Population and Development in the Sahel : Policy Choices to Catalyze a Demographic Dividend

The demographic transition in the Sahel region has been slower than that in the rest of the world. Although child mortality rates have declined in recent decades, they are still higher in West Africa than in other regions. Furthermore, the fertility decline has progressed very slowly, with some coun...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Shekar, Meera, Yazbeck, Abdo, Hasan, Rifat, Bakilana, Anne
Format: Working Paper
Language:English
en_US
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2016/10/26857117/population-development-sahel-policy-choices-catalyze-demographic-dividend
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/25293
id okr-10986-25293
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-252932021-05-25T09:53:32Z Population and Development in the Sahel : Policy Choices to Catalyze a Demographic Dividend Shekar, Meera Yazbeck, Abdo Hasan, Rifat Bakilana, Anne demographic dividend demography development demographic change labor market The demographic transition in the Sahel region has been slower than that in the rest of the world. Although child mortality rates have declined in recent decades, they are still higher in West Africa than in other regions. Furthermore, the fertility decline has progressed very slowly, with some countries seeing stalls and others even an increase in birth rates. The speed with which this transition takes place has a critical impact on a population’s age structure and future potential for economic productivity. The current rates of change in the Sahelian sub region will make it unlikely that countries will achieve an age structure that will create a youth bulge of a healthy, well-nourished, and educated cohort ready to enter a modern labor market to capture a sizable demographic dividend. Once missed, this opportunity for a demographic dividend will not return. This analysis uses quantitative data triangulated with the qualitative findings and policy analyses to identify the triggers necessary to accelerate the demographic dividend in this sub region. 2016-10-27T21:27:56Z 2016-10-27T21:27:56Z 2016-08 Working Paper http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2016/10/26857117/population-development-sahel-policy-choices-catalyze-demographic-dividend http://hdl.handle.net/10986/25293 English en_US Health, Nutrition and Population Discussion Paper; CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Working Paper Africa Sub-Saharan Africa
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
en_US
topic demographic dividend
demography
development
demographic change
labor market
spellingShingle demographic dividend
demography
development
demographic change
labor market
Shekar, Meera
Yazbeck, Abdo
Hasan, Rifat
Bakilana, Anne
Population and Development in the Sahel : Policy Choices to Catalyze a Demographic Dividend
geographic_facet Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
relation Health, Nutrition and Population Discussion Paper;
description The demographic transition in the Sahel region has been slower than that in the rest of the world. Although child mortality rates have declined in recent decades, they are still higher in West Africa than in other regions. Furthermore, the fertility decline has progressed very slowly, with some countries seeing stalls and others even an increase in birth rates. The speed with which this transition takes place has a critical impact on a population’s age structure and future potential for economic productivity. The current rates of change in the Sahelian sub region will make it unlikely that countries will achieve an age structure that will create a youth bulge of a healthy, well-nourished, and educated cohort ready to enter a modern labor market to capture a sizable demographic dividend. Once missed, this opportunity for a demographic dividend will not return. This analysis uses quantitative data triangulated with the qualitative findings and policy analyses to identify the triggers necessary to accelerate the demographic dividend in this sub region.
format Working Paper
author Shekar, Meera
Yazbeck, Abdo
Hasan, Rifat
Bakilana, Anne
author_facet Shekar, Meera
Yazbeck, Abdo
Hasan, Rifat
Bakilana, Anne
author_sort Shekar, Meera
title Population and Development in the Sahel : Policy Choices to Catalyze a Demographic Dividend
title_short Population and Development in the Sahel : Policy Choices to Catalyze a Demographic Dividend
title_full Population and Development in the Sahel : Policy Choices to Catalyze a Demographic Dividend
title_fullStr Population and Development in the Sahel : Policy Choices to Catalyze a Demographic Dividend
title_full_unstemmed Population and Development in the Sahel : Policy Choices to Catalyze a Demographic Dividend
title_sort population and development in the sahel : policy choices to catalyze a demographic dividend
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2016
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2016/10/26857117/population-development-sahel-policy-choices-catalyze-demographic-dividend
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/25293
_version_ 1764458862673395712