Although birth rates have been on the slide across the developing world since the s, women in most of the least developed countries LDCs still have five children each on average, according to a policy brief presented by the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs DESA.
The lack of access to family planning and to modern methods of contraception is the major cause of this persistence in high fertility.
Zlotnik noted that giving people the information and means for reaching their reproductive goals — without any kind of interference or coercion — has significant implications for economic and social development. Reducing population growth through cutting fertility rates, versus increasing mortality or restricting migration, is beneficial to the economy, as low fertility increases the number of people of working age per capita as well as output per capita, according to the Population Division brief.
As fertility declines and fewer babies are born, a youthful population transitions to a structure where people of working age greatly outnumber young dependents. If enough jobs are available, household income increases, and households with fewer children can afford to make larger investments in child health and education and to build up their savings. This demographic shift needs to occur among both the rich and the poor for a country to achieve accelerated as well as inclusive economic growth.
A Population Reference Bureau policy brief April examined these two wealth-based disparities in four sub-Saharan African countries Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, and Tanzania by looking at rates of modern contraceptive use and demand for modern methods satisfied. Women who want to delay or prevent pregnancy and who are using modern contraception are considered to have their demand satisfied. Among the four countries, Malawi stands out for having the largest increase in modern contraceptive use and the smallest gap in use between rich and poor.
Among the richest quintile, 61 percent of married women use modern contraception, as do 53 percent of the women in the poorest quintile. Though fertility decline has been slower than expected with such high contraceptive use, it has been falling among both the richest and poorest subgroups. If Malawi can sustain its fertility decline, its richest quintile is projected to reach a replacement level fertility rate of 2.
We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Close Privacy Overview This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website.
We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. Necessary Necessary. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly.
This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website.
These cookies do not store any personal information.
0コメント