Kenya, Located on the Western Side of Africa, Has the Highest Population Growth Rate In

Maura Kush

Bob Murphy

12/6/08

Kenya: Too Fast for its Own Good

Kenya, located on the western side of Africa, has the highest population growth rate in the world. In 80 years, the population skyrocketed from 2.9 million to present day 37 million. From 2000-2005, the growth rate was 4.1% and has since decreased to 2.758% in 2008. Compared to the United States’ growth rate of .887% in 2008, Kenya suffers with more children being born than the country can handle. This problem compounded with a rising debt, a declining currency, and a low per capita income put great pressure on Kenyan people to fend for their own lives and families.

Many issues contribute to Kenya’s population rise. AIDS is a detrimental factor, resulting in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates and changes in the distribution of the population. Kenya has the fifth largest number of people living with AIDS. Currently, the virus infects 2.2 million people out to the country’s population of 37 million. Kenya already suffers from a large debt and AIDS assistance from the World Bank only contributes to this issue. More money is being put into the prevention and control of AIDS instead of controlling the country’s growth factors such as growth rate and high death rate.

Kenya suffers from environmental problems as well as economic and social problems that affect the growth rate. Water pollution from wastes, increased use of pesticides and fertilizers lower the water quality, water hyacinth infestation in Lake Victoria, deforestation and soil erosion are some problems. Since every human depends on water and food for staying alive and healthy, pollution ruins the quality of the water for Kenyans depending on it for survival. Many Africans farm to make a living and food for their family and don’t notice when the rain comes and washes the pesticides and fertilizers into their water supply. The contribution of these harmful plant products leaves 1/3 of all Kenyans without access to clean water. Nearly 75% of Kenya’s labor force works in agriculture and with toxic water, deforestation and soil erosion ruining the chances that Kenya has with a good harvest, the families suffer. In developing countries, factories and mass-produced products are widespread throughout the richest parts on the continent and poor cities turn to agriculture to survive. Rapid population growth in Africa leads to the exploitation of natural resources since the poor rely on these resources to survive. For example, cities along the coast of West Africa is increasing the demand for fish and firewood and driving the destruction of mangrove swamps.

Kenya is over $6 billion in debt, which disables the government to spend money and time on cleaning the water supply, restricting the amount of children families can have or keeping children in school long enough to get somewhat of an education. Slower population growth gives countries time to create order, or build schools, or provide job openings. But in Kenya’s case, a 2.758% population growth isn’t slow enough to give back to the community. In developing countries, 40 billion jobs much be created each year which leaves 800 billion people unemployed or under-employed; more than the entire workforce of the industrialized world.

Fertility is the highest in the poorest countries so as they continue to grow, they don’t have enough resources to support their people. By 2050, it is estimated that 49 of the least developed countries will nearly triple in size. High fertility and poverty go hand in hand and while developed countries have the time and money to have less children, developing countries such as Kenya need these children to work on the family farm or have children to contribute to the families growing work force or in case some or their working children die from AIDS or malaria. Some 10,000 girls a year leave school because of pregnancy. This isn’t the life that they chose but their parents chose for them. These children will not get to experience a childhood filled with love and laughter but a childhood of work and terror.

In developed countries, women who are educated choose to have fewer children. The jobs they got by being educated may delay the age where they get married and have children and they are more knowledgeable about sexual relations and birth control. Uneducated women in developing countries increase the population growth. Women in the Kenyan family business believe they are there specifically to give birth, cook and clean. They don’t have jobs and start rearing children at a very young age. They don’t have instruction on contraceptive devices to curb the amount of children they have. In Kenya, sixty percent of the children without access to education are girls and 2/3 of 880 million adults are women. But this fault rests on the families shoulders. The women only know what their mother taught them and this belief continues to be passed down from generation to generation.

Kenya is now in the developing stage of demographic transition. The projected developed stage or 2025 can only happen if the population growth rate decreases to 1%. Kenya would be on the right track, moving slowly towards a better future if they could get their economy up and running, their women educated and their population rate down. All of these factors can’t happen fast but if they could do it one step at a time, it may be possible.

Bibliography

http://www.populationconnection.org/Communications/FactSheets/Connect%20Dots%2

2002.pdf

http://geography.about.com/od/culturalgeography/a/demotransition.htm

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ke.html

http://www.popline.org/docs/1102/091652.html