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Chapter 18: Population Problems
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ All rights reserved. Population by the Numbers Demography The study of size and composition of a population If population of a country is large, nation can face many problems Population Variables Changeable characteristics of a given population such as size, racial composition, birth rates, and death rates World’s population is unevenly distributed Number of people in two most populated countries, China and India, larger than next 23 countries combined
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ All rights reserved. Continued World’s population is constantly changing As nations develop, life expectancies increase It took more than 11,000 years for world’s population to grow to 1 billion More than doubled again 100 years later, and again from 1940 to 1982 Projected that number of people will double again by 2042 Bring world’s total population to over 9 billion people
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ All rights reserved. Tools for Studying Population Fertility Refers to number of births occurring in a population Crude birth rate The number of births each year per 1,000 people Age-specific birth rate Measures number of births per every 1,000 women in specific age group
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ All rights reserved. Continued Total fertility rate (TFR) Average number of births expected from a woman in a population Zero population growth Refers to a TFR of two Meaning each woman, on average, expected to have two children to replace the mother and father Calculations allows demographers to make predictions about population and can help society plan for future
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ All rights reserved. Continued Life Expectancy The average number of years of life for a person of any given age Life span The maximum length of time possible for a human being to live Life expectancy for many people around the world increased over the last century At the time of birth all people around the world can expect to live an average of 65 years Number changes based on other factors that can affect the life expectancy rates in a given area
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ All rights reserved. Continued Mortality Rates Number of deaths that occur in a population Crude death rate The number of deaths per 1,000 people each year Infant mortality rate The number of children per 1,000 who are born alive but die before reaching age of one year One reason life expectancies are low in some countries is their high infant mortality rates Also affected by environment and access to health care
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Continued Population Pyramids Visually represents data about a specific population in relation to age and sex Track changes in population over time This information can help researchers assess potential needs of a society
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Continued
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ All rights reserved. Continued
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ All rights reserved. Continued Migration The movement of people from one area to another Immigration The movement of people into a nation-state Emigration The movement of people out of a nation-state Issues like infant mortality and life expectancy play a role in peoples’ decisions to emigrate from their country of birth When large numbers of a group migrate to an area, locals may react with discrimination and violence
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ All rights reserved. Continued Rate of Natural Increase Calculation demographers use to determine growth or decline of a population Populations with a positive RNI are growing Populations with a negative RNI are in decline Birth dearth Declining birth rates Citizens in a population opting not to have children, or are having fewer children than before Shrinking population of future workers will have hard time supporting a growing elderly population
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ All rights reserved. Continued Doubling Time The length of time it takes a population to double in size Can have a significant and lasting impact on a nation’s future Shorter doubling time means there is less time to sufficiently increase available resources Rule of 70 Estimates doubling time by dividing 70 by annual RNI for a population Results in approximate number of years in which population will double
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ All rights reserved. Continued RNI can vary from year to year Important to be aware most populations do not grow exactly as predicted Doubling time estimates rarely been accurate in the past Demographers can use doubling time calculations to show possible population growth trends and to compare populations
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Economic Issues of Population Growth and Decline Growth rate of a population can have an impact on its economy Countries with weakest economies experience greatest population growth Economist Julian Simon Population growth can improve country’s economy over span of more than 100 years Compared to countries with stable population growth Economies of countries with growing populations saw greater improvement
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ All rights reserved. Continued Economist Julian Simon (Continued) People living in growing populations need to find jobs to survive Those jobs slowly help improve economy over time Population growth in developed countries: Leads to greater specialization of labor Increased development of knowledge The promotion of innovation In developing countries Growing populations lead to reductions in income and put greater strain on public resources
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ All rights reserved. Malthusian Theory Thomas Malthus Published An Essay on the Principle of Population Malthusian theorem Populations grow at a geometric rate (2, 4, 8, 16...), while food grows at an arithmetic rate (1, 2, 3, 4...) There will come a time when population cannot be sustained by food supply even with advanced technology that increases food production Food shortages likely to lead to famine, war, and spread of disease Any of the above occurs before that point in history is a positive check on population Pushes back day when number of people will outgrow amount of food
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Demographic Transition Theory Demographic transition theory People control their fertility as societies change from being agrarian to industrial Occurs in four basic stages 1. Society not industrialized and experiences high birth and death rates 2. Society enters initial phase of industrialization 3. Society establishes its industrialized status, birth rates decline Death rates also decline and stabilize due to longer life expectancies 4. Society becomes postindustrial and experiences either stable or declining population size
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Population Control Populations grow as result of birth rates and death rates Managing death rate not an acceptable solution Population control programs must focus on the birth rate Birth control options such as contraceptives and abortion are available in United States Decisions left to individuals and provided by private sources
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ All rights reserved. Continued From global perspective, world’s population is still growing The rate at which population is growing declined Population control efforts in most parts of the world now tend to focus on educating women on reproductive rights and making contraceptives widely available
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ All rights reserved. Functionalism Functionalists focus on relationships between different social structures Having children ensures a population will be able to carry on Population growth can lead to economic progress Can lead to problems when a society overtaxes its resources Ancient inhabitants of Easter Island died due to deforestation and overuse of resources stemming from population growth Must take precautions to avoid same issues today
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ All rights reserved. Conflict Theory Growing population increases competition over resources Even with development of new technologies Constantly rising populations will eventually overwhelm ability to produce and distribute necessities Conflict theorists suggest future shortage will divide population into groups Those with access to resources and those with little or no access to them
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ All rights reserved. Continued Those with access will increase level of power and influence over society Those without will have diminished status Inequality will lead to conflict over resources, power, influence, and social standing Social problems of this nature occurred throughout history Growing population increases likelihood of similar conflicts occurring in near future
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ All rights reserved. Symbolic Interactionism Symbolic interactionists examine how society affects growth of the population By examining culture of society, hope to gain better understanding of causes of population growth Society’s overall feelings about children can have impact on size of the population Also changes in male and female roles
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ All rights reserved. Continued Study how attitudes regarding the following can alter development of a population Marriage Use of birth control Increased education of women And other shifts in culture