Please pay attention data is talking

By the year 2050, the world’s population is expected to hit the 10 billion mark, up from the current 7.6 billion. At the same time, Kenya’s population will rise to 80 million, from the current 50 million.

Demographers, or people who study population, posit that population in Western countries will not be responsible for this growth.

In those countries, the population will either stay stagnant or slump, whereas Africa and Asia will see a surge.

The main reasons for sustained population rise are the continued decline in mortality rates, and children outliving their parents.

Demographic statistics also show that gradually, more and more people are leaving the extreme poverty band.

POVERTY

Children born in poverty today have a better chance of moving out of extreme scarcity compared to their parents or grandparents.

In the last 20 years, for example, the population living on less than Sh200 a day — the income below which one sinks into extreme poverty — has been halved.

Global statistics by the United Nations show that a child born today, on average, may expect to live to about 70 years.

Because of continued campaigns to insulate children against preventable diseases through vaccination, children have a better chance of growing to adulthood.

The misery brought by natural disasters is nowadays better contained than it was in any other time in the history of mankind.

DEVELOPMENT

School enrolment is at all-time high, and primary school completion rate for boys and girls is neck and neck: Girls have closed the gender gap.

You are probably shaking your head doubting whether the world is as good as I present it.

I’m not oblivious of the fact that life for about a billion people is pathetic. People living in the bottom billion band of the economic pyramid can only expect to live for about 50 years.

For this deprived population, indicators for development evoke memories of death and desolation. But all things considered, the world is by far better than it was two generations ago, and Kenya is no exception.

DEMAND RISES

With better living conditions, people crave for a better life.

A better life means driving a car, using a washing machine instead of hand-washing clothes, travelling more for business and leisure, better clothes, advancement in education and getting better healthcare.

It means an upsurge in the demand for food. Food that need to be farmed, harvested and preserved using methods hinged on technology. All these will create an unmatched demand for technology.

The government, private sector, educational institutions and everyone else must listen to what data are saying and prepare for a growing population.

The writer is an Informatics Specialist. Email: [email protected] @samwambugu2