Migration, the Youth Bulge and Population Dynamics

Abstract

In addition to being a source of shock, population dynamics provides considerable development opportunities for the African continent. As the World Development Report, 2013 asserts: ‘Demographic shifts can be massive, but they do not always go in the same direction. The most populous countries in the world have experienced very large increases in their labour force: nearly 8 million new entrants a year in China and 7 million a year in India since the early 1990s. These rates are now decelerating rapidly, particularly in China. Many smaller countries face large relative increases, even if the absolute numbers are less astounding. In other countries, the overall population and the labour force are shrinking. For example, Ukraine’s labour force is estimated to decrease by 0.75 per cent annually, the equivalent of approximately 160,000 fewer people every year’ (World Bank, 2012a).KeywordsLabour MarketMobile PhoneDevelopment PolicyBrain DrainWorld Development IndicatorThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.