COMCEC Agriculture Outlook 2016
9
All of the sub-regions’ average yearly agricultural growths stay behind their economic
growths in the period of 2004-2014. The promising point is that African Group, Arab Group
and Asian Group Countries have a greater performance in agricultural growth during the
period of 1994-2014 compared to the world.
1.3. Population
Population in the world reached to 7.4 billion people and it is projected to climb to over
9 billion by 2050. United Nations Population Funds (UNFPA) explains this dramatic growth by
increasing numbers of people surviving to reproductive age which is accompanied by major
changes in fertility rates, increasing urbanization and accelerating migration.4
According to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)’s data, the total population of the
OIC was about 1.73 billion in 2015, which constituted almost the quarter of world population.
Although its share in total population decreased from year to year, more than half of the OIC
population is still living in rural areas. According to the statistics, more than 60 percent of the
people living in rural areas were engaged in agricultural activities.
Agriculture sector should provide enough food for the growing population in the world
and especially in the OIC. In the last decade, the agricultural GDP expanded globally by an
average of 2.56 percent a year, more than the population growth of 1.24 percent. In the same
period, OIC Member Countries have experienced yearly 3.42 percent growth in agricultural
GDP, and 1.98 percent of growth in population. Therefore, both in the OIC and world, the
growth rate in agriculture sector is higher than the growth rate in population which enables to
feed much more people.
Table 4. Population Growth Rate in the OIC and in the World
Period African Group Arab Group Asian Group OIC World
1995-2005 2.71 2.20 1.70 2.03 1.28
2005-2015 2.82 1.98 1.51 1.93 1.20
1995-2015 2.77 2.09 1.61 1.98 1.24
Source: Calculated by using UNSTAT
Table 4 demonstrates the sub-regions average yearly population growth in ten years
period and in twenty years long term period in the OIC and world. Compared to the world,
African Group, Arab Group and Asian Group have a higher rate of population growth in the last
two decades. Across the regions, African Group average yearly population growth is the
highest in the period of 1995-2005 and 2005-2015, with a 2.71 percent and 2.82 percent,
respectively. Furthermore, African Group is the only group whose average yearly population
growth rises in the last decade which is more than two times higher than the world’s
population growth. The lowest population growth was observed in Asian Group with 1.70
percent in 1995-2005, and 1.51 percent in 2005-2015.
4 UNFPA, 2015