As countries urbanize, they gain in wealth, and as such, work and educational opportunities for women tend to increase, leading to later marriages, and fewer children. The positive urban dynamics behind the demographic transition to smaller families is complex, and have been studied intensively,24 but as a general rule, higher rates of urbanization along with growth in GDP lead to lower fertility rates around the world. This has created a demographic momentum characterized by a relatively young population with children under age 15 accounting for 28 per cent of the population, and youth aged 15 to 24 accounting for a further 17 per cent.25 The significant increase in proportion of persons aged 15 to 24 is referred to as the youth bulge.