ABSTRACT
It is said that the population of any country constitute the most vital component of is resource base, as time potentials for development. Population growth can be positive or gainful to any economy if managed well. For instance China is noted to be most populous country in the world but its population has been managed very well and it has helped boost their economy by increasing the level of productivity and providing cheap labour, thus having a positive impact on the economy and making them one of the best economies of the world. But if the population of any country is not well managed it will result to increase in unemployment level, crime rate, poverty and will bring sufferings to many homes. Methodologically, economic, statistical and econometric methods were used and it was observed the unemployment rate have a negative relationship with economic growth. Recommendation made include instituting Family Planning Programmes. Finally, this work help us to understand that population growth is a two track incident in the sense that it can be advantageous or disadvantageous.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY
The consequences of population growth on the economic development of less developed countries are not the same because the condition prevailing in these countries are quite different from those of developed economy. Therefore, the body of literature on population growth in Nigeria has always emphasized either the negative or the positive effect.
Therefore, in every discussion, it is conventional to start with a definition of terms used in such discussion. However, population can be seen by a demographer as a change in the size of the population. But when this change occurs in such a way that it reduces the size of population, the demographer refers it as a negative growth but when it adds to the size of population he regards it as a positive one. What we get from this concept is that population growth can be positive or negative depending on whether there is an increase or decrease in the size of a given population. Population whether positive or negative is derived from three demographic variables such as birth, death and migration rates.
Udabah (1999:62) Threw more light on this by adding that birth and death rates in underdeveloped country are quite different from that of developed countries. Births rate in underdeveloped are generally highly why those of developed countries are low. On the other hand, death rates are higher in underdeveloped nations. The higher rate of population growth is therefore a major characteristic of underdeveloped nations and is partly responsible for the low rates of economic development.
Moreover, the population of any country constitutes the most vital component of its resource base. This aspect is based mostly on its size, growth rate, spatial distribution, demographic structure and quality in terms of level of education, fitness and social welfare. Population statistics are indispensable impute into the planning process in any area. To government issuing programmes for instance in the efforts of government in the developing countries to feed the people and also provide quality services for them are being frustrated by rapid population growth. This growth is attributable on the one hand to improvement in human survival associated with the application of modern medical science to health matters, better sanitation and immunization of children which have caused the death rate to decrease.
On the other hand, so many socio-cultural issues have complimented the growth of population in Nigeria positively (Lee and Miler 1990, Rennne 1995, Ainsword et al 1996).
Consequently, the world population has been increasing and the last two decades have been demographically unprecedented as it rose from 4.2 billion people in 1985 to 6.4 billion in 2006. Much of this occurred in the developing nations as their population grew from 3.7 billion to 5.1 billion as against that of developed nation which grew from 1.1 billion to 1.2 billion over the same period (United Nation 2001 billion).
Nigerian’s population is one of the fastest growing population in the world and Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, ranked the tenths as obtained from two major sources, viz the 1991 census and the Population Reference Bureau World Population Data Sheet.
Obviously, the population of Nigeria is large which makes it a “giant” relative to the other Africa countries. The large population of Nigeria implies a large market for goods and services as well as large pool of human resources for development. However, the impact of population on development depends not only on the absolute size but also on its quality. The major function responsible for the rapid increase in the population of the country is the relatively high fertility level as portrayed by a total fertility rate of about 6.0 life – birth per woman in the 1990’s
Having seen from theoretical and empirical view that the population growth is an impediment to the economic growth and development especially under developing countries. It is then important to answer this question, how detrimental is population growth to the economic growth? To answer these we look into the interactions between population growth and any of the economic variable such as , population growth, unemployment, savings ,interest, and inflation etc. So in this research work, our demonstration of the impact of population on economic growth will be based on the study of the relationship between population growth, interest, unemployment and inflation. Now the question to answer becomes how those population growth influences unemployment? Since we are working on the impact of population growth on Nigeria, as whose population according the 2006 census was estimated to be at a growth rate of 3%, our limitation of this study would be on the Nigeria GDP (Gross Domestic Product) or GNI (GROSS NATIONAL PRODUCT) versus the population growth rate of Nigeria.
Nevertheless, economic growth is the GDP OR GNI divided by the total population of the whole country. This measure the level of output in the economy. This equation implies that if population is rapidly growing, the economic growth will reduce marginally and people income will also decrease. So according to the finding, GDP can be improved that is GDP per capital by checking the population growth rate through control birth, death rate, migration and some other demographic variables and economic variables.
1.2 Statement of Problem
Overall, Nigeria’s current economic situation is not promising (World Bank, 2020). The economic recession period which occurred in 2014, due to diminishing commodity prices retarded economic growth and has severely negatively affected living standards (world bank, 2008). While the Nigerian government has consistently implemented economic and social policies, that are directed at improving the social welfare of individuals which will serve as a catalyst for economic activities, all their efforts have been rendered ineffective by the rapidly growing population and limited resources. According to the world bank 2008, Unemployment rates have been increasing, insecurity particularly in the north is dire, infrastructure is dilapidating, disposable incomes are falling as prices remain volatile. If the current population trend persists in the coming years, Nigeria faces a real problem.
In the past, Nigeria has made modest attempts to try and reduce population growth. The first population policy in Nigeria was created in 1988. The goal of the policy was to reduce the number of children a couple would have to 4 by 1995. However, the policy failed to achieve its goals which included decreasing the fertility rate, reducing the level of early marriages which will reduce the population growth rate. In 2005, Nigeria put forward another population policy called “The National Policy on Population for Sustainable Development (NPP)”, which was aimed at increasing the standard of living and providing quality livelihood for the citizens of Nigeria but also failed due to a fraud, lack of policy commitment and political will. (Ministry of National Planning, Nigeria).
1.3 Research Questions
• What is the relationship between population growth rate and economic growth in Nigeria?
• Is there a causal relationship between population growth and economic growth in Nigeria?
1.4 Research Objective
This study aims to examine the effect of population growth on Nigeria's economic growth and development. The specific objectives of the study are to:
1. determine the effect of population growth rate on Nigeria's economic growth and development.
2. investigate the effect of fertility rate on Nigeria's economic growth and development.
3. identify the effect of mortality rate on Nigeria's economic growth and development.
1.5 Statement of Hypothesis
Hypotheses to be tested in this study are stated below in their null forms:
• What is the relationship between population growth rate and economic growth in Nigeria?
• Is there a causal relationship between population growth and economic growth in Nigeria?
1.6 Significance of the study
This study is relevant as it aims to improve and understand the relationship that exists between economic growth and population growth in Nigeria.
This study will also be essential for policymakers to grasp the potential consequences of a rapidly growing population on the environment and enable them to formulate more constructive demographic policies that will tackle the problem of population encompassing economic growth rate.
1.7 Scope and limitation of the study
This study covers the effect of population growth on Nigeria's economic growth and development. The study covers the period of thirty-four years (34) from 2006 to 2025.
1.6. Definition of terms
• Trends: a pattern of gradual change in a process, output, or condition.
• Human capital: this is seen as a measure of talents, knowledge, education, and attributes of labor that shows the economic significance of a worker.
• Capital accumulation: this has to do with all the efforts put in investing money with the main aim of increasing one’s initial monetary outlay.
• population: is the total amount of people living in a particular geographical area.
• Economic growth: this is the increase in the manufacturing of goods and services over a specific period.
Fertility rate: is the total number of live births per women (per 1000 women
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