Ethiopia is the second populous country in sub-Saharan Africa next to Nigeria with an annual growth rate of 2.9 per cent. Currently, the total population of the country as of year 2002 is estimated to be 67.7 million. Similarly, the demographic situation of the Amhara region shows that the total size of the population has reached 17.7 million as of 2002 /BoFED, 2002). This accounts for roughly 27 per cent of the total population of the country while in terms of area, the region contributes only 15.4 per cent. Hence, if the current trend in population growth continues unabated, the population size of the region would double within less than 30 years.

Dependency ratio is relatively high as can be evidenced by the societal dependency ratio of 86.6 per cent. This simply shows that for every person, there is an addition of another one person to bear the socio-economic burden.

Moreover, fertility and mortality rates in the region are found to be relatively high. The average number of children a woman can bear during her reproductive lifetime is about six children. The average life expectancy at birth is roughly 50 years. However, due to the prevalence of HIV/AIDS pandemic and other communicable diseases, life expectancy could be even shorter. In addition, infant mortality rate /IMR/ is relatively high i.e. 114/1000 live births. In other words, at least one child would die out of ten live births before celebrating the first birthday.

Generally, the population development nexus should be harmonized. On the one hand, the great majority of the population in the region is dependent on land, which is relatively fixed, and on the other hand, the utilization of modern inputs is low. This would undoubtedly put unprecedented pressure on land and the environment as a whole. Thus, appropriate strategies should be devised to strike a balance between population and the pace of the development of the region. In this regard, promoting family planning services and awareness creation are indispensable.

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