Implication of rapid population growth on national security in Uganda

Abstract

This Study is on the Implication of Rapid Population Growth on National Security in Uganda. The literature includes the major sources such as; secondary data, library records and hard copies or electronic like reports. Security is an essential prerequisite as well as an outcome of sound development policies and a good security status of the population is vital for a country’s economic growth. National security, both individual and group, remains at the core of government activities upon which the majority of citizens of a particular country depend. A leakage in the security system at any level of government legitimizes accusations about the incapacity of governments or state. The term Rapid Population Growth describes a spectrum of possible relationships between the human and environmental actors for integrated planning, provision and monitoring of lives and their environment. Uganda’s demographic profile, for example, is considered one of the country’s most salient development challenges. It has increasingly become younger. The proportion of children increased from 51 percent in 1969 to 56 percent in 2002, and older persons decreased from 5.9 percent to 4.6 percent in the same period. Also, the Median age declined from 17.2 years in 1969 to 15.3 years in 2002, while the Age Dependency Ratio increased from 101 percent to 110 percent over the same period (UBOS, 2006). In low- and middle-income countries, there is great need by all the security dimensions at all levels to foster good governance, new forms and practices of engaging all stakeholders in the protection and transformation of people’s socio-economic livelihoods. Therefore, the study discusses the Rapid Growth Population and its implications on the national security, opportunities for improving security dimensions and challenges faced due to the rapid population growth in a low-income setting like Uganda. It is on this background that the growing population requires the support of the stable and secure environment besides the benefits of the rapid growth population in Uganda.