As countries all over the world celebrate World Population Day (WPD) today, the demand for national governments to educate the masses on the hazards of unchecked population increase has become expedient. World Population Day is observed to draw the attention of the public to the primacy of population questions and the necessity to curb overpopulation. Inspiration for this day is drawn from the interest that was raised by “Five Billion Day” on July 11, 1987. This was the day when the world’s population reached 5 billion.
This year’s theme is, “Towards A Resilient Future for All—Harnessing Opportunities and Ensuring Rights and Choices for All”. WPD aims at enlightening the masses on several population questions such as the importance of family planning, gender equality, poverty, maternal health, human rights, among others. Specifically, the fundamental aim behind having a World Population Day is to direct attention to the consequences of population problems and how they impact overall development plans and programmes.
Over 200 years ago, in 1804, the world population first reached 1 billion people. It took 123 years to double to 2 billion (1927) and a quarter of that time (33 years) to reach 3 billion (1960). Fifteen years later (1975), the world population climbed to 4 billion, and another 12 years (1987) brought the number of people in the world to 5 billion. Six billion came just before the new millennium (1999), and the 7 billion milestone was passed in 2012.
The world population currently stands at 7.6 billion (mid-2017) and is projected to reach 8.6 billion in 2030. It is increasing by approximately 83 million people each year (1.1 per cent), and prevailing estimates expect the world to contain more than 11 billion people by the turn of the century. Family behaviour affects population growth. Fertility, mortality, and child survival rates all directly contribute to the number of people on our planet. Furthermore, population matters cover numerous areas like family planning, gender equality, and environmental impacts to human rights concerns.
Over population is a crucial issue, especially contemplating that world resources are debilitating at an unsustainable rate. Awareness about the effects of overpopulation on development and nature is emphasised. The expanding population also sheds light on health problems encountered by women during pregnancy and childbirth, making the need for family planning, gender equality, and maternal health more critical than ever.
The growing population remains a concern since it is associated with global warming, resource depletion, pollution, malnutrition and the possible spread of fatal diseases.  That is why the United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) 2019 Report that Nigeria had a population of 201 million is disconcerting. The report stated that Nigeria had an average population growth of 2.6 per cent between 2010 and 2019. Africa’s most populous country grew by about 5 million people from 2018 when UNFPA gave the population as 195.9 million.
The country has witnessed a population growth from 54.7 million in 1969 to 105.4 million in 1994 and 201.0 million in 2019. According to UNFPA, the age distribution of 15-64 years is the highest population composition in the country, with 54 per cent of Nigerians falling between the age range. 44 per cent of Nigerians are within the age distribution of 0-14, while 32 per cent of the population is between 10 and 24 years and a paltry 3 per cent are 65 and above. Presently, there are 7.4 billion people in the world and 30 per cent of the world’s population results from unwanted and accidental pregnancies.
Amenities like housing, jobs, basic education, health services, and even food and water including other resources and opportunities for the youth are grossly limited under the current circumstances. Limited resources combine with an increasing population to put heavy pressure on the scant resources. A recent report from Brooking Institution shows that Nigeria has an estimated 87 million people living in extreme poverty and more people sliding into it by the day.
Difficult choices lie ahead of our nation in its battle to curb the fast-rising population. From 45 million at Independence in 1960, the country’s population proliferated to 193.3 million in 2017, the National Bureau of Statistics estimated. Demographically, this is a time bomb, a chilling fact reiterated at the 2018 Nigerian Economic Summit by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed. It is incumbent on the government to educate the people about the dangers of uncontrolled population growth.
At the existing growth rate, Nigeria will have a population of 410 million by 2050, the United Nations estimates. In other words, it would have more than doubled its population 32 years from now, becoming the third most populous country on earth by then, just behind India and China, says the United Nations. This is twofold precarious. The oil-dependent economy, which has nurtured undue procreation, is, however, in tatters.
Currently, Nigeria is unable to bolster its population. While the population is mushrooming alarmingly, the economy is dwindling sharply. In 2014, the rebased economy had a GDP of $568 billion, data from the World Bank stated. After the first recession, the economy diminished to $375.8 billion in 2017. Indeed, this is just 0.61 per cent of the global GDP. In contrast, Nigeria’s population is 2.43 per cent of the global population of 7.6 billion. Clearly, there is a gross mismatch between the economy and the surging population.
Over the years, the government has not taken population management seriously. In the early 1990s, it championed four children per woman. This is rubbing the problem on the surface. With polygamy ingrained, a man with manifold wives astronomically adds to the population. Still, the government split hairs on its implementation. The birth control campaigns by public health agencies and concerned NGOs experienced a similar destiny. Thus, population growth has spiralled out of control.
There is a nexus between education and fertility rates. The more educated a woman is, the fewer children she will bear. There is then a pressing necessity to heighten the enrolment in primary and secondary schools, especially in the most susceptible areas. According to the UNFPA’s “World Population Report 2020”, 33,000 Nigerian girls under the age of 18 would be compelled into marriage, usually to much older men. One in five females married today in Nigeria is underage. About 19 per cent of women between 15 and 19 have begun childbearing. About 14 per cent would have given birth and four per cent are pregnant with their first child.
Given the petrifying statistics, Nigeria requires to take crucial steps to curb its growing population and fight poverty. Addressing birth rates through a mix of women empowerment, education opportunities, birth control clinics and public enlightenment will make a difference. Conversely, ignoring population explosion warnings will keep many Nigerians perpetually as hewers of wood and drawers of water in an exponentially changing world.