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SUGAHARA, G.T. L. & FRANCISCO, A. A. S. Population Ageing in Mozambique Threat or Opportunity
SUGAHARA, G.T. L. & FRANCISCO, A. A. S. Population Ageing in Mozambique Threat or Opportunity
IDeIAS
Informao sobre Desenvolvimento, Instituies e Anlise Social
Introduction Population ageing is one of the major achievements of profound demographic changes from the bottom to the
Imagine if past generations had had the opportunity to modern humanity, but its potential benefits to society in top of the population age structure, as illustrated in
consciously contemplate the initial moments of signifi- general are neither automatic nor guaranteed in ad- Figure 1, referring to Mauritius. These are global trans-
cant socio-economic and technologic changes, such as vance; 2) The fact that Mozambique is still at an early formations that occur at different rates, observed in all
the Industrial Revolution that started in the second part stage of its demographic transition offers a unique regions of the world, over the past two and a half centu-
of the 18th Century; the Green Revolution in different opportunity. Will the Mozambican society seize this ries.
parts of the world throughout the 20th Century; and the opportunity? 3) The answer to the previous question It is not clear whether such global transformations in
financial crises in 1929 and 2008, among others. Fur- will depend on the awareness and what is done in the age structure started as a result, or conversely, were
thermore, imagine if beyond the privilege of anticipating coming decades. Mozambique has much to gain if one of the causes of the industrial revolution, urbaniza-
events of major societal impact, we had the opportunity policy makers start now to take the consequences of tion, increased female labor participation, and numer-
to benefit from the experiences of other countries that the coming population ageing more seriously and seek ous advances in modern medicine. Due to the fact that
had experienced similar processes of change. How to guarantee a dignified human security for the existing the demographic transition has often occurred simulta-
privileged we would be, both in terms of understanding elderly population, as part of a long term development neously with economic growth, it is commonly assumed
and above all the possibility to prepare ourselves in strategy. that it is a consequence of economic growth, a per-
time for the consequences of such transformations? spective that has been called into question (Dyson,
Thinking about population ageing in Mozambique gives Ageing as a Conquest and the Longevity Paradox 2010).
us exactly this possibility. The relevance and impact of In general, we all want to live longer. In this sense the Although the proportion of elderly in the total population
demographic changes are frequently overlooked in the ageing population is an achievement per se. In techni- is substantially higher in developed countries, the pace
analyses that inform the design and monitoring of cal terms it is a phenomenon that results from an in- of the observed changes in developing countries has
public policies. This neglect is mainly due to the fact crease in life expectancy at birth and decreased fertility been quite rapid. In the second half of the 20th Century,
that demographic transitions occur gradually and sub- in a population. It is not a new research topic, and its the Latin America and Asian regions experienced rapid
tly. However, the very demographic phenomena ulti- structural change is clearly visible in the age transition and profound changes in vital rates, reaching recently
mately impose themselves as objective phenomena over time, as illustrated by the changes from the classi- fertility levels close to those observed in more devel-
that occur regardless of the subjective will of the peo- cal pyramidal structure to rectangular ones, resulting oped countries. Sub-Saharan Africa is the only conti-
ple. Obviously, it would be better if policy makers con- from the reduction in the younger age groups and nental region that remains at an early stage of the
sciously anticipated, whenever possible, the predictable increase in the size of older age ones (Figure 1). demographic transition, albeit large intra regional varia-
events. The drastic reduction in the fertility rate, following or tions; but when considering the disaggregated data for
This note aims to contribute to raise the awareness of simultaneously with a significant reduction in mortality African countries, an increasing number of them are
the threats and opportunities posed by population and an expansion of the longevity, has generated
ageing while Mozam-
bique has still the
Figure 1: Comparison of the Age Pyramid of Mozambique and Mauritius in 2010 and 2050
privilege to think and
prepare in time to deal Mozambique 2010 (shaded) & Mozambique 2050 Mauricias 2010 (shaded) & Mauricias 2050
IESE.
In summary, the Median Age in Mozambique Median Age in Mauritius
message shared in
this paper comprises 2010 = 17.8 years 2050 = 24.3 years 2010 = 32.4 years 2050 = 45.5 years
three main points: 1) Fonte: http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/Excel-Data/population.htm
* Associate Member of ISCTE-IUL, Dinmia-CET and recently also Associate collaborator of IESE gustavo.toshiaki@gmail.com.
** Coordinator of the Research Group (GdI) "Poverty and Social Protection" (PPS) at IESE and Associate Professor at the Faculty of Economicsof UEM.
IESE - Instituto de Estudos Sociais e Econmicos; Av. Patrice Lumumba N178, Maputo, Moambique
Tel: +258 21328894; Fax: +258 21328895; Email: iese@iese.ac.mz; http://www.iese.ac.mz
Isento de Registo nos termos do artigo 24 da Lei n 18/91 de 10 de Agosto
already experiencing the ageing population phenome- instance, in France the increase of the elderly popula- tion ageing process, mentioned here, deserve more
non (Francisco 2010:31, 2011:48; Sandell 2004). tion from 7 to 14 percent took about one hundred years, systematic and thorough studies.
Figure 1 illustrates the difference between the popula- but in only 40 years their proportion rose to 21 per cent This historic moment for countries like Mozambique is
tions of Mozambique and Mauritius. If the UN projec- of the total population. In countries like Brazil, China thus a valuable opportunity to build a better relationship
tions (medium variant) are confirmed, the median age of and South Korea, the change in proportions were very between society and its elderly population. Not only for
the Mozambican population will increase from 17.8 in different, and in some cases even reverse of what what can be avoided, especially in relation to the con-
2010 to 24.3 in 2050. In turn, the population of Mauritius happened in France or Sweden (Vos et al.2009). struction of negative stereotypes and other barriers that
is already visibly more adult and aged with a median In Mozambique, although the pace of growth of the prevent the real contribution of the elderly to society, but
age of 32.4 years in 2010, expected to increase to 45.5 elderly population is relatively slow, the question raised also for what can be learned from the existent relations,
in 2050 (UN 2011). by Brito is relevant and should be taken into account, when the elderly is still a rare figure in the Mozambi-
Changes resulting from the demographic transition have while contextualizing the debate about population age- can society.
direct impacts on the composition and organization of ing in Mozambique. The question of the "rhythm" of this
the family units, as well as in the relationships between transformation is also worth a systematic and thorough References
labor and other production factors, working conditions analysis. As Arnaldo (2007) has done in his work on the Arnaldo, C., 2007. Fecundidade e seus Determinantes
and different forms of social protection, leading to a proximate determinants of fertility in Mozambique, one Prximos em Moambique: Uma anlise dos nveis,
confrontation between the achievement of increased Figure 2 Time required for the proportion of the population aged 65 years or over to increase from 7 to 14
human longevity levels, and an ideal of eternal youth, per cent and from 14 to 21 per cent, selected countries.
a phenomenon described by Sugahara (2009:38-61) as
the longevity paradox.
IESE - Instituto de Estudos Sociais e Econmicos; Av. Patrice Lumumba N178, Maputo, Moambique
Tel: +2581 328894; Fax: +2581 328895; Email: iese@iese.ac.mz; http://www.iese.ac.mz
Isento de Registo nos termos do artigo 24 da Lei n 18/91 de 10 de Agosto