Determinants of Demographic Trends PDF

DET ERM I N ANT S O F DEM OG R AP HI C T RENDS 1. Fertility – ability of an individual or couple to reproduce through normal sexual activity. Source: https://www.britannica.com/science/fertility a. Age Composition: If a country has a more youthful population, then it tends to be a leadi...

DET ERM I N ANT S O F DEM OG R AP HI C T RENDS 1. Fertility – ability of an individual or couple to reproduce through normal sexual activity. Source: https://www.britannica.com/science/fertility a. Age Composition: If a country has a more youthful population, then it tends to be a leading contributor to the world’s population growth. Many Asian countries, African and the Latin American countries fall in this category. b. Duration of Marriage: There exists a positive correlation between fertility and duration of effective marriage. For example, in India, incidence of early marriage is a common phenomenon and hence greater is the fertility rate. c. Balanced Sex Composition: The balanced sex composition is a major demographic determinant of fertility. For example, the male dominated urban centers shows low birth rate when compared to rural areas. d. Degree of Urbanization: Usually, the urban areas have lower birth rates when compared to rural areas. In urban areas, it has been observed that various socio- economic factors create ethos for lower fertility rates. e. Participation of Women in Economically Gainful Activities: It has been observed that the contribution of working women to human fertility is low when compared with the non-working females. Exposure to the outside world has made the working women to get more awakened socially and economically and thus influences their fertility behavior. Socio-cultural Determinants a. Religious Background: Almost all the religions in the world except Buddhism are opposed to the deliberate control on human fertility. But the degree of control varies with religions. For example, Kingsley Davis in his study has observed that birth rates of Muslims in India are significantly higher than that of the Hindus living in similar environments. b. Educational Level: Level of Education, particularly of girls, has been observed to have a far-reaching impact upon the fertility patterns. In fact, education in general helps in bringing down the birth rate. c. Age at Marriage: It has been widely observed that there exists an inverse correlation between birth rate and the age at the time of marriage. In Indian context, it is estimated that the birth rate can be brought down by at least one-third if all females in the country marry after attaining the age of 19. d. Traditions & Customs: It has been found that societies that allow polygamy, polyandry, loose marital ties and liberal sexual behavior are often characterized with low fertility levels due to greater incidence of venereal diseases. e. Primacy of Individuals: The status of man, woman and even the child is an important determinant of a family size. In India, the low status of women is an important factor for high fertility.  f. Government Policies: The population policies adopted by various countries have a direct bearing upon the fertility rates prevailing in those countries. For example, China’s strong population policy has helped it in bringing down its birth rate. Economic Determinants a. Income Level of Family: It has been observed that there exists a negative correlation between the income level of a family and the family size. People belonging to the middle-income group seem to apply the strictest control over the size of the family. On the other hand, among the lower income families where children are considered as a potential source of augmenting the family income, minimum restrictions are placed on the family size. b. Standard of Living: In General, the poor people from across the world exhibit high birth rates. Similarly, the rich people tend to show low birth rates. c. Dietary Habits: Studies conducted in animals shows that the higher intake of protein tends to reduce fertility. Other Causes a. Type of Family System: People living in joint family system tend to have more children. In the joint family system, the young couples receive help and support from the elders in the family to raise their children. b. Factors responsible for high fertility rates among Indian Women c. Universality of the institution of marriage: In India, marriage is considered as a necessity for women. d. Lower Age of Marriage: In India, girls are traditionally married at a very early age. This makes Indian women biologically capable of bearing more children. e. Desire for Sons: Preference for a male child is deeply ingrained in the Indian society. Birth of a son is considered important for extending the family line and for taking care of the parents in their old age. f. High IMR and CMR: High infant and child mortality rates are also an important determinant that determines the size of the family. Women bear more children in the hope that at least few of them will survive up to adulthood. g. Environmental factors: The countries with hot climate tend to have a high fertility rate when compared with countries with cold climate. Hence, India being a country with hot climate tends to have high fertility rates. h. Illiteracy: It has been observed that there is a direct link between female education and family planning. According to Census 2011, the female literacy percentage in India is just 65.46. 2. Mortality – in demographic usage, the frequency of death in a population. Source: https://www.britannica.com/science/mortality-demography The following are the basic determinants of Mortality Demographic Structure a. Age Structure: Age structure is considered as a prominent demographic factor governing the incidence of mortality. Mortality rates tend to decline as the child matures and tends to increase when a person is in the middle age. Hence, high mortality rates are observed in those countries that have a large number of people falling in the middle and old ages. b. Sex Composition: It has been found out that the Mortality rates of males and females are different due to varying resistance power of the two sexes. In case of females, the mortality rates increase due to variety of reasons like malnutrition, high maternal mortality rate, low status of women, neglect of female children etc. c. Degree of urban Development: In the historic past, it has been observed that the mortality rate in urban areas to be higher than that of the rural areas. But at the present, this gap is increasingly getting narrowed down and in some cases the positions have got reversed. In the least developed countries, urban mortality rate is found to be lower than the rural areas. But in case of the developed countries, reverse is more true. Generally, the factors like high per capita income, high literacy, and enhanced awareness about diseases have helped to lower down the mortality rate in urban areas. Social Factors a. Incidence of infanticide: The prevalence of infanticide increases the mortality rate in a society. b. Availability of medical facilities: Mortality rate has a positive correlation with the number of persons per physician. c. General conditions of nutrition, housing and sanitation, d. Literacy level of the population: Mortality rate is inversely correlated with literacy standards. e. Religious beliefs. Economic Development 1. Standard of living: Rich people tend to have balanced diet and has the capacity to avail medical facilities. Once, the medical facilities are made universally available then the inequalities in the mortality rates will decrease. Other factors Apart from the above factors, other factors like natural calamities, wars, epidemics etc. tend to cause large scale deaths. Source: https://www.gktoday.in/gk/determinants-of-population-change/ PO PUL AT I O N CH ANG E Population Change – the difference in the size of a population between the end and the beginning of a given time period (usually one year). Specifically, it is the difference in population size on 1 January of two consecutive years. Population change has two components: natural population change (the number of live births minus the number of deaths); net migration (the number of immigrants minus the number of emigrants, plus statistical adjustment – it should be noted that net migration as referred to in the context of population change statistics includes the statistical adjustments occurring in the annual balance of the population and that it serves the purpose of closing this balance). A positive population change, when the result of net migration plus live births minus deaths is positive, is referred to as population growth, a negative one is called a population decrease. The crude rate of population growth is the ratio of total population growth during the year to the average population of the area in question that year. The value is expressed per 1 000 inhabitants. Source: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics- explained/index.php/Glossary:Population_change#:~:text=Population%20change%2C% 20defined%20generally%2C%20is,period%20(usually%20one%20year).&text=Populati on%20change%20has%20two%20components,the%20number%20of%20deaths)%3B PO PUL AT I O N ST RUCT URE Population structure – means the 'make up' or composition of a population. Looking at the population structure of a place shows how the population is divided up between males and females of different age groups. Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/ztr2w6f/revision/1#:~:text=Population%20structur e%20means%20the%20'make,females%20of%20different%20age%20groups. PO PUL AT I O N DI ST RI BUT I ON Population distribution – means the pattern of where people live. World population distribution is uneven. Places which are sparsely populated contain few people. Places which are densely populated contain many people. Sparsely populated places tend to be difficult places to live. These are usually places with hostile environments e.g. Antarctica. Places which are densely populated are habitable environments e.g. Europe. Source: http://www.geography.learnontheinternet.co.uk/topics/popn1.html M EAS URES O F PO PUL AT I O N CO NT RO L 1. Social Measure: Population explosion is a social problem and it is deeply rooted in the society. So, efforts must be done to remove the social evils in the country. a. Minimum age of Marriage: As fertility depends on the age of marriage. So, the minimum age of marriage should be raised. In India minimum age for marriage is 21 years for men and 18 years for women has be fixed by law. This law should be firmly implemented and people should also be made aware of this through publicity. b. Raising the Status of Women: There is still discrimination to the women. They are confined to four walls of house. They are still confined to rearing and bearing of children. So, women should be given opportunities to develop socially and economically. Free education should be given to them. c. Spread of Education: The spread of education changes the outlook of people. The educated men prefer to delay marriage and adopt small family norms. Educated women are health conscious and avoid frequent pregnancies and thus help in lowering birth rate. d. Adoption: Some parents do not have any child, despite costly medical treatment. It is advisable that they should adopt orphan children. It will be beneficial to orphan children and children couples. e. Change in Social Outlook: Social outlook of the people should undergo a change. Marriage should no longer be considered a social binding. Issueless women should not be looked down upon. f. Social Security: More and more people should be covered under-social security schemes. So that they do not depend upon others in the event of old age, sickness, unemployment etc. with these facilities they will have no desire for more children. 2. Economic Measures: The following are the economic measures: a. More employment opportunities: The first and foremost measure is to raise, the employment avenues in rural as well as urban areas. Generally, in rural areas there is disguised unemployment. So, efforts should be made to migrate unemployed persons from rural side to urban side. This step can check the population growth. b. Development of Agriculture and Industry: If agriculture and industry are properly developed, large number of people will get employment. When their income is increased, they would improve their standard of living and adopt small family norms. c. Standard of Living: Improved standard of living acts as a deterrent to large family norm. In order to maintain their higher standard of living people prefer to have a small family. According to A.K. Das Gupta those who earn less than Rs. 100 per month have on the average a reproduction rate of 3.4 children and those who earn more than Rs. 300 per month have a reproduction rate of 2.8 children. d. Urbanization: It is on record that people in urban areas have low birth rate than those living in rural areas. Urbanization should therefore be encouraged. 3. Other Measures: The following are the other measures: a. Late Marriage: As far as possible, marriage should be solemnized at the age of 30 years. This will reduce the period of reproduction among the females bringing down the birth rate. The govt. has fixed the minimum marriage age at 21 yrs. for males and 18 yrs. for females. b. Self-Control: According to some experts, self-control is one of the powerful methods to control the population. It is an ideal and healthy approach and people should be provided to follow. It helps in reducing birth rate. c. Family Planning: This method implies family by choice and not by chance. By applying preventive measures, people can regulate birth rate. This method is being used extensively; success of this method depends on the availability of cheap contraceptive devices  for birth control. According to Chander Shekher, “Hurry for the first child, Delay the second child and avoid the third.” d. Recreational Facilities: Birth rate will likely to fall if there are different recreational facilities like cinema; theatre, sports and dance etc. are available to the people. e. Publicity: The communication media like T.V., radio and newspaper are the good means to propagate the benefits of the planned family to the uneducated and illiterate persons especially in the rural and backward areas of country. f. Incentives: The government can give various types of incentives to the people to adopt birth control measures. Monetary incentives and other facilities like leave and promotion can be extended to the working class which adopts small family norms. g. Employment to Woman: Another method to check the population is to provide employment to women. Women should be given incentive to give services in different fields. Women are taking active part in competitive examinations. As a result, their number in teaching, medical and banking etc. is increasing rapidly. In brief by taking, all these measures we can control the growth of population. Source: https://www.economicsdiscussion.net/essays/measures-to-control-population- of-india/2249