“The past and current high levels of fertility in the midst of steadily declining child mortality rates have created a youthful population with a high child dependency ratio in Tanzania. The country’s population has grown from 12.3 million in 1967 to 44.9 million in 2012. According to the medium variant UN projection, the population will more than double to 129 million by 2050. The 2006 National Population Policy notes that rapid population growth and the consequent high child dependency burden is a key bottleneck undermining socioeconomic development in Tanzania. The policy notes that the strains caused by rapid population growth are felt most acutely and visibly in the public budgets for health, education and other human resource development sectors.”
