SA’s population dilemma: growing dependence on ill-equipped youth
A slowing birth rate means SA will start losing its demographic dividend
SA’s population grew to 56.52-million by the middle of 2017, which is 902,200 more people than the country had in the same period in 2016. However, the country finds itself in a dilemma, where the portion of the population in retirement age has increased, while the birth rate has slowed, and so has growth in the youth population. This is according to figures released by Statistics SA on Monday. Statistician-general Pali Lehohla said the country remained a largely youthful population, with 30% of the total population being under the age of 15. However, Lehohla told reporters during a briefing in Pretoria on Monday that the already high but stagnant number of youth could not necessarily be relied on to spur further economic growth, as a result of unemployment and lacklustre education outcomes. Lehohla told reporters that the average rate at which women of child-bearing age were giving birth experienced a marginal decrease — from 2.7 in 2007 to 2.4 in 2017 — while the life expectancy r...
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