Nepal should invest in education, skill development, empowerment and employment to get benefited from the demographic dividend, says the United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) report on demographic dividend of Nepal.<\/p>\n
Demographic dividend generally refers to the period, where a country witnesses decline in fertility and mortality rates.<\/p>\n
In terms of demographic dividend, fertility in Nepal declined by 63 percent during 1976-2014 from 6.3 children per woman to 2.3, driven by public inclination towards having smaller families and better access to contraception.<\/p>\n
Declining birth rate results in small size of youth-dependent population, thus freeing the working-age population to move for work.<\/p>\n
The number of working Nepalese has surpassed the country\u2019s total population and a similar trend is expected to continue till 2047.<\/p>\n
However, Nepal has witnessed a big pool of young population aged 10-24 years because of demographic changes in the past decades. This group includes adolescents aged 10-19 years and youth aged 15-24 years.<\/p>\n
As per the National Population and Housing Census 2011 of the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), 32.8 percent of Nepalese comprised of adolescents and youths in 2011.<\/p>\n
According to CBS statistics, the proportion of Nepali youth will remain above 25 percent until 2031.<\/p>\n
This group of young population will add to the economic development of the country if provided with proper learning and work opportunities, noted the report.<\/p>\n
However, finding jobs and migrating for employment remain a challenge for this young population group as most of them are living in rural areas.<\/p>\n
In this regard, the report urges that investment in human development, targeting adolescents and youth are most critical to ensure opportunities for youth and spur innovation needed for a sustainable future.<\/p>\n
The report noted that investment in education and healthcare should not be limited to men as 53 percent of the working Nepalese in the age group of 15-64 years are women.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, the opportunity to enrich the lives of young people, including males & females and enable them to expand their individual choices and shape an innovative & sustainable future is important,\u201d says the report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nepal should invest in education, skill development, empowerment and employment to get benefited from the demographic dividend,…<\/span><\/p>\n