Wednesday, 19 November 2014 00:00
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Developing countries with large youth populations could see their economies soar, provided they invest heavily in young people’s education and health and protect their rights. A point Sri Lanka and obviously learn from.
According to The State of World Population 2014, published today by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, the potential economic gains would be realised through a ‘demographic dividend,’ which can occur when a county’s working age population is larger than the population that is dependent and younger. But to maximise the dividend, countries must ensure their young working-age populations are equipped to seize opportunities for jobs and other income-earning possibilities.
With the right policies and investments in human capital, countries can empower young people to drive economic and social development and boost per-capita incomes, the new UNFPA report states. The UNFPA Executive Director urges countries in pursuit of a demographic dividend to ensure the gains result in growth that benefits everyone.
In the 1950s and 1960s, several East Asian economies invested heavily in young people’s capabilities and in expanding their access to voluntary family planning, enabling individuals to start families later and have fewer children. The result was unprecedented economic growth. The Republic of Korea, for example, saw its per-capita gross domestic product grow about 2,200% between 1950 and 2008.
Nine in ten of the world’s young people today live in less developed countries. Because of lagging social services, these countries face greater obstacles to leveraging the advantages that can result from engaging a youthful, productive workforce.
The UNFPA report shows that demographic shifts taking place in about 60 countries are opening a window for a demographic dividend. The size of the dividend depends largely on how those countries invest in young people to realise their full potential.
If sub-Saharan African countries repeated the East Asian experience by making the right investments in young people, enabling them to participate in decisions that affect their lives and adopting policies to bolster economic growth, the region as a whole could realize a demographic dividend amounting to as much as $500 billion a year, for 30 years.
Sri Lanka has made similar promises, insisting policies will open up higher education, provide skills development and lower youth unemployment that is currently above the national average. But conversely the Government has run into trouble with university students and other youth groups who feel the policies are too top down and not inclusive enough.
Other policies such as the knowledge hub do not take into account the need to build education from the ground up, providing financial opportunities and an overall environment of enablement. This has challenged the fundamental belief of investing in the future generation.
A demographic dividend of this magnitude has the potential to lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and raise living standards and catapult economies forward, the report states.
Critical youth investments needed to reap a demographic dividend are those that protect rights, including reproductive rights, improve health, including sexual and reproductive health, and provide skills and knowledge to build young people’s capabilities and agency. These investments can also accelerate fertility declines, which can in turn accelerate the demographic transition.
