Population Growth And Poverty: Nigeria

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Population growth is one of the biggest issues that the human species can face no matter where it is occurring in the world. For years ever since the 1960’s, the world’s population growth rate has been rapidly increasing and in some cases doubling. With the rapid growth of population come many challenges that people have to face and Nigeria is no exception. Nigeria, a country located in West Africa, is the sixth most populous country in the world with a total population of over 167 million (Rosenthal). The issues that Nigeria goes through as a result of population growth are just a few of the issues that many other populated countries face worldwide. The high rates of unemployment, crime, poverty as well as lack of health and education in Nigeria are just some of the many factors that are caused from population growth.
Nigeria has always been a country that was well known for their African music but that has been long overshadowed by the problems they are facing with fertility rates. The average replacement fertility rate is normally 2.1, but in Nigeria the replacement rate is much higher, reaching a 6.8. This dramatic increase of fertility rate is one of the main causes of unemployment where 50% of Nigerian people living in urban areas ranging from ages 15-24 are unemployed. This in turn led to acts of crime because people are not able to support themselves due to unavailability of jobs (Rosenthal). Crime rates and violence have also increased because of the frustration of being unemployed and in poverty. Due to the large population in Nigeria, most people are part of the lower social class, living in overcrowded places. These conditions are proven to be very difficult where families “squeeze into 7 by 11 feet rooms along a narro...

... middle of paper ...

..., education and high rates of poverty, crime and unemployment. Hopefully in the near future, people would be more educated about population growth and only have more children if they can provide for them. That way, there will no longer be any more children who have to suffer from poverty or ever have to experience the feeling of being hungry or malnourished.

Works Cited
Ezedike, Eu. Sophia: An African Journal of Philosophy 13.1 (2010): n. pag. Print.
Melesse, Tewodros. "Nigeria's Population Boom: A Problem, or Not?" The New York Times. The New York Times, 18 Apr. 2012. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.
Ovbiagele, Helen. "Nigeria's Increasing Population: Problems Arising - Vanguard News." Vanguard News. N.p., 03 June 2012. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.
Rosenthal, Elisabeth. "Nigeria's Population Is Soaring In Preview of a Global Problem." NYTimes.com. N.p., 15 Apr. 2012. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.

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