Nigeria and others risk greater lack of social welfare provision
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Nigeria and seven other countries in the Global South are estimated to account for more than half of the projected increase in global population by 2050, at the risk of inadequate basic social provision of food, housing, education, and power supply.
A report by United Nations anticipates the world’s population could grow to 8.5 billion in 2030 and 9.7 billion in 2050, then mount a peak of 10.4 billion in the 2080s and remain at that level until 2100.
The UN disclosed that COVID has had an effect on population change as global life expectancy at birth fell to 71 years in 2021 (down from 72.9 in 2019) and also produced short-term reductions in numbers of pregnancies and births.
“More than half of the projected increase in the global population up to 2050 will be concentrated in eight countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and the United Republic of Tanzania,” the report said.
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Fight against poverty
“Rapid population growth makes eradicating poverty, combatting hunger and malnutrition, and increasing the coverage of health and education systems more difficult,” warned Liu Zhenmin, UN Under-Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs, warned in the report, according to Nairametrics.
The UN also projects a “demographic dividend” in most countries in Sub Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean, due to a rise in the share of the working age population (25 to 64 years), providing an opportunity for accelerated economic growth per capita.
“The projection is revealed in the UN’s World Population Prospects 2022 report, which also shows that India is on course to surpass China as the world’s most populous country in 2023,” it added, per Nairametrics.
Abuja announced last year that Nigeria’s rising population is a cause for concern, warning that it needs to implement policies to check population growth rate.
Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), said Nigeria is expected to become the third most populous nation on earth by 2050 but the country currently cannot even address the needs of its youth.
