ANGARA SEES STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
Increasing rate of population won't be a problem if people are equipped and educated

Senator Edgardo J. Angara urged to direct efforts on education as it is seen to be the potent key to gain advantage of the country's large and continued increase in population.

According to the 2008 study The Graying of the Great Powers, the world's demography is changing radically. Populations in most developed countries are ageing, and because of their declining fertility rate, most of these countries face a shrinking labor force and consequently, lower economic productivity.

Four decades from now, the median age in many European countries will be 50 or above. Populations in most developed economies will begin contracting in around 20, 30 years. Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are already experiencing this phenomenon. Hence by 2050, the population in the developed world will comprise about 10% of the total world population (down from the current 13%), and with a shrinking population comes declining influence in the world economy. By 2050, the share of the developed economies' collective GDP to the global GDP is projected to shrink from the current 54% to 31%.

In the same study it says that the Philippines will become the 11th largest country in terms of population. A separate paper by the United Nations: The Dynamics of Population Ageing: How Can Asia Pacific Respond? cites the Philippines as among the countries who will continue to age slowly. Compared to countries like China, Hong Kong and Korea - where 25% of the population is estimated to be aged 60 and above by 2050 - senior citizens in the Philippines will take up less then 20% of the total population.

"But there is strength in numbers, especially when they are well-educated, and equipped with the skills the globalizing world demands. As labor productivity in many developed economies decline with their aging population, capital - which knows no nationality-- will turn to younger, more productive labor force. With a little more vision and some measure of political orderliness, the Philippines can and will profit handsomely," said Angara who chairs the Senate Committee on Finance.

He added, "However, we've got to start investing in the future -- by upgrading the education we provide our children, and ensuring none of them is left behind. We've got to make sure that our workers - industrious and resourceful as they already are - are equipped with the right skills and training to participate in an increasingly competitive and technological world."

"Our children should not only be at par with their counterparts abroad, the environment where they work in should also be able to keep up. Our goal now is to motivate our youth to take on education seriously to prepare and equipped the next generation with skills that the globalizing world demands," ended Angara.