ABSTRACT
Economic development has as its objective the raising of the level of living of a people. Four aspects of population in the less developed areas are operating to retard economic development. These are the relatively high rate of population growth, unfavorable age structure, unbalanced population distribution, and inadequately educated and trained manpower. Rapid population growth also adversely affects investment to achieve economic growth. To effect an increase in output, investment increments must be great enough to produce income increments adequate to raise per capita income. Compared with the economically advanced nations at comparable levels of urbanization, a much smaller proportion of the labor force in the less developed areas is engaged in non-agricultural and especially mechanized industrial occupations. The three aspects of population which tend to retard economic development discussed are concerned with problems of quantity of population—total population, an unfavorable age structure, and imbalance in urban-rural distribution.
