Impact of population on adolescents.

Abstract

Adolescents are often overlooked in the efforts of developing countries to reduce population growth rates by lowering fertility and to care for aging populations in those countries that have been successful in reducing fertility. The September issue of the Asia-Pacific Population Journal contains an article by Professor Gavin Jones of the Australian National University entitled "Population Dynamics and Their Impact on Adolescents in the ESCAP Region," which overcomes that gap in information on the population aged 10-24. It examines aspects such as the growth of the adolescent population, age at marriage, educational developments, labor force participation, unemployment, and fertility among adolescents. The article concludes with an examination of the effects of demographic and educational changes, poverty, globalization, and urbanization on adolescents, drawing out a number of implications for policy purposes. Stating that most of today's adolescents will be still alive at mid-century, the article observes that "this cohort will play a crucial role in national development in an increasingly interconnected and high-technology world. From this perspective, it is tragic to note that many of these adolescents will still lack access to secondary schools--and in some cases, even to primary schooling--and will suffer from avoidable health problems." It also points out that, because adolescents greatly outnumber the elderly, care should be taken to ensure that policies towards them are not neglected.