EconAir

    Demographic Issues   This is a summary of the essays in this blog on demographic projections.    It is not only the arc of population increases and then decreases that is important. It is what happens under the arc. Birth rates fall below replacement, the number of births go down, the size of the prime ages labor force decreases while the number of retired people go up. Eventually, the number of older citizens start to go down and the total population decreases faster and in larger numbers. This scenario is now happening in an increasing number of countries and then will happen for the global population.   The long-run demographic projections and discussion in this blog are based on the Lancet projections of birth rates and population using 2017-2020 data. Forecasts for global trends and for some countries have changed since the Lancet projections. The key projection is birth rates for each country, for geographical regions, and for the entire world. ...

  Lagos - Over 30 Million People  POPULATION This case study of Nigeria, the country with the largest population in sub-Saharan Africa, builds on Global Demographics and Population Projections which illustrates the problems that African countries continue to have. Rapid population growth has made it difficult to deal with these problems in the past; continued large population growth in the future will be even more burdensome.  Nigeria became independent in 1960. Its population was 45 million people. In 2024 its population was 233 million people. Nigeria’s capital, Lagos, is already one of the largest cities in the world. In 2050 Nigeria's projected population will be in the range of 375-400 million people, depending on how fast its birth rate continues to come down. Around that year Nigeria will replace the United States as the third most populous country in the world.    By 2100, Nigeria is projected to have at least  700 million people , which will be abo...

    OVERVIEW Much of this is taken from the summary of the longer and more detailed Global Demographics and Population Projections This is a summary and overview of the demographics and population projection essays on this blog (links below). The world is at the beginning of a major shift in population, from large population increases since 1950 to decreasing populations in many countries and, in the long run, in the world as a whole. This historical shift in global and national populations will have a big influence on what happens in the future.   In summary, ·        Huge population increases since 1900, especially after 1950. ·        Because of a big decrease in birth rates in the world outside of Africa, starting with below-replacement birth rates in the 1970s, global population will increase until the 2060s and then start to decrease. ·       T here are, according to the United Nations , 63 countries w...