Search Results for: Harnessing the Demographic Dividend Uganda

Over the past three decades, child mortality has declined steadily while fertility rates have remained high in Uganda. This imbalance has resulted in rapid population growth and a youthful population with a high child-dependency ratio. The population has grown from 9.5 million in 1969 to 35.3 million in 2013, and according to UN projections, will grow to 83 million by 2040. Because high fertility has persisted for a long time, the population of Uganda has inbuilt high momentum to continue growing for at least another century.

Uganda’s young age structure can be turned into a valuable asset for achieving the socio-economic transformation envisaged in Vision 2040 if birth rates decline rapidly. This will create a population with more working-age people than children, which can accelerate economic growth if accompanied by investments in education, health, economic reforms to create quality jobs, and accountability in service delivery and use of public resources.