Human population Issues
Human population Issues
• Population Trends and Implications
– Biological Factors
– Social Factors
– Political Factors
• Population Growth - Standard of Living
• Population and Poverty
– Hunger and Food
• Demographic Transition
• United States Population Picture
• Immigration
World Population Characteristics
• The world can be divided into two segments based on economic development.
– More-developed countries typically have per capita income exceeding $10,000.
• Expected to grow 4% by 2050.
– Less-developed countries typically have a per capita income less than $5,000.
• Expected to grow 55% by 2050.
• Increase to 8 billion.
Human population Trends and implications
• Largest population increase expected in poor, underdeveloped countries.
– Population density relates the size of the population to available resources.
• Countries with abundant resources can sustain higher population densities than resource-poor countries.
• Generally believed the quality of life for many people in the world would improve if the population grew at a slower rate.
• Several factors determine the impact of a society on natural resources.
– Natural Resource Availability
– Size of Population
– Land Area Occupied
– Degree of Technological Development
• Affluence affects resource use.
Factors that influence Population Growth
• Biological Factors
– Demography - Study of populations and their characteristics.
❖ Birth rate usually exceeds death rate.
➢ Size of population must increase.
❖ More-developed countries typically have low infant mortality rates, while less-developed countries have higher mortality rates.
Biological Factors
• Total Fertility Rate (TFR) - Number of children a woman has during her lifetime.
• Replacement Level Fertility - Number of children needed to replace everyone in the population.
– Varies between regions (2.1).
• Zero Population Growth - Birth rate equals death rate.
• Age Distribution - Number of people of each age in the population.
Social Factors
• Reducing fertility rates would be advantageous, especially in LDC’s.
– Not everyone agrees.
• Major social factor determining family size is the role of women in society.
– In male dominated cultures, traditional role of women is to marry and raise children.
• Lack of education opportunities for women reduces their options.
– When level of education increases, fertility rates fall.
• Financial independence leads to marriage later in life.
• Increased use of birth control.
• Early marriages foster high fertility rates.
– In Africa, 17% of births are to women in the 15-19 year-old range.
• Total Fertility Rate of 5.3%
• Breast Feeding
– During the months a woman is breast feeding, she is less likely to become pregnant again.
• Some cultures (women) desire large families:
– Future Pension
– Young children can bring in income.
• Underdeveloped world - children are an economic gain.
• Developed world - children are an economic drain.
Political Factors
• Governments can either reward or punish high fertility rates.
– Several European countries are concerned about low birth rates.
❖ Polices to encourage children.
➢ Funded Maternity Leave
➢ Childcare Facilities
➢ Child Tax Deductions
• Most developing countries are concerned that population growth is too rapid.
– Programs to limit growth:
❖ Family Planning
❖ Delay Age of First Marriage
❖ One-Child Policy
• Immigration Policies
– Birthrates are so low in some countries, that immigration is encouraged to offset a potential decline in the number of working-age citizens.
– Developed countries are under intense pressure to accept immigrants.
❖ Standard of Living
Population Growth and Standard of Living
• Appears to be an inverse relationship between a country’s growth rate and its average standard of living.
• Standard of living difficult to quantify since various cultures have different desires.
– Economic Well-Being
– Health Conditions
– Social Status and Mobility
• Gross National Income (GNI) - Index measuring total goods and services generated by citizens of a country.
– Gross National Income Purchasing Power Parity (GNIPPP) used to account for varying prices of goods and services between countries.
Population and Poverty - A Viscous Cycle
• Poor People:
– Cannot afford birth control.
– Need multiple avenues to obtain money.
– Have little access to health care.
• Women in poor countries are usually poorly educated and are monetarily dependent on husbands.
– High infant mortality rates spur desire for large numbers of offspring.
• Potential solutions to breaking the cycle:
– Economic well-being is tied to solving population problem.
• Rich countries must reduce consumption rates.
– Educational status of women must be promoted.
– Increased access to birth control and heath care.
Hunger, Food Production and Environmental Degradation
• As human population grows so does the demand for food.
– Most people in developed countries must purchase their own food.
– Most people in less-developed countries must grow their own food.
• Human populations can only increase in size if other plant and animal populations decrease in size.
• People in less-developed countries generally feed at lower trophic levels than those in developed world.
– Long-term environmental health may be sacrificed for short-term population needs.
• Many people in more-developed countries suffer from overnutrition.
– 55% of North Americans are overweight, and 25% are obese.
Population and Trophic Levels[pic]
Hunger, Food Production and Environmental Degradation
• Humanitarian Food Aid
– Temporary relief of symptoms.
– Works against self-reliance.
– Emphasis must be on self-sufficiency.
Demographic Transition
• Demographic Transition - Model of population growth based on historical, social, and economic development, of Europe and N. America.
– Stable Pop. (high birth and death rates)
– Death Rate Falls - Population Grows
– Industrialization - Birth Rate Falls
– Death Rates and Birth Rates Equilibrate
[pic]
• Comfortable - This is a comfortable model, because it suggests industrialization will naturally lead to population stabilization.
– Problem - Can a model developed in Europe and N. America be applied to less-developed countries ?
• Resources are no longer abundant.
• Human population is growing much faster than before.
United States Population Picture
• United States population had a post-war baby boom period, significantly affecting population trends.
– 1947 - 1961
❖ Created population bulge.
➢ As members of this group have raised families, they have had a significant influence on U.S. population growth and trends.
Changing Age Distribution of U.S. Population
[pic]
Baby Boomers
• Baby Boomers encouraged growth of industries needed by young families.
– Today these babies are having babies of their own.
• People are now living longer.
– Growing need now for services for the elderly.
Immigration
• U.S. population is still growing 1.1% per year.
– 0.6% natural increase
– 0.5% immigration
❖ Immigration projected to be 50% of population growth by 2050.
• Immigration policy sends mixed signals:
– Strong measures used to reduce illegal immigration across southern borders.
– Illegal immigrants add to state education and health care costs.
– Some segments of U.S. economy heavily use immigrant workers.
– U.S. policy allows reuniting families of U.S. residents.
Likely Consequences of Continued Population Growth
• Differences in standard of living between developed and less-developed countries will remain significant.
– Largest population increase will be in less-developed countries.
• Developed countries may have to choose:
– Helping developing nations.
– Allowing increased immigration from less-developed nations.
– Isolation from problems of developing nations.
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