Demographics in Developing Countries

Texts of General Interest (link)

Dr. James Manos (MD)

January 1, 2018

Is it beneficial that in developing countries, young adults outnumber the older?

In our day and age, in all Western countries, aging is a worrying trend as the majority of the population is middle-aged and elderly, while the younger population is shrinking. On the contrary, in developing countries, young adults outnumber the older. Some claim that when the demographic trend is toward a younger population, this is for the benefit of society. However, the opponents of this claim that some drawbacks should be considered.

The benefit of having a younger population is that enough working hands can support the means of production. That means that the working-age population is sufficient for the country’s development as there are plenty of laborers to cover industry and plants and the textile industry, infrastructure, trade, agriculture, fishery, and livestock. Thus, the economy's growth in countries with younger populations is boosted, creating even more available vacancies. That is crucial for the developing countries that recently have claimed most of the production from the western states.

Secondly, these countries have a working population that can find a job abroad worldwide. In fact, many people in developing nations, skilled or unskilled, have found an opportunity to work in a developed country regardless of their low salary. But it is still higher than the amount they used to be paid in their own country. Consequently, these people have a better chance of being hired from the indigenous population that is aged or reluctant to apply for a manual labor post.

Thirdly, the people over retirement age are increasing the government’s cost of subsidizing pensions and the Medicare system. That is an unreasonable burden for Western societies. However, this is not the case in developing countries with a higher ratio of younger adults compared to older. There, with their insurance, the government can pay the expenses of the senior citizens, meaning their health care and their pension.

Some argue that there are some drawbacks of the overpopulation of younger adults, including the difficulty of all these people finding a decent job, the meager wages for the plentiful employees, and the high expenditure of this population, including housing, insurance, and healthcare.

The advantages of having a younger population outweigh the disadvantages. It is not a coincidence that the recent refugee and migrant surges benefitted the Western countries, especially in Europe, which had the chance to hire employees, laborers, or technicians to cover all the necessary posts to support production.     

Everything considered, a country with a population with a higher ratio of younger adults compared to an older population has many advantages, as this working population not only suffices for the production means flourishing the national economy, but also with their insurance it covers the cost of the pensions and healthcare of the elderly. Furthermore, the young adult population has an increased opportunity to find a job worldwide and live the Western ‘dream.’

Thanks for reading!