The total number of older people, that is those aged 60 years and above went up slightly from 8.74 million in 2013 to 9.62 million in 2016.
The Demographic Statistics Bulletin 2017 released recently by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that in Nigeria, the number of the aged population is on the rise and this means the rate of dependency on younger population will also rise unless adequate retirement plans are put in place.
Ageing is simply a continued increase in age; it is one important demographic indicator that has no specific or easily adaptable definition.
“Great transformations usually occur in societies where there is a preponderance of young, active and vibrant people but where older people are more in number, then significant challenges do exist, primarily, in ensuring that adequate living conditions throughout the extended lifespan are well managed,” the report stated.
The data, which NBS compiled from the National Population Commission (NPC), indicated that Nigeria recorded 1.8 percent increase in the male ageing population between 2013 and 2014 compared to 1.4 percent increase in the female aging population between 2013 and 2014.
In Nigeria, both women and men are regarded and treated as elderly on getting to age 60 years and above. The NPC also disclosed that as at 2016, Nigeria had an estimated population of over 193 million, the annual population growth rate of 3.2 per cent and this growth rate double that of the aged population of about 1.5 percent.
Nigeria Population Pyramid (2016)
Age 16-30 years is associated with high risks, especially among the male population. It is called the youth bulge. To reverse the effects of youth bulges, specific policies such as creating more jobs, improving family planning programs, and reducing overall infant mortality rates should be a priority in policy formulation.
While the growth of the youth population imposes supply pressures on education systems and labor markets, it also means that a growing share of the overall population is made up of those considered to be of working age and thus not dependent on the economic activity of others. In turn, this declining dependency ratio can have a positive impact on overall economic growth, creating a demographic dividend. The ability of a particular economy to harness this dividend, however, is dependent on its ability to ensure the deployment of this growing working-age population towards productive economic activity and to create the jobs necessary for the growing labor force.
In 2015, the total fertility rate was 5.5 births per woman but increased in 2016 to 5.8 (NDHS, 2013). This means that women in Nigeria will have on the average 5.8 children each during their entire childbearing years. Figure 2 shows fertility rate by States.
Nationally, 7,742,488 births were registered in 2016, out of which 33.09 percent of the births were registered before age one, 31.19 percent were registered between
age one and four; 35.72 percent were registered above age 5 years.
Kogi State recorded the highest level of under one-year registration (54.89 percent). Anambra State recorded the least under one-year birth registration (19.83 percent); this implies that over 80 percent of birth registration was done after the child’s first birthday.
Anambra State accounted for the highest proportion (58.24 percent) of Birth Registration for children aged 5 years and above in 2016. Late registration of births in Anambra state may be attributed to poor attitude of the residents to early birth registration; as such the people can be sensitized to the importance and legal
the implication of birth registration.
The percentage of Birth Registration by zone and age of registration. The Zone with the highest percentage of under one-year registration was the North
– Central (41.96), while the Zone with the lowest percentage of under one-year registration was the South – East (29.47).
The table further reveals that the North – West (32.44 percent) had the highest percentage of birth registration for children aged 1 to 4, but the North-Central.
Among reporting states, Ogun state recorded the highest number of marriages while Nassarawa state had the lowest number of marriages in the year under review.
