Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Population Case Study -
Youthful Population in Uganda
- General Information
- 50% of Uganda's population is under 15 years old
- The dependency ratio has increased significantly over the years: 100 in 1969 to 122 in 1995
- Very high fertility rate and a very low contraceptive prevalence rate
- The country has a high prevalence of AIDS
- This results in excess
mortality and lower life
expectancy rates than
otherwise would be
expected
- The high fertility rate and
youthful age structure has
resulted in the build up of a
population momentum
- Even if fertility were to drop
drastically to replacement
levels, the population of
Uganda would still continue to
grow for 40-50 years
- This has far reaching implications
for the development of the
individual within the family and
the nation as a whole, particularly
because of its low level of
development and technology
- Impacts - Social
- Family Welfare
- Health of mothers and children
is adversely affected by high
fertility
- Early child bearing
- Teenage pregnancies increases the number
of young mothers who lack material
resources to support their children
- Can affect the initial
development and
growth of their children
- Encourages school drop outs
- Acts as a barrier to the
advancement of women and
their future independence
- Exposure to AIDS is increased
- Increased demand for health services
- Because of high fertility
- The health infrastructure
can't cope with this so there
is an uneven distribution and
poor access to facilities and
low per capita expenditure
- Demand for social security
- The proportion of elderly is fairly low
- However, the youthful
population and their
problems (unemployment
and general poverty)
result in high dependency
- No comprehensive social security policy and the
individual household has to become responsible
- Impacts - Environmental
- The high population growth is
resulting in degradation of the
environment
- The increasing land
fragmentation and decrease
in soil fertility is causing crop
yields to fall
- The increasing use of marginal
lands which can't support
agriculture sustainability
- The depletion of wetlands to
expand agricultural lands and
forest depletion to gain land use
firewood for fuel
- Impacts - Economic
- Increased
demand for
education
services
- The government wanted to achieve universal
primary education by 2003 but the high birth rate
hindered this
- The population of
primary school age
is expected to grow
from 3.3 million
(1991) to 7.2 million
by 2021
- Much larger
expenditures will be
needed to pay for an
increasing number of
teachers, classrooms,
materials and
equipment
- Labour force and employment
- The youthful population accounts for a
substantial expansion of the labour force which
is mainly agriculture and the informal sector
- The potential labour force is expected to
double between 1991-2021 to reach 16.8
million
- There are very few employment opportunities in the formal sector
and this limits the growth of the economy; problems of
unemployment, underemployment, rural-urban migration and crime
- Urbanisation
and Housing
- The provision of
adequate housing
and social
amenities is not
keeping pace with
the increasing
population
- Outcomes include over crowding, growth of slums and deterioration
- Very low numbers have access to
electricity and safe drinking water and
pit latrines are the dominant form of
toilet facility