Percentage of children aged under 15 to drop — HPC

AMMAN — Population projections for Jordanians show that the percentage of children under the age of 15 will drop as a result of an expected decline in human reproduction, the Higher Population Council (HPC) said on the occasion of World Children's Day, which is annually celebrated on November 20.

The percentage of children under the age of 18 in Jordan stood at 40.2 per cent of the total population in 2020, Secretary General of the HPC Abla Amawi said in a statement on Saturday.

Amawi said that this percentage will decrease from 33.1 per cent in 2020 to 23.8 per cent in 2040. This population decrease will likely reduce dependency rates and educational, health and other expenses in Jordanian households and the state, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The HPC secretary general said that savings on these expenditures could be used to increase investments in higher quality services for children.

The theme for World Children's Day 2021 is “A Better Future for Every Child”.

Amawi also noted that Jordan has realised "big achievements" in enhancing children's rights and development. Jordan has realised higher averages for education enrolment at various stages, which stood at 41.1 per cent for kindergarten enrolment, 97.9 per cent for the elementary enrolment and 77.5 per cent for secondary school enrolment during the 2019/2020 academic year.

However, despite these achievements, the secretary general said that there are still challenges.

For instance, a joint study by the Education Ministry and UNICEF on drop-out rates among children revealed that there are 112,016 children between the ages of six and 15 who dropped out of school during the 2017/2018 scholastic year.

The top health-related challenge for children is the spread of anaemia among Jordanian children, where one in every three children between 6 and 59 months suffers from anaemia, the majority of whom are in the northern region of the Kingdom (38 per cent). 

The 2021 Kids Rights Index placed Jordan 73rd out of 182 countries.