Analysis Of The Impact Of Population Growth On Economic Growth In Nigeria

Abstract

Population growth has remained a key issue facing developing economies in including Nigeria, with population growth above the economic growth rate. The country has struggled against demographic tide since independence with widening gap in poverty, unemployment, and inequality which are factors responsible for the country’s underdevelopment. This study examines the impact of population growth and economic development in Nigeria. The study employed the Auto Regressive and Distributed Lag (ARDL) econometric technique. The data was also analyzed using Descriptive statistics and granger causality tools. The findings revealed that population growth rate has negative and insignificant impact on economic growth in Nigeria, both in the short run and long run. The study recommends amongst others that Nigeria must control its rapidly growing population by formulating and implementing population and economic policies that are supportive of all-inclusive economic growth. The high rate of youth unemployment should be checked and large investment in human capital (education, health & skills) both on the part of the government and private bodies should be made. This will improve the quality of labour which will in turn increase productivity.