Comments on "Some Considerations for Demographic Assessment of Developing Countries".

The momentum of population growth in developing countries the advent of systematic planning for social and economic development and political independence have all contributed to an awareness of the need for demographic assessment. An increase in the proportion of female population of reproductive age begins to take place as a result of fertility decline that reduces the proportion of children under 15 years of age. If fertility continues to decline until it reaches the replacement level population will continue to grow for another 40-50 years before zero population growth is achieved. Despite efforts to integrate demographic variables within the development planning process population is still being considered as an exogenous variable. Needed is more sophisticated intensive research aimed at identifying the variables (both direct and indirect) in the population-development interrelationship. While censuses have significantly improved as a result of political independence vital registration systems have not shown any progress in producing usable data for demographic analysis. For demographic assessment to become a reality there is an urgent need to improve gaps in the availability of current reliable data.