Mozambique debates demographics and sustainable development

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Mozambique debates demographics and sustainable development

12:42 CAT | 24 Aug 2018

Photo: Twitter

Mozambique is today debating the need for a demographic transition aimed at development as part of a joint initiative between the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

The conference, Finance Minister Adriano Maleiane is to attend, takes place in Maputo and is entitled “Population Growth and Sustainable Development in Mozambique: Paths to the Demographic Dividend”.

The event aims to “raise awareness of the [demographic] dividend agenda in Mozambique and create a space for the exchange of ideas”, the organisation said.

Mozambique has 500,000 people entering the labour market annually. For everyone to find activity, “a higher level of competence and education is key”, a World Bank analysis of Mozambique says.

“Turning Mozambique’s population trends into a demographic dividend is a huge challenge, but the potential gains are just as immense,” Peter Holland, the World Bank’s Human Development programme leader, noted during a presentation in February.

The analysis concluded that “a reduction in fertility levels, investment in productive skills and jobs would represent a huge boost: an estimated increase in real per capita GDP of 31 percent by 2050”.

In 2011, the Mozambican fertility rate was estimated at an average of 5.9 children per woman, one of the highest in the world. According to the 2017 census, Mozambique has 28.8 million inhabitants, 8.3 million more than at the time of the last population survey, ten years ago.

⁦@UNFPAMocambique⁩ is at a Population Growth and Sustainable Development Conference organized by the Ministry of Economy and Finance where the Minister and our Rep ⁦@DiagneAndrea⁩ spoke about the necessary steps to harness the demographic dividend in Mozambique pic.twitter.com/hmeFuf2iq7

— UNFPA Moçambique (@UNFPAMocambique) August 24, 2018