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Nigeria’s population is expected to soar from 216 million people this year to 375 million by 2050, according to the United Nations. This will make Nigeria the fourth most populous country in the world after India, China and the United States
Nigeria’s population is expected to soar from 216 million people this year to 375 million by 2050, according to the United Nations. This will make Nigeria the fourth most populous country in the world after India, China, and the United States.
The UN projects that the world’s population is expected to hit 8 billion people as of now. However, officials maintain, this could be an estimate or an approximation. Nigeria is among the eight countries that the UN says, will account for more than half the world’s population growth between now and 2050. The other countries in Africa that witnessed explosive growth during this period are Congo, Ethiopia, and Tanzania. The non – African countries like India, Pakistan, and the Philippines also will contribute substantially to the population growth.
According to the UN, the situation would lead to more people vying for increasingly scarce water resources and potentially more families facing hunger. The slowing population growth over many decades could help to mitigate the further accumulation of environmental damage in the second half of the current century. In sub-Saharan Africa, the population is growing at 2.5%, more than three times the global average, which, among other things, can be attributed to people living longer.
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Further dwelling on the demographic profile of the continent, the UN estimates put women in sub-Saharan Africa, on average, have 4.6 births each. This is twice the current global average of 2.3. The estimates also came out with plausible reasons for the higher fertility rate that include the high rate of child marriage; 4 out of 10 girls married before they reach the age of 18. The rate of teen pregnancy on the continent is the highest in the world. Half of the children born last year to mothers under 20 worldwide were in sub-Saharan Africa. In sub-Saharan Africa, children are seen as a blessing as it is a source of support to their elders.
