Key highlights
- Nigeria is part of eight countries that will account for half the projected growth in the global population by 2050.
- UN warned Blaming fertility for climate change will not hold the greatest carbon emitters to account.
- They added that out of 8 billion people, around 5.5 billion do not make enough money, which is $10 a day, to contribute significantly to carbon emissions.
Nigeria’s continuous population growth would see Nigeria account for half the projected growth in global population by 2050, alongside the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, and the United Republic of Tanzania.
This was disclosed in a statement by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on Wednesday from its 2023 State of World Population report.
UN urged that Family planning must not be used as a tool for achieving fertility targets; but as a tool for empowering individuals.
Nigeria
In the report the United Nations stated that Global demographics are changing rapidly, as Nigeria would be part of the 8 countries which would contain half the global population by 2050, they said:
- “Two-thirds of people are living in low fertility contexts, while eight countries will account for half the projected growth in global population by 2050 (the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, and the United Republic of Tanzania), dramatically reordering the world’s ranking of most populous countries.”
Women and Fertility
The report added that Twenty-four percent of partnered women and girls are unable to say no to sex and 11 percent are unable to make decisions specifically about contraception, according to data from 68 reporting countries, they added:
- “A survey of eight countries showed people who had been exposed to media or conversations about the world’s population were more likely to view the global population as being too high.
- “Blaming fertility for climate change will not hold the greatest carbon emitters to account. Out of 8 billion people, around 5.5 billion do not make enough money, about $10 a day, to contribute significantly to carbon emissions.
The UN said its study says greater gender parity in the labor force would do more to sustain economies in aging, low-fertility societies than setting targets for women to have more
They warned that overblown narratives about population booms and busts. Instead of asking how fast people are reproducing, leaders should ask whether individuals, especially women, are able to freely make their own reproductive choices – a question whose answer, too often, is no.
UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem said Human reproduction is neither the problem, nor the solution urging that When we put gender equality and rights at the heart of our population policies, we are stronger, more resilient, and better able to deal with the challenges resulting from rapidly changing populations, she added:
- “Chasing fertility targets and trying to influence women’s reproductive decision-making will only end in failure. History has shown that such policies are rarely effective and undermine women’s rights. Investing in people and their potential is the surest path to prosperity and peace
- “Women’s bodies should not be held captive to population targets,”
- “To build thriving and inclusive societies, regardless of population size, we must radically rethink how we talk about and plan for population change.”
Family Planning
Un said History has shown that fertility policies designed to increase or lower birth rates are very often ineffective and can undermine women’s rights, adding that Many countries have rolled out programs to engineer larger families by offering financial incentives and rewards to women and their partners, yet they continue to see birth rates below two children per woman. And efforts to slow population growth through forced sterilization and coercive contraception have grossly violated human rights.
- “Family planning must not be used as a tool for achieving fertility targets; it is a tool for empowering individuals. Women should be able to choose if, when, and how many children they would like to have, free from the coercion of pundits and officials.
- “The report strongly recommends governments institute policies with gender equality and rights at their heart, such as parental leave programs, child tax credits, policies that promote gender equality in the workplace, and universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights.
- “These offer a proven formula that will reap economic dividends and lead to resilient societies able to thrive no matter how populations change.
What you should know
Nairametrics reported recently that The Federal Government moved the population and housing census earlier scheduled for March 29, 2023, to May 2023.
FG explained that the decision to postpone the census was necessitated by the rescheduling of the gubernatorial election to March 18, as the FEC also approved N2.8 billion for the procurement of software for the National Population Commission (NPC) for the conduct of the National Census in May 2023.
