9. (a) Account for high population growth rates among Eastern African countries.

(b). Discuss the role of population as a resource for the development of Eastern
Africa.
Population growth refers to the change/ increase in the number of people in a given period of time. It is a
result of natural population growth and net migration. Rapid population growth is a situation where the
rate of population growth is higher than the rate of economic growth to meet the demands of the
increasing population.

Eastern Africa has for a few decades experienced a tremendous growth in its population. The current
population of Eastern Africa is 452,813,406 as of Sunday, February 28, 2021, based on the latest
United Nations estimates. Eastern Africa population is equivalent to 5.71% of the total world
population.
The most densely settled areas in the region are those in capital cities and major towns, shores of L.
Victoria, mining centres as well as slopes of mountains. Major towns like Kampala, Nairobi, Kigali,
Juba, Khartoum, Bujumbura and Dodoma which are capital cities. Port cities that have developed into
urban centers are Kisumu, Mwanza, Bukoba, Musoma, Jinja, Mombasa, , Dar-es-salaam, Kigoma, and
Tanga as well as coastal areas including islands of Zanzibar and Pemba etc.

 High fertility rates among women in varied parts of the region, in that, many women produce
more children in their child bearing years,
 Decline in the death rate due to improved healthcare, causing high population growth rate.
 Agricultural advancements in the 20th century have allowed varied people in the Eastern African
region to increase food production using fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides and yields further.
This in turn fastened and increased more access to food that led to subsequent population
explosions.
 Strong belief in traditions and culture (that prefer large families)/ social benefits attached to many
children. Many people view children as a source of wealth and prestige or insurance in old age—,
a source of labour in the field, dowry from girls –hence producing more children.
 Early marriages in many most Eastern African countries. Many people marry before the age of 20
years and Worse still, elderly male often prefer marrying young girls- therefore a long child
bearing period which increases the incidence of teenage pregnancies causing a high population
growth rate.
 The prevalence of polygamy in many Eastern African societies with Uganda and Kenya being on
the peak. This is also rooted in culture especially Muslims and promotes competition among the
women who produce more children to please the husbands –leading to a high population growth
rate.
 Low levels of education. The less educated people prefer big families causing high birth rates. In
Eastern African countries there is a large number of school drop-outs leading to a long child-
bearing period for girls, a circumstance that has caused population trends to sharply increase
continuously
 Low levels of income/high level of poverty. Most people lack productive economic activities to
occupy them and resort to producing many children—causing a high population growth rate.
Studies show that the poorest people have low ambitions in life unlike the middle class who have
great material aspirations in life and find large families as a burden to their achievement.
 Low status of women in developing countries. Many women are poor, illiterate and many are
full-time house wives lacking viable economic roles outside home, which causes high birth rates.
 Strong influence/effect of religion. Some religions work against population control measures like
family planning using contraceptives. This position is in line with the holly books. Still some
religions encourage polygamy.
 Limited use of family planning methods in developing countries. There is limited access to birth
control devices partly due to being relatively expensive / unaffordable, limited sensitization and
being urban-based. This explains why the family planning methods are mostly restricted to urban
women and thus the high population growth rate. Most countries in the region have a large
number of people who are illiterate, live below the poverty line, and have little or no knowledge
about family planning. Besides, getting their children married at an early age increases the
chances of producing more kids, they are unable to understand the harmful effects of
overpopulation, and lack of quality education prompts them to avoid family planning measures.
 Linked to the above, with the latest technological advancement and more discoveries in medical
science, it has become possible for couples who are unable to conceive to undergo fertility
treatment methods and have their own children.
 Today there are effective medicines that can increase the chance of conception and lead to a rise
in the birth rate. Moreover, due to modern techniques, pregnancies today are far safer
 Increasing rate of immigration. This is in form of increased number of refugees from neighboring
countries attributed to wars, displacements and famine among other factors. This leads to high
population growth rate in the recipient country.

Benefits of population increase

 Labour - A huge population provides sufficient and low cost labour, which could be a mortar for
rapid economic development.

 Market- A huge population coupled with a high purchasing power provides market for range of
goods and services. This in turn stimulates development.

 Military and political influence- These are usually determined by the country’s population. A
huge population provides a work force for security forces (army, navy, air force and police) to
guard the country against internal and external aggression.

 Global influence is also determined by the country’s population size. The feature world powers
are likely to be today’s countries with huge populations i.e. India, China, Brazil, Russia and in

 Economies of scale arising out of a large market and huge labour force

 Growth of infrastructure - A huge population attracts infrastructural facilities such as hospitals,

schools, roads, railways, etc. in an area.
 Exploitation of resources - This is enhanced by demand and labour supply arising out of a huge
population. Agricultural land, fisheries, forests, etc can all be exploited.
 Increases pressure on government to undertake development programmes. The government is
encouraged to provide social and economic infrastructure like roads, schools, and hospitals to
cater for the increasing population.
 Encourages geographical and occupational labour mobility. Increasing population results into a
big number of youths, who are energetic and willing to move from one geographical area or
occupation to another since they have to support many dependants, hence increased exposure and
labour supply.
 Promotes hard work among the population in the country. The individuals in the labour force are
awakened to work harder in order to provide for the increasing population –hence more
innovations and inventions such as through agricultural modernization—intensive farming
methods
 Encourages urbanization / development of towns as population increases. There is population
concentration in some areas leading to the setting up of transport networks, medical facilities,
banking facilities, recreation centres etc; hence growth of towns.

 Increases the tax potential and thus increasing government revenue for development purposes
such as providing health and education services. Due to population increase many people are
engaged in productive activities which government taxes.

2nd coursework Question

The highlands of Eastern Africa hold the key to the development of the region. With
reference to specific examples in Eastern Africa, examine the above statement.

The Course work must be HAND WRITTEN

Maximum of 5 pages
Submit NOT LATER THAN 13TH/03/2021 Saturday 4pm
NB. Please note that no coursework will be received beyond this date and time

John Calvin Esagu Osegge