Relentless war and political fluidity have stripped Afghanistan of the ability to properly utilize its economic potential and resources. The country currently has the lowest economic growth in South Asia, but on the contrary has one of the highest population growth rates. According to the World Bank’s latest biannual report released on Sunday, Afghanistan’s economy is faced with serious challenges due to drought, conflict, political uncertainty and foreign aid cut. The report finds out that Afghanistan’s economy grew by approximately two percent in 2018, a rate that doesn’t suffice to alleviate and tackle the high poverty in the country.
While Afghanistan has the slowest economic growth in the region, its population is growing exponentially. According to Central Statistics Organization (CSO), Afghanistan’s annual population growth rate is 2.14 percent, almost twofold of the population growth of South Asia which stands at 1.20%. The wide gap between Afghanistan’s economic and population growth is a huge challenge for the country, especially now as war still continues and there isn’t much hope for achieving political stability in the near future.
If the rapid population growth continues as now, and concrete actions are not taken to spur economic growth, Afghans can encounter major economic problems in the future. Right now, over half of the population lives below the poverty line. If the population grows and the economic growth stays as now or further slows down due to various factors, including decline of international aid, the number of Afghans living in poverty can surge. Even if political uncertainty ends, the swift population growth presents a huge challenge to the country.
Afghan governments, which have unfortunately failed to appropriately employ available opportunities for accomplishing economic self-reliance, must not underestimate the menace of the rapid population growth. The government should swing into action to raise public awareness about the benefits of family planning. Any negligence in this regard can prove costly for future generations.
