The social construction of the problématique about population and development in Mozambique: Reflections about Neo-Malthusianism and fertility decline in Maputo City

The present paper investigates how the hegemonic, public and institutionalized perception about population and development is socially constructed in Mozambique. It uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate the processes of knowledge construction, dissemination and maintenance. The institutionalized and dominant public perception about the problématique of Population and Development in Mozambique seems to comprise mainly the following and interlinked questions: 1 Demographically Mozambique presents high Rate of Natural Increase and this trend will continue in the forthcoming decades; 2 The current Rate of Natural Increase makes the demographic structure of the Mozambican population younger; 3 Both, the rate and the demographic structure are socio-economically unsustainable, keeping the country underdeveloped; 4 If fertility transition continues delayed, Mozambique is doomed to underdevelopment. This research demonstrate the extent in which this hegemonic, public and institutionalized perceptions neglected that the dynamics of development can occur independently of the dynamics of fertility decline and therefore lower fertility may be the common future for people in poor and rich countries.