Internal migration from rural areas into urban areas is one of the reasons for the increasing population growth in Yemen, with the population growth rate in urban areas at 7%, a matter which leads to an increasing demand for basic services and resources, a recent governmental report said.
This kind of migration leads to the appearance of random areas on the edges of main cities which lack basic services, where poverty and unemployment rates are soaring and which become hotbeds for crime, violence and terrorism, the report said.
The report issued by the planning ministry said the population issue is one of the development challenges in Yemen from different sides: first, the annual population growth rate of 3% is one of the highest rates in the world and affects on the GDP per capita and improvement to the standard of living.
Secondly, the report said, the scattered population leads to an increasing demand for basic services and their increased prices; limits access to them; and affects the efficiency of all efforts aimed at reducing poverty and unemployment.
There is another dimension of this issue which is the age pyramid among the population. The 0-24 years population increased by 67,2% in 2008 leading to increasing dependence rates and then low access to basic services as well as low saving rates and investment, which at the end become a key reason for deteriorating economic growth rates, the reported concluded.