Issues We Address
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Population and Poverty
Population and Poverty
Rapid population growth aggravates poverty in developing countries by producing a high ratio of dependent children for each working adult. This leads to a relatively high percentage of income being spent on immediate survival needs of food, housing, and clothing, leaving little money for purchase of elective goods or for investment in the economy, education, government services, or infrastructure. Lack of available capital continues to frustrate the attempts of many developing countries to expand their economies and reduce poverty.
Only about 20% of the current world’s population has a generally adequate standard of living. The other 80% live in conditions ranging from mild deprivation to severe deficiency. This imbalance is likely to get worse, as more than 90% of future population growth is projected to occur in the least developed countries.
The continent with the most rapid population growth, Africa, is actually growing poorer. African’s per capita gross domestic product of $510 is only 89% of the 1960 level. Per capita calorie intake is 20% below that of 1960. Every third person in Africa is chronically malnourished. However, Africa’s population continues to grow at an alarming rate: the doubling time of Africa’s population is 28 years; and average desired family size in sub-Saharan Africa is five children per couple.
Just as population growth contributes to poverty, population stabilization has often contributed to rapid improvements in per capita economic conditions and overall quality of life. All of the countries that have moved from developing status to developed status since World War II, according to U.N. criteria, had brought their fertility rates down close to replacement level before their economies began to take off. These include South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Barbados and The Bahamas.
