HPC Secretary General and Chair of the Arab Council for Population and Development, Dr. Abla Amawi, participated on Monday in a global session on the demographic diversity and successful policies for reaping the demographic dividend. The session was organized by the UNFPA, the African Union and the Government of Germany and attended by policy-makers and experts from various countries in Africa, Asia, the Arab region and Eastern Europe.
The session’s objective was for regional exchanges of innovative policies and practices to enhance proper planning of demographic transitions by conducting practical dialogues to facilitate joint learning and collaboration.
Representing the Arab Region at the session, Amawi stressed in her remarks that Jordan is currently witnessing a demographic shift that will lead to realizing the demographic dividend, which is expected to reach its peak in 2040. Amawi explained that the demographic dividend starts when the percentage of the working age population (15-64 years) significantly exceeds the percentage of the dependent population (under 15 and over 64).
Amawi stressed that realizing and investing in the demographic dividend requires a socioeconomic policy response at the macro and sectoral levels, integrating the population dimension in development strategies, plans and programs, and allocating the necessary financial resources. The focus of national plans should aim at enhancing the quality of education, funding research; matching educational outputs to labor market needs, investing in youth entrepreneurial skills, addressing socioeconomic inequalities and vulnerabilities, and making a real change in gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Amawi pointed out that in the first half of the 21st century, a large and unprecedented percentage of the region’s population will transition to its most productive life stage between 2018 and 2040. While children and youth (aged 0-24) comprise half of the region’s population, the dependency ratio will reach its lowest level, dropping to 50 dependents (aged under 15 and over 64) per 100 of the working age population (aged 15-65).
Amawi indicated that political instability, youth unemployment and gender inequality are prominent challenges facing the achievement of the demographic dividend in the Arab region. At 25%, youth unemployment rate in the Arab region is one of the highest around the world, and is even higher among females within the same age group, reaching 41%. Additionally, among the key impediments include the fact that 37% of its youth live in fragile contexts characterized by conflicts and that the region has 57.5% of the world’s refugees. Amawi further noted that youth from extremely poor families are the least likely to gain sufficient education and upskilling opportunities, with 25% of the youth workforce in north Africa and 28% of the youth workforce in the Arab states live in moderate to abject poverty.
