Demographics
and Related
Issues
Studying Population
• Demographics
– Is a term for the study of human population dynamics
and how they change. It looks at changes that occur
in large groups of people over a period of time (i.e.
population characteristics). Demographics include
looking at the following statistics: birth rate, death rate,
immigration, age, income, sex, education, occupation,
religion, nationality, etc. and how these changing
patterns may affect a nation’s economy, relations with
other countries, etc.
• Population Geography
– The study of SPATIAL variations in the distribution,
composition, migration, and growth of populations
over time.
Demographics
We will be looking at Demographic related
issues through:
1. Studying the history of Population
2. Demographic Transition and the
connections to Developed and
Developing nations today
3. Population Growth and Overpopulation
4. Population Pyramids
5. Immigration
Studying Population
Population changes over time will
inevitably affect….
• Political Systems
• Economics
• Social Structures
• Environments
For example…
Studying Population
Billions
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
Developed countries
1
95
1 0
95
1 5
96
1 0
96
1 5
97
1 0
97
1 5
98
1 0
98
1 5
99
1 0
99
2 5
00
2 0
00
2 5
01
2 0
01
2 5
02
2 0
02
2 5
03
2 0
03
2 5
04
2 0
04
2 5
05
0
0
Developing countries
TASK: Write a statement describing what the graph
above illustrates. Then, read Chapter 4 (p. 46 to 57) and
answer Q. # 1to 4, 5.b and 6
Source: United Nations Populations Division, World Population Prospects, The 2004 Revision, medium variant.
Studying Population
• Factors that may lead to population
increase include:
– Access to Food
– Access to Health Care
– Economic Growth
– Migration
– Replacement Fertility Rate of more
than 2.1
Studying Population
• Factors that contribute to the decline in
death rate include:
– Better Nutrition
– Better Access to Medical Care
– Improved Sanitation
– Better Immunization
Studying Population
• Unfortunately Effects of Population
Increase Can Also Lead to:
– Increased poverty
– Resource depletion
– Medicine shortages
– Urban sprawl
Studying Population
Births
• A specific pattern of population growth has
occurred in many developed nations during the
past 60 years.
Baby Boom
Baby Echo
Generation Y
Generation X
1945
1965
1985
2005
2025
Studying Population
• Factors that may lead to population decline
(decrease)
– Heavy Emigration
– Disease
– Famine
– War
– Low (Sub) Replacement Fertility
• a fertility rate that is not high enough to
replace an area’s population.
• Sub-replacement fertility rate is 2.1 children
per woman or lower.
Studying Population
• Population Decline in the past
– The Black Death (The Bubonic Plague)
– Other Old World Diseases (Smallpox, Measles)
– Potato Famine
• Population Decline today
– Sub-replacement Fertility Levels
– Migration
– Natural Disasters (Tsunamis, Earthquakes,
Famine, etc.)
Studying Population
• IMPACTS of Population Decline:
– Deflation in the economy
– Rise in the standard of living
– Population aging
– Less impact on the environment
– Political power? Could go either way!
Studying Population
• What causes a low sub-replacement fertility
rate?
– Urbanization (people moving to cities have
smaller families compared to those whose lives
are based on agriculture in rural areas)
– Contraception
– Government Policies (i.e. China)
• Exception: United States where natural
increase rates have remained stable…
• And within the US, incredible regional
variations
United States: The Exception
Amongst Developed Countries!
• Comparison of rates of pregnancy per 1000
females aged 15–19 years in Canada,
England and Wales, and the United States
• Country
Canada
England & Wales
United States
1994
49.2
58.7
106.1
2002
33.9
60.3
76.4
Studying Population
60-81
50-59
40-49
30-39
20-29
Studying Population
Average Number of Children per Woman
South Korea
1.19
Italy
1.26
Japan
1.28
Germany
1.3
Spain
1.3
Canada
1.49
United Kingdom
1.72
Netherlands
1.73
Sweden
1.74
Australia
France
United States
Source: PRB, 2005 World Population Data Sheet.
1.77
1.9
2.03
Studying Population
In the developed countries, there are fewer and fewer
young people and more and more elderly.
Millions
Age
80+
70-74
Males
Females
60-64
50-54
40-44
30-34
20-24
10-14
0-4
300
200
100
00
100
200
Source: United Nations Populations Division, World Population Prospects, The 2004 Revision.
300
Studying Population
The young population of the developing countries
translates to great growth potential.
Age
90+
80-84
70-74
Males
Females
60-64
50-54
40-44
30-34
20-24
10-14
0-4
300
200
100
00
100
200
300
Millions
Source: United Nations Populations Division, World Population Prospects, The 2004 Revision.
Studying Population
Europe is the only world region projected
to decline in population by 2050.
Millions
North America
Latin
America/
Caribbean
Europe
Africa
Asia
457
326
778
549
668
728
2050
2005
1,941
885
5,385
3,875
Population Pyramids
• A population pyramid is a graph of horizontal
bar graphs that illustrates a country’s population
by sex (male and female) by age ranges (cohorts)
of every 5 years (0 – 4, 5 – 9, etc.)
• A great deal of information about the population
can be read from a population pyramid,
influencing decision making of present and future
needs for the population:
–
–
–
–
–
Birth rate trends
Infant mortality rate trends
Death rate trends
Number of economic dependents (<15 + >65)
Life expectancy, etc.
DEPENDENCY LOAD
– The Dependency Load, or “dependents”
are the percentage of the population who
rely on the working population to support
them (their educational, health care,
social, needs, etc.).
– The Dependency Load is the nonworking population of people less than 15
years plus those greater than 65 years.
(>15 and <65)
Population Pyramids
• Three basic shapes of population pyramids.
Population Pyramids – CAN 1961
Aging Population
Depression
Baby Boom
Population Pyramids – CAN 2006
Population Pyramids – US 1990
Population Pyramids – US 2000
Population Pyramids – US 2025
Population Pyramids – US 2050
Population Pyramids – US 2100
Global Village
• If the world were a village of 1000 people, it
would include:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
584 Asians
124 Africans
95 Eastern and Western Europeans
84 Latin Americans
55 former Soviets
52 North Americans
6 Australians and New Zealanders
Global Village
• The people of the village would speak:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
165 Mandarin
86 English
83 Hindu/Urdu
64 Spanish
58 Russian
37 Arabic
and the remaining villagers would speak a variety
of 200 other languages
Global Village
• The religion practiced by the villagers would be:
– 329 Christians (among them 187 Catholics, 84
Protestants, and 31 Orthodox)
– 178 Muslims
– 167 "Non religious"
– 60 Buddhists
– 45 Atheists
– 32 Hindus
– 3 Jews
– and 86 of other religions
Global Village
• Financially speaking in this 1000 person
community
– 200 people receive 75 percent of the income
– Another 200 receive only 2 percent of the income.
– Only 70 people of the 1000 own an automobile
(although some of the 70 own more than one car).
– About one-third have access to clean, safe drinking
water.
Global Village
• Looking at the social structure of the village, there
are:
–
–
–
–
–
5 soldiers
7 teachers
1 doctor
3 refugees driven from home by war or drought
and half of the adults are illiterate
Global Village
• The village has a total yearly budget, public
and private, of over $3 million - $3,000 per
person if it is distributed evenly.
• Of the total $3 000 000:
– $181,000 goes to weapons and warfare
– $159,000 to education
– $132,000 to health care
Global Village
• Nuclear Power in the Village:
– The village has buried beneath it enough explosive
power in nuclear weapons to blow itself to
smithereens many times over. These weapons are
under the control of just 100 of the people.
– The other 900 are watching them with deep anxiety,
wondering whether they can learn to get along
together; and if they do, whether they might set off the
weapons anyway through inattention or technical
bungling; and if they ever decide to dismantle the
weapons, where in the world village will they dispose
of the radioactive materials of which the weapons are
made?