UN DESA Policy Brief No. 161: On the path to an older population: Maximizing the benefits from the demographic dividend in the least developed countries

Key messages: "While many least developed countries (LDCs) are still experiencing persistently high fertility and rapid population growth, they have also begun to experience progressive population ageing. Some Asia-Pacific LDCs have seen their older populations grow rapidly in recent decades, and all LDCs are projected to experience an increase in both the share and the number of older persons over the next several decades, with an accelerated pace of change expected beyond mid-century. Since most LDCs are in the initial stages of the demographic transition, they have an opportunity to maximize the future benefits of the demographic dividend through enhanced investments in health care, education and job creation to accommodate their large and still-growing cohorts of youth and working-age adults. Governments of LDCs are encouraged to accelerate the implementation of the Doha Programme of Action, including its call to “support the acceleration of the demographic transition, where relevant”, by facilitating a more rapid decline in fertility; an accelerated fertility decline would reduce the size of future birth cohorts and free up resources to invest in health care, education and job creation. Governments of LDCs should strengthen efforts to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health care, protect reproductive rights, advance gender equality and empower all women and girls; such actions will help women and their partners to realize their reproductive preferences while also accelerating the demographic transition in countries where the population is still growing rapidly."