As they debate how to tackle the threat of insurgency and unrest in Africa, Western leaders could do worse than to consider one of the most important, yet curiously underplayed, aspects of that troubled region - the dangers of rapid, unchecked population growth.

It is no coincidence that in recent decades Mali's population has been growing at an unsustainable annual rate of about 3 per cent. In other words, the average Malian woman has six children, while the country's population has tripled over the past 50 years and, according to the latest United Nations estimates, is set to triple again over the next half-century.

A Malian soldier stands guard. Credit:Reuters

Such a drastic rate of population growth rate has profound implications. In particular, it means that, in an undeveloped and largely barren land, too many people are competing for too few local resources and opportunities. Young men have limited hopes of finding employment or even sustenance and are therefore deeply susceptible to the temptation of armed criminality and insurgency, and to the lure of radical preachers who seem to offer them both a sense of purpose and scapegoats who they can blame for their woes.

It is, of course, an oversimplification to blame terrorism and insurgency on any single factor, but look around: the practitioners of these violent ways are also thriving in several other countries that are experiencing comparably high rates of population growth.