What’s big about population?

The 2018 census revealed that Malawi’s population reached 17.6 million from 13.1 million in 2008. This represents an increase of 35 percent over the past decade or a population growth rate of 2.9 percent a year.

The United Nations (UN) projects the country’s population to exceed 29 million by 2030 and reach 45 million by 2050.

But what do these figures mean? Should Malawians be worried about them?

In theory, a growing population is good to an economy because it creates demand for goods and services in a country.

Rapid population growth also leads to an increase in human labour in a country.

This demographic dividend is often cited as one of the major factors behind the successes of most Asian Tigers, especially Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, China and Vietnam. 

In theory, economies endowed with a growing population have a competitive edge over those with none.

But is all rapid population growth really good? Certainly NO.

More often than not, rapid population growth entails more mouths to feed, congested classrooms, congested cities, less hospital beds per capita and reduced cultivated land per household, among others.

If left unchecked population growth leads to reduced quality of life in a country.

Malawi finds itself in a similar situation. Its ballooning population is proving a great hindrance to the country’s economic development as it exerts incredible pressure on limited resources.

But what should Malawians do to rein in its ballooning population?

Before we look at what Malawi needs to do, first let us look at factors fanning rapid population growth in the country.

Firstly, a growing body of research suggests that there is a positive correlation between poverty and early marriages. In short, poverty pushes girls to early marriages—though the opposite is also possible.  Most girls, particularly those in rural and semi-urban areas, view marriage as a vehicle to their economic freedom.

As a result, most of them, about half of Malawian women, marry before their 18th birthday. This contributes to high fertility rate and rapid population growth.

Secondly, studies also show more educated women are more likely to use contraceptives than the less educated or illiterate women.

Currently, about 40 percent of adult women in Malawi are illiterate.

High levels of illiteracy among women hamper country’s efforts to bring population growth under control.

Reasons for not using contraceptives among the less educated or illiterate women include fear and myths about modern family planning methods, inaccessibility, husbands’ opposition, pure dislike and side effects.

Thirdly, studies further suggest that cultural beliefs in the country contribute to rapid population growth. In some cultural settings, a woman’s value is measured by the number of children she bears.

The more children a woman bears the more respect and acceptance she gets from her husband’s family and friends. This puts unnecessary pressure on women to bear more children to live up to such expectations.

 Lastly, cultural practices such as Jando, Msondo, Chindakulo, Kuchotsa fumbi, Chokolo, Kulowa kufa and Kusunga mwana greatly contribute to rapid population growth. 

These practices are not only harmful to a girl child but also retrogressive.

Malawi’s ballooning population should be a cause for concern to all Malawians.

It is high time that the country takes stock of its population policies to ascertain their viability. However, having good policies is not an end in itself. Effective implementation of the population policies is key to addressing the problem of rapid population growth in the country.

he 2018 census revealed that Malawi’s population reached 17.6 million from 13.1 million in 2008. This represents an increase of 35 percent over the past decade or a population growth rate of 2.9 percent a year.

The United Nations (UN) projects the country’s population to exceed 29 million by 2030 and reach 45 million by 2050.

But what do these figures mean? Should Malawians be worried about them?

In theory, a growing population is good to an economy because it creates demand for goods and services in a country.

Rapid population growth also leads to an increase in human labour in a country.

This demographic dividend is often cited as one of the major factors behind the successes of most Asian Tigers, especially Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, China and Vietnam. 

In theory, economies endowed with a growing population have a competitive edge over those with none.

But is all rapid population growth really good? Certainly NO.

More often than not, rapid population growth entails more mouths to feed, congested classrooms, congested cities, less hospital beds per capita and reduced cultivated land per household, among others.

If left unchecked population growth leads to reduced quality of life in a country.

Malawi finds itself in a similar situation. Its ballooning population is proving a great hindrance to the country’s economic development as it exerts incredible pressure on limited resources.

But what should Malawians do to rein in its ballooning population?

Before we look at what Malawi needs to do, first let us look at factors fanning rapid population growth in the country.

Firstly, a growing body of research suggests that there is a positive correlation between poverty and early marriages. In short, poverty pushes girls to early marriages—though the opposite is also possible.  Most girls, particularly those in rural and semi-urban areas, view marriage as a vehicle to their economic freedom.

As a result, most of them, about half of Malawian women, marry before their 18th birthday. This contributes to high fertility rate and rapid population growth.

Secondly, studies also show more educated women are more likely to use contraceptives than the less educated or illiterate women.

Currently, about 40 percent of adult women in Malawi are illiterate.

High levels of illiteracy among women hamper country’s efforts to bring population growth under control.

Reasons for not using contraceptives among the less educated or illiterate women include fear and myths about modern family planning methods, inaccessibility, husbands’ opposition, pure dislike and side effects.

Thirdly, studies further suggest that cultural beliefs in the country contribute to rapid population growth. In some cultural settings, a woman’s value is measured by the number of children she bears.

The more children a woman bears the more respect and acceptance she gets from her husband’s family and friends. This puts unnecessary pressure on women to bear more children to live up to such expectations.

 Lastly, cultural practices such as Jando, Msondo, Chindakulo, Kuchotsa fumbi, Chokolo, Kulowa kufa and Kusunga mwana greatly contribute to rapid population growth. 

These practices are not only harmful to a girl child but also retrogressive.

Malawi’s ballooning population should be a cause for concern to all Malawians.

It is high time that the country takes stock of its population policies to ascertain their viability. However, having good policies is not an end in itself. Effective implementation of the population policies is key to addressing the problem of rapid population growth in the country.