11 Causes of Population Growth in Africa are listed and explicated in this article. We hope you find it both informative and helpful.
Causes of Population Growth in Africa
Read Also: Solutions to High Population Growth in West Africa
There’s been a recent projection on the fact that West Africa will be a densely overpopulated region in the world in a couple of years to come and it is important that we take a candid look into the subject matter.
What is it that makes west African countries grow rapidly despite the death rates in the region? In this article, we have highlighted some of the reasons for the high population in West African countries.
Below are the Reasons for High Population Growth in West Africa:
1. Increase in the birth rate
In the countries in West Africa, there is an increase in the birth rate such that it outnumbers the death rate per day because it is the desire of every family to have as many children as possible.
Read Also: Disadvantages of Large Population
2. Decrease in death rate
The death rate in the region has drastically declined, lesser people are dying on a regular basis and this may be a result of the advanced knowledge in modern medical services which helps to increase the population.
3. Type of marriage
In West Africa, polygamous marriage is on the increase, a man is often found marrying more than one wife throughout his life and this leads to a rapid increase in the birth rate of the countries in this region.
4. Religion
The type of religion that is practiced in west African countries also contributes to a large extent to the high population in West African countries, although, Christianity does not support polygamy, the Islamic religion supports polygamy; a man is permitted to marry as many wives as possible as long as he can take care of them and this, in turn, encourages rapid population.
Read Also: Advantages of Large Population
5. Improved medical services
The fact that medical services have been made available to the general populace has helped to reduce the rate of death and as a result, the population is sure to increase under this condition.
6. Attitude towards family size
In some traditions in the West African countries, it is a general attitude of the people is to have a very large family size with the belief that the larger the size, the more the respect they command from the family and the society at large and the more help they will get on their activities of farming.
7. Early marriage
People in West African countries get married at a very early age and because of poor education or orientation, there is an increased rate of childbirth which in turn increases the size of the population.
Read Also: Problems Associated with Population Census
8. Illiteracy
Illiteracy is a cankerworm that eats deep into the systems of people, causing them to be ignorant of the safe medical way of controlling birth, and because of this ignorance, they do not engage in family planning and they end up having so many children which in turn increases the birth rate.
9. Absence of family planning
Despite the fact that family planning has been advised for couples, so many traditions and cultures still kick against family planning or birth control methods which would have helped to reduce the birth rate and further curb the high rate of population in West Africa.
10. Poverty
A poor man who has not jobbed will usually get himself engaged in the act of impregnating his wife with the silly conviction that of the many children which will be reproduced, one of two of them will at least become successful and ultimately lift him up from the state of poverty.
Read Also: Problems Facing Exploitation of Minerals in Nigeria
11. Migration
Because of how safe and Peaceful west African countries are as well as the surplus in natural and mineral resources and various opportunities available, the migration rate into these West African countries is in a high rater thereby, constituting a high population rate.
These are some of the basic causes of high population growth in West African countries and if these reasons are looked into keenly, there will be a drastic reduction and stability in the population growth in these countries.
