Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh could gain a rapid social and economic development taking advantage of her young population which reached 66 per cent of the total population, according to a report of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
“It is the good time for Bangladesh to harness its demographic dividend. The number of its young population is about 10.56 crore which will be increasing in the coming years,” it added.
According to the report, there are 49 per cent population of Bangladesh are aged less than 24 years.
The young population across the globe has reached a remarkable 1.8 billion out of 7.3 billion, and most of them live in developing countries like Bangladesh, it said.
The report, titled “Shaping the Future: How Changing Demographics Can Power Human Development,” will be launched today (Tuesday) in Dhaka. The report will be launched in partnership with the Bangladesh government.
The developing nations, including Bangladesh, with large youth populations have been urged to invest heavily on them for their quality education and health services for economic and social gains.
If they are equipped with necessary skills, good health and effective choices, they present an enormous opportunity to transform the future, said the UNDP.
The latest Asia-Pacific Human Development Report, which is being released on the UNDP’s 50th anniversary, offers a wealth of insights and data. The report, UNDP said, is a practical guide for development planners and decision-makers in governments across Asia and the Pacific. It recommends switching from short-term election cycle priorities to long-term development strategies, and offers a set of “Nine Actions for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific,” tailored to the demographic makeup of each country.
The UNDP conducts the survey on 45 countries in the Asia Pacific region. A team of experts of the UNDP’s New York office made the report. The report analyses population trends in Asia and the Pacific and puts forward a set of long-term strategies for sustainable development.
Ahead of releasing the report, the United Nations urged the Philippines and other countries in the middle of the “demographic transition” to maximize the population trend.
In the report, it was found that the capable people of Bangladesh aged from 15 to 64 is 56 per cent of the country’s total population. The number of the capable people will increase and it will stand on about 12 crore in 2030 which will be 70 per cent of country’s total population.
Meanwhile, the unemployed population in Bangladesh has been increased in 2016. According to a survey report by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the most of unemployed population are youths.
About the report, Haoliang Xu, UN assistant secretary-general and UNDP Director for Asia and the Pacific, said that Asia and the Pacific would have nearly five billion people by 2050. How countries manage that population will have an impact on their growth.
“Over the past 65 years, the population in the region has tripled. Some countries have rapidly aged while others have seen a jump in the numbers of working-age people and youth. Our new report suggests how countries can turn these population trends into opportunities for sustainable development,” said the UNDP Director
The report is a practical guide for development planners and decision makers in governments across Asia and the Pacific.”Given the population challenges in Asia-Pacific, we have to be ambitious, innovative, and deliver at scale if we want to end poverty by 2030,” added Haoliang Xu. “With 58 percent of the world’s people, our region is key to unlocking a sustainable future.”
The UNDP said the Philippines can maximize the demographic transition by creating more and better jobs and livelihoods, increase women’s equal participation and channel savings into productive investments.
Countries that should also heed this advice are Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Federal States of Micronesia, India and Indonesia. The list also includes the Islamic Republic of Iran, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal and Vanuatu. These recommendations are part of the UNDP’s “Nine Actions for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific.”
The other recommendations are to invest in basic capabilities, such as universal, high-quality education; smoothen the transition from school to work; and encourage youth participation.
This set of recommendation is for countries that are in the early demographic transition. The focus of these countries should be in unlocking the potential of the next generation.
The UNDP said these countries are Afghanistan, Kiribati, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste and Tonga.
The last set of recommendations is for countries in the advanced stages of the demographic transition. These countries focus should be to manage ageing and driving human development.
These countries are Australia, Brunei Darussalam, China, Fiji, Hong Kong-China, Japan, Macao-China, Mongolia, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.
