Africa's Population Problems

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Africa's population problems are seen by some as both a cause and a consequence of underdevelopment (White, Tagoe, Stiff, Adazu and Smith). Massive migration to cities is seen as a result of failed rural development in sub-Saharan Africa, and leads to urban poverty, stressed social services, environmental degradation, and political upheaval. While sub-Saharan Africa still has the lowest rate of urbanization in the world, it is now undergoing the world's fastest rate of urbanization. In Western Africa, many social ills have been linked to rapid urban growth and "overurbanization," and more than 50 million people are expected to migrate to cities in West Africa in the next 10 years. In 1998, 63 percent of African governments saw patterns of population distribution as major problems, with rural-urban migration and the resulting growth of cities their main concern. Many African governments have instituted policies of improvement of rural services and infrastructure to try and stem the rural-urban flow. They have tried to encourage the development of small and medium-sized towns to draw the people away from the big cities which attract a disproportionate share of rural-urban migrants.

Migration patterns in Africa have been studied over the years and in the 1970s and 1980s, attention was focused on the nature and implications of the migrant labor system in South Africa (Posel). It was assumed that migrant labor would not be part of post-Apartheid South Africa, and that th

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group of origin and among the Xhosa, were made to feel "filial piety, fear of ancestors, and love of home" and that towns were "bad" and absconding was an ultimate sin. In the 1990s, there was a shift towards permanent migration to the towns, partly because the restrictions on African urbanization were lifted, which meant families, not just individuals could migrate, and the money sent home lessened. With urbanization, migrants developed new ties to the towns and the extension of the social pension to all reduced the need for sending money home (Posel). Secondly, the number of people entering South Africa from other African countries increased, which had social and economic consequences. These became a new legion of circular immigrants, staying long enough to earn a little money and then returning home. Since the 1990s, internal labor migration from rural areas has increased, and female migrant labor rates have risen (Posel). A larger and growing number of rural households have at least one member who is a migrant worker sending money home. Migrant workers over age 50 send significantly more money home, presumably preparing for their retirement. When watchnights, laborers and messengers in Nigeria were asked what m
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1238
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)

Africa's Population Problems

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