As the world population ticked over 8 billion this week, the executive director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), said she didn’t expect people to celebrate. “Some express concerns that our world is overpopulated, with far too many people and insufficient resources to sustain their lives. I am here to say clearly that the sheer number of human lives is not a cause for fear,” said Dr Natalia Kanem.
Rather, as UN Secretary General António Guterres pointed out, inequality is of greater concern. And right now, the world has a rare window to address it. The global number of people aged 10-24 is the highest it’s ever been. This presents the opportunity for the poorest countries’ economies to be jump-started, with lasting benefits.
Every surfer knows that when the wave is building, you have to paddle furiously to catch the ride to shore. It’s an apt metaphor for the demographic waves rolling through some of the world’s nations. A bulge of young people are coming into working age in countries like Nigeria, Indonesia, India and Cambodia. To catch the wave, governments of young countries will need to paddle hard.
