Population Demographics

World Population Demographics

The purpose of this blog was to learn more about populations all over the world, compare and contrast different aspects of information, and make generalizations about countries based off of this information.

“In a sexually reproducing population, the population biologist needs to know the average number of births per female for each age class.  In practice, the ecologist counts the number of eggs produced by birds or reptiles, or the number of fawns produced by deer.  The number of offspring produced by parents of different ages are then tabulated.  The tabulation of birthrates for females of different ages in a population is called a fecundity schedule” (Molles, 236).

The book then goes on to talk about how with the information in a fecundity schedule and the information in a life table, several important characteristics of a population can be discovered.  One of the most important is whether or not the population is increasing or decreasing.  This goes along with the statistics we looked at while doing the activity. To figure out if a population is increasing or decreasing, you need to compare the birth rate with the death rate.  In the case of Israel, the birth rate is 20, while the death rate is only 5.  Clearly this population is increasing.

“Sweden has an age distribution that is approximately the same width near its base as it is higher up.  This indicates that the individuals in the population are producing jut enough offspring to approximately replace losses due to death.  Compare this distribution with that of Hungary.  The age distribution of Hungary’s population is much narrower at its base, which indicates a declining population.  In contrast, the very broad base of Rwanda’s population indicates a rapidly growing population” (Molles, 259).

It is very interesting that just by looking at a population pyramid, you can tell whether or not a population is growing or declining.  In the case of Israel, it’s population pyramid’s base is very wide, so you can tell that its population is increasing because more babies are being born before the older people die.  In Vietnam’s pyramid, its base is quite wide, but not as wide as the middle ages of the chart.  That shows that there are less younger people, and that the population is increasing, just at a slower rate.

Use the World Population Data Sheet for 2010 to answer the following questions:

1. China and India have the largest populations in the world. Which of these two countries adds more people to its population annually? [Calculate the numbers added by applying the rate of natural increase to the population of each country. Hint: the rate is a percent]

For this question, I took the total population in 2010 for each of the countries and multiplied that number by the rate of natural increase.  Then I subtracted the number I got from the total population, and that gave me the amount of people the population increases by each year.

Country	Number of people added annually
China	669,400
India	594,400

1. What proportion of the world’s people live the following continents/regions and what are the projected proportions by 2025 and 2050?

To find these numbers, I found the percent of each region by dividing the total population of the region by the population of the world to find 2010. Then I multiplied the projected populations in millions by the rate of natural increase to find the other years.

Continent	% living today	% by 2025	% by 2050
Asia	60.3%	59.6%	57.2%
North America	5.1%	5.0%	4.9%
Latin America	8.5%	8.4%	8.0%
Europe	10.6%	9.1%	7.6%
Oceania	.5%	.5%	.6%

 

What trends are reflected in the bar chart?

This bar graph shows the viewer the percentage of the world’s population in each continent.  It is clear from looking at the graph which regions of the world are home to the most people.  Asia currently and probably always will be called home by the largest percentage of people in the world, as you can see from the map.  North America, Latin America and Europe are pretty equal and will stay that way throughout the next 40 years, and probably forever, and Oceania will most likely always have the lowest population percentage unless there are drastic changes there that will allow more people to survive.

3.    What proportion of the world’s people live in less developed countries (LDCs) and in more developed countries (MDCs) today? What proportion is projected to live in LDCs  and MDCs in 2025 and in 2050?

For this question, I took the total population of the world in 2010 and multiplied that by the rate of natural increase.  Then for the other years, I did the same.

Countries	% of world’s population today	% of world’s population in 2025	% of world’s population in 2050
LDCs	82.1%	84.1%	86.02%
MDCs	17.9%	15.9%	13.9%

The economic implications of changing the proportions of the world’s people in the most and lesser-developed countries would have interesting, possibly dangerous side affects.  If 80% of the world’s population lived in the most developed countries rather than the lesser, way more resources would be necessary to support that massive population.  Instead, 80% of the world population lives in lesser-developed countries and those people do not require such high standards of living, money or resources (not saying that is a good thing, just saying that is how it is because of the fact that they live in underdeveloped countries.)  The social implications would be interesting as well.  Imagine having a bunch of tribal Africans or Polynesians who all speak their own dialect of a common language, or their own language all together, trying to get together in a UN type of conference, for example, to solve major world issues.  This outcome would only be if the roles of more developed and lesser-developed countries as a whole were switched completely.  Interesting.

4.    Examine the crude birth rate, crude death rate, and rate of natural increase of any three countries (one being your own country) listed on the World Population Data Sheet.

For this question, I just looked up the information given in the data sheet.

Country	Crude birth rate (%)	Crude death rate (%)	Rate of natural increase (%)
USA	1.4	.8	.6
Tanzania	4.2	1.2	3.0
Greece	1.1	1.0	.1

Discuss with your group partner the mathematical relationship among these      three rates.   Record your observations.

When you think about these numbers and then look at the population percentages of these places in comparison to the rest of the world, now and in 15 and 40 years, it makes perfect sense.  Africa as a whole, Tanzania included, has a much higher population percentage than North America and Europe.  So it fits into the big picture that the crude birth rate is so high, while the death rate is so low.  For Greece, it is about equal, and that is why Europe’s population is relatively stable for now.

1. Select 2 LDCs and 2 MDCs from the data sheet and compute the age-dependency ratios for each.

For this question, I just used the equation given and plugged in the numbers of the countries I picked and then did the math and got the age dependency ratio.

Country	Age-dependency ratio
LCD1 Madagascar	5.6
LCD2 Ethiopia	6.0
MDC1 USA	19.4
MCD2 Germany	30.9

Discuss with your partner the implications of your observations:

o      What factors do you think contribute to a high age-dependency ratio?

The main factor that contributes to a high age-dependency ratio is how developed a country is.  The more developed it is, the longer the population there is going to live, and visa versa. Also, how developed a country is has an impact on life expectancy because the more developed countries have more resources and technology to keep people alive longer.  That is why Germany’s age-dependency rate is so high, while the African countries are lower.

o      What are some economic and social consequences of a high age-dependency ratio?

o      Some economic consequences of a high age-dependency rate are that the non-dependent people need to support the dependent people.  This support comes from the non-dependent people usually.

 

1.    From the following table select one country from each column (two countries) from for your case.

Column A	Column B
United Kingdom	Bangladesh
France	Macedonia, FYROM
Germany	Egypt
Israel	Ethiopia
Japan	Albania
New Zealand	Thailand
Russia	Turkey
Greece	Vietnam

 

ISRAEL:

Demographic Indicators	Value
Total midyear population(in thousands)	7,354
Birth Rate (per 1,000)	20
Death Rate (per 1,000)	5
Natural Increase (%)	1.6
Infant Mortality Rate (per 1,000 births)	4
Total Fertility Rate	2.7
Total Fertility Rate	2.7
Life Expectancy at Birth for males	79
Life Expectancy at Birth for females	83
Population <15 yrs. (%) / >65 yrs. (%) (from World Population Data Sheet)	28%/10%
GNP/capita (US $)  (from World Population Data Sheet)	$27,450

Table 2. Demographic indicators for one of the countries selected.

The population pyramid for Israel.  This chart shows the breakdown of the countries population by age and gender.

VIETNAM

Demographic Indicators	Value
Total midyear population(in thousands)	89,571
Birth Rate (per 1,000)	1,549
Death Rate (per 1,000)	535
Natural Increase (%)	1.2
Infant Mortality Rate (per 1,000 births)	22
Total Fertility Rate	1.9
Total Fertility Rate	1.9
Life Expectancy at Birth for males	72
Life Expectancy at Birth for females	76
Population <15 yrs. (%) / >65 yrs. (%) (from World Population Data Sheet)	25%/8%
GNP/capita (US $)  (from World Population Data Sheet)	2,700

Table 23. Demographic indicators for the second country selected.

Select “Population Pyramids” from the menu at the top of the web page.

You have constructed an age-sex pyramid. Copy and paste this pyramid below:

The population pyramid for Vietnam.  This chart shows the breakdown of the countries population by age and gender.

Compare the demographic indicators from the two countries. What generalizations can be made concerning demographic indicators and level of development? [for example, if the birth rate is high, then the level of development is…]. Form at least two generalizations that are supported by the pyramids and data charts.

One major population factor I noticed was the birth rate.  For Israel, it is just 20, while for Vietnam, it is 1,549.  That is clearly why Vietnam’s population is so much larger than Israel, and that paired with much lower death rates is the reason their populations are the size they are, and the reason Vietnam’s is so large.  These statistics can be used to look into how developed the country is.  For example, Israel is a much more developed country and has a lot less people, while Vietnam is much less developed and has a much higher population.  Another statistic in the pyramid that is important in determining whether or not a country is highly developed or not is the GDP per capita.  Without knowing any background on the countries, a person would be able to make a general statement about each.  Israel’s GDP per capita is $27,450, while Vietnam’s is only $2,700.

Molles, M.C. (2010). Ecology. Concepts and Applications. 5th Ed. NY: McGraw-Hill.