Critical Analysis of the Impact of Population Growth on the Nigeria Economy

Critical Analysis of the Impact of Population Growth on the Nigeria Economy

Chapter One

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The general objective

To find out how population affects the economy.

Specific objectives.

To establish the effects of population growth on education, housing, health facilities, environment, agriculture and transport.
To assess the causes of population growth in the Local Government Area.
To verify the roles played by the government, private sector, NGOs, in curbing down the population growth in order to sustain development.
To identify how people reacts towards the measures designed to control the of population growth.

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

Causes of population growth

Three demographic variables, are mainly responsible for population growth; and they include the following; fertility, mortality and migration. Migration includes both the immigration and emigration. When the number of birth exceeds the number of deaths, the population grows very rapidly, hence leading to population increase

Causes of population growth

Fertility varies greatly among societies and among sub- cultures within the society, and the number of children born in a society is greatly affected by three major factors: Wealth, environment and societal norms about marriages and children. poor families in rural areas tend to have many children which leads to population growth, compared to richer families in urban areas, mainly because in rural areas, children are needed to help with the family labor, but in modern urban areas, children are not productive, rather they are an expense to house, feed, clothe and educate. However, a low or high fertility rate will of course affect the number of people born into the population, but this is only one of the several factors that influence population growth.

When studying mortality, demographers considers, age and gender, a population with many old people will have a higher death rate, hence leading to a lower population growth, than a comparative young population. And because women live longer than men, a population with many women will have a lower death and population growth will be high, leading to increased population size. Mortality like fertility also varies with Wealth. When people especially the infants, have adequate food, housing and medical car, they are less likely to die of disease, and population growth is always high. In developed nations, infant mortality rate is low and life expectancy is high, for example in United States, Canada, and European countries. People in Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands have the longest life expectancy, which makes population growth very low because people live for a very long period and there’s no need for a big population size. Death rates are high in Africa, India, South America, and South East Asia, where poverty is widespread hence population growth tends to be high leading to increased population size in developing countries.

Migration includes both immigration, which is the movement into an area, and emigration, which is the movement out of the area. Demographers speak in terms of push and pull factors. People are forced to move away from their homes by push factors such as famine, wars, political oppression, unemployment, bad climate among others. People in Eastern Europe, for example migrated to Western Europe where jobs are more plentiful, thus increase in population growth. Other people move to new places, which seem more inviting: the chance to acquire land, jobs, and the discovery of Riches such as gold. In California, for example, the discovery of gold drew fortune seekers from all over the world, which turned the place over populated. In prehistoric times, waves of migrants moved out of Africa and Asia into the Middle West and Eastern Europe thus stimulated the population growth in Europe. These people were forced to by pull factors Europe, such as employment, better life style among others.

World population

Ashia A Bhende and Tare Kanikar {2001}, the recent rev1s1on of population trends which was under-taken by the population Division of the Economics and the Social Affairs of the UN in 1998. It states that in mid-1998, the world population stood at 5.9 billion and it was expected to reach 6 billion in 1999. The world population will exceed 6 billion in the year 2000, projected by P.R.B, 1997. It is projected that 95 percent of the next billion people born will live in the poorest nations of the world, further straining on already difficult Economic situations.

Considering 1993 population growth, 94 percent occurred in developing nations, which already hold 78 percent of the world’s inhabitants. India’s growth alone in 1993 had 17 million people, which equaled to that of United States, Europe, Latin America and Russia combined.

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research design

The research design was a case study of Okitipupa Local Government Area. The study examined the relationship between population growth and development. This was vital in determining the choices of the study and helped to bring out the full picture of the study by the help of qualitative and quantitative research methods. However, the study mainly a qualitative research study; quantitative method was used only to quantity or to measure the responses, in order to make numerical comparisons between the responses.

Target population

The study population included both Men and Women since the study was mainly gender based and due to the kind of information required expected from the respondents, these are the sections and people approached during the research; the National Population and Housing Census Provision {2002}, Social workers, Community chiefs, Head teachers and Parents Community workers Assistant Community Development Officers {ACDOS} as well as NGOs in the Local Government Area. This population was considered to have knowledge and experience about the study at hand {population and development}.

CHAPTER FOUR

PRESENTATION ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

Demographic data of respondents

Age of respondents

CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary

Considering the data collected, the findings portray the majority respondents agreed that population growth affects/ hinders the socio-economic development hence supporting the views of the scholars of optimum theory, who suggests that in order for the country to realize the highest possible quality of life without environmental degradation, it needs to have an optimum population. Therefore, awareness of population problems is very vital in order to break through the fatalism that hinders many development activities in the area.

Majority of the respondents reported that, if it were not because of population growth, development in Okitipupa Local Government Area would not have come to the stand still. Therefore, according to the findings, increased population growth remains the main constraint to the social and economic development in the area, because it associated with a Jot of problems. Cultural factors, such as prestige, early marriages polygamy, among others remains the main factor which has contributed to population increase in the area, followed by Religion, like Islamic, Catholic which discourages the use of artificial birth controls, such as condoms, and other encouraged people to have big families, hence leading to population increase in the Local Government Area.

Furthermore, findings shows that lack of family planning awareness has contributed to increased rate of population growth in the area, followed by poverty which have hit every part of the Local Government Area and has left most of the people in the Local Government Area redundant and stressful, leaving them with sex as the only way to suppress their stress hence leading to increased birth rates in the area.

From the research findings, the study revealed that population growth has a lot of negative consequences in all activities, which has affected the social and economic development in the Local Government Area. According to the findings, housing facilities in the area is a problem due to increased population growth, where by rent costs are too high for those who do not own houses, yet houses for rent are also very scarce.

Findings still indicates that population growth has caused congestion in the health centers due to shortage health centers to accommodate the increasing number of people in the area, and available centers lack facilities like medications, bed and enough trained staff.

In addition, research findings shows that increased environmental degradation is due to increased rate of population growth in the Local Government Area; where by, a number of people have encroached on forest reserves in search for settlement and land for farming.

Findings further shows that population increase has led to shortage of land for agriculture leading to poor and low output hence resulting into starvation hunger as well as malnutrition.

Research findings further shows that population has caused congestion in schools due large number of pupils and students occupying the few school, inadequate scholastic materials m schools, such as text books, classrooms, chairs among others.

In general, however, population growth has hindered development in the all sectors in the area, ranging from health, communication, transport, education, agriculture, trade, environment, among others. Facilities and services provided are always insufficient to meet the needs of all people in the area.

Conclusion

According to the research findings, the researcher therefore concludes that, population growth is the major constraint of social and economic development, as it creates greater demands on the social infrastructures; such has schools, health facilities, and communication systems, transport facilities, among others. Therefore, the possibility of having an optimum population should be considered as a viable alternative in order to realize the social and economic development in the Local Government Area.

In some aspects, increased population has acted as an incentive, for example producers have larger markets for their products, which have encouraged them to produce more goods and services. However, In Okitipupa Local Government Area, the benefits of maintaining a population are being outweighed by its costs.

Majority of the respondents sampled agreed that the Government, NGOs, Private sector, and community involvement, have played a greater role in curbing down the rate of population increase, but the point remained that much effort is needed to break through the strong holds of cultural and traditional beliefs, as well as Religion.

it was therefore concluded that, if the rate of population growth is reduced, the social and economic life of people in the area can be improved.

RECOMMEDATION

Problems of population growth are often complex and controversial, rapid growth of population always makes it very difficult for the Governments to provide services to people and satisfy each one’s needs equally, such services may include, housing education, health, employment opportunities among others. However, at the same time Government’s failure to invest in social sector and to create a positive climate for a fair and equitable economic development, caused the situation under which families continue to have many children, hence such situation has made it critical where by 90 millions of the 95 percent of the annual increase in the World takes place in developing countries which are unable to meet the needs of these people.

The researcher recommended family planning methods as the major solution to curb down the rate of population growth, in doing so, family planning programmes should be formed and implemented. People should be sensitized about the benefits of using family planning services as a tool of controlling the rate population growth. Families should be encouraged to have smaller families which they take care of, however, the state as a whole should get involved in suggesting the number of children each couple should have, because if we the families to the that they take off, some can even have more 20 children just because they can take of them, which may become a threat to the society as a whole. Therefore, I recommend all countries particularly those in the 3rd World, to take China as an example, they should it law the number of children each couple should have, hence this will help to slow down the rate at which the population is accelerating.

The researcher further recommends the use of education as another tool to slow down the rate at which population is growing. Through popular education people will be able to understand better the importance of having a small and a planned family. As a research her I recommend and insist that, Gild child education will do better in achieving this goal, because when girls are put in and stayed in schools until they finish up the course of their studies, it encourages them to marry at a later age and to have few children, because they tend be occupied with their Jobs, which in the end slows down the rate of population growth since the birth rates is slowed down. In addition, without education, Women may not know that they have better things they can do to that contribute to the social and economic development of the country, rather than bearing children and working only as a house wife.

According to the findings, the researcher suggests that, the Government and other institutions; such as NGOs, and Private sector, should provide more employment opportunities to people. In doing so, they should set up income generating activities and industries which can accommodate all people regardless of their qualifications: this will solve the problem of unemployment and redundancy that breeds poverty, which encouraged large families. The poor always use sexual intercourse as the only comfort and tool to reduce their stress, which always comes with increased birth rates among poor couples, hence increase in the population rate. In other words, employed people always have limited time to think about sex. Provision of employment opportunities comes with two benefits; first it slows down the rate of population growth, and secondary, it boosts the economy of the country. Hence leading to social and economic development.

Provision of better health care, is also a very big tool in slowing down the rate of population growth, because less people will be dying, so women will have children because they sure that they grow well and health. Therefore, the researcher suggests that all people should have access improved health services in order to curb down the rate at which population is accelerating. Abortion can also be another tool to slow down population rate, so as researcher, I recommend the legalization of abortion, in order solve this problem. This will help women to do away with unwanted pregnancies, thus leading to low population rate in the country.

The researcher further proposes that, there should be a transition from the peasant- agrarian to modernized urban industrial society, in order to facilitate the adjustment of reproductive behavior to the new conditions. Under this new transition, people will be forced to make social changes that will motivate them to reduce the number of their children. To make better social change, opportunities should be given to singles as compared to the married couples; for example, giving better jobs to the singles, better houses, good houses and scholarships to single as compared to the married people. This will discourage early marriages among young people.

References

Asha a bhende and Tava kanitkar {1998}: principles of population studies. Himalaya Publishing House, Delhi.
Anthony Giddens {2001}: sociology, 4th edition, Blackwel publishers Ltd, Oxford.
Bryjak Soroka, 2nd, Sociology Cultural Diversity in a changing world
Marshall and Rossman, G.D {1985}: Designing Qualitative research, New Bury Park Sage Publishers, New York.
Melaku demissle; The Reporter, Addis Ababa, consequences of population Explosion, Global Warming, March 2007.
Nsubuga, E. {2000}: fundamentals of Education Research, M.K publisher {u} Ltd.
Patton, M. N {1995}: Qualitative Evaluation Research, Newbury park, sage Publishers.
Richard T.Schaefer {1998} Sociology; 6th edition, McGraw-Hill publishing Company Ltd, New Delhi. Shrivastava 0.S, Demography and population Studies, Vikas publishing House PVT, LTD

Related Topics:

Other Topics