Does population growth increase poverty? Or is development the best contraceptive?
Population growth maintains poverty in many parts of the world. It is difficult for a resource-poor country with rapid population growth to increase its economic ‘cake’, even if that cake is increasing, because each slice is rapidly having to be divided between ever more individuals. An increase in population (still doubling in less than 30 years in several countries) will wipe out gains faster than they can be made, whether in agriculture, education, literacy or healthcare. (For example, a recent Minister of Health in Morocco maintained that every year his country needed to build nine hospitals, 8,500 classrooms and 150,000 houses – and create 280,000 jobs – just to keep up with population growth.) Poverty, if maintained, increases population in many parts of the world. In rural poverty, reduction of family size appears disadvantageous – every mouth has two hands for work. The labour of each new child in the family is welcomed, as a form of social security for sickness and old age. Hi
