Events

Parliamentary Summit on Fast Tracking Nigeria’s Demographic Transition

Nigeria has young population provides the country with limitless opportunities for growth and positive development. However, as of 2020, 42.5% of young people were not working, which is rising. This has led to a high dependency ratio of 85%, which can further weaken an already fragile economy. The high dependency on a working population that is getting smaller poses a real threat to reaping the demographic dividend that a youthful population provides.

Nigeria has been designated as a pre-dividend country which calls for a strong commitment from the government, religious, and traditional leaders as well as policymakers to drive the country’s transition into a demographic dividend through the active role of parliamentarians at the national and state levels as critical stakeholders. The Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the National Population Commission (NPC), with support from the World Bank and stakeholders like Nigeria Health Watch, and the Legislative Initiative for Sustainable Development (LISDEL) organised a Parliamentary Summit on ‘Fast Tracking Nigeria’s Demographic Transition’ with discussions around Adolescents as a critical factor, Making informed policy decisions, The role of legislators with a key recommended plan of action. 

Although different policy documents exist on harnessing the dividends of demography, implementation has remained a challenge. For countries like Nigeria, with a high birth rate, policies that lead to a fast demographic change need immediate and sufficient attention.