Afghanistan: Population And Economic Growth
Afghanistan is located in the southern part of Asia. Her immediate neighbors are Pakistan and Iran. Afghanistan’s population as at June 2009, stood at 33.6 million people. The Gross Domestic Product per capita, again at this time, was $800. Population and economic growth rates go hand in hand. It is imperative that when one is analyzing the economy of a country, one looks at population as a factor that contributes to the economic position of the country. Both are dependant on each other and each affects the other in various ways.
This paper seeks to address population and its impact on the economy of a country. Afghanistan will be the case study for this paper. The paper will look into the issue of population and the economy by addressing three pertinent questions; how is population related to economic development? Is population growth a stimulus of economic development? And, is population growth unrelated to economic development? These questions will form the basis of this paper. In answering these questions, the paper will look at how the environmental conditions of Afghanistan have influenced population growth and thereby looking at the impact it has had on the economic development. The paper will finally put forward some recommendations on the kind of policies the country should adopt in order to control population growth and foster economic development.
How is population related to economic development?
One major factor that plays a major role in influencing a country’s position in as far as development goes is population. As a result of the increase in population and the hard working nature of the people of Japan, it grew to become one of the most industrialized nations in the world. This was also the case in the United States of America. As a result of population growth, the economic development in the nation increased rapidly. Economic development also affects population growth. In Europe during the industrialization period, the population almost doubled between 1750 and 1850. This was as a result of economic development (Alston; 2004). It is also imperative to note that unchecked population growth may have a great negative impact on the economic development of a country.
Afghanistan has a high population growth rate of about 2.69% per year. This is actually supposed to higher owing to the fact that the infant mortality rate is also high of about 2 out of every 10. This implies that 1/5th of the children born in the country are likely to die at birth. 45% of the population in Afghanistan is under the age of 15. This lives 55% which is shared between the youth and the senior citizens. In any economy, it is mainly the youth who contribute immensely to its growth; only 38% of Afghanistan’s population comprises of the youth.
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