governance and stability when otherwise progressive migrants have differences with host communities over ideological, political, cultural and religious differences. Such problems result into destruction of property, separation of families and death.
If fertility is reduced it can create an opportunity for rapid economic growth at the macro level and enhance poverty reduction at the household level.