Working age population increases

Gothataone Moeng | Friday December 13, 2013 17:31

Final figures from Statistics Botswana peg the economically-active population - 18-60 years - at 64.9 percent of the total population, an increase from 58.2 percent in 2001. The development has experts warning that it may put pressure on the country's already limited capacity to provide decent employment and accompanying social amenities.

With the national unemployment rate having crawled up to 19.68 percent from 19.60 percent in 2001, experts warn that the increase in the working age population could either be 'a curse or a blessing.'

'Training the human resource in this cohort could boost economic production, consumption and sustain economic growth. Conversely, it could be a liability by nurturing the unemployed, the under-employed and the misemployed,' reads a paper titled Population Distribution, Structure, Density and Policy Implications in Botswana.

 Dr. Thando Gwebu, Tapologo Baakile and Grace Mphetolang, authored the paper for the 2011 Census Results Dissemination Seminar, which is currently ongoing in Gaborone.

On the other hand, the dependency ratio - the ratio of dependents to the working class - decreased from 71.5 percent in 2001 to 56.7 percent in 2011.  According to Gwebu, Baakile and Mphetolang, the decline reflects an increase in the size of the economically active cohort, and the decline in the children-infant category as well as the population of the elderly. The country is experiencing a decline in the proportion of persons below the age of 15 years, an increase in the youth population and a decline in the elderly population.

The census figures also show that the number of employees as at 2011 stands at 521 781, an increase from 370 456 in 2001. The number of the self-employed is 71 121, an increase from the 54 661 in 2001. The number of persons involved in family businesses decreased from 6 446 in 2001 to 4 313 in 2011.  While the number of persons involved in lands and cattle post increased from 17 630 in 2001 to 43 698 in 2011. The number of persons seeking work increased from 109 512 in 2001 to 160 141 in 2011.