The Study of Populations – And Why We Help Demography The Study of Populations – And Why We Help

Demography – What We Study Birth rates, death rates, growth rates, doubling times, literacy rates, access to technology and fresh water, communication, education levels Why? What are we able to predict by looking at these things?

The Demographic Transition Model Shows that populations do not keep getting larger forever (we can only pray) Demonstrates the relative stages that a population will go through in it’s growth process Depends completely on technological, economic and cultural changes

Demographic Transition Model Stage 1 Stage 2 High birth and death rates Low pop. growth Low life expectancy High birth rate but low death rate Rapid pop. growth Start of better nutrition, medical knowledge, sanitary practises

Demographic Transition Model Stage 3 Stage 4 Low death rates, slowing birth rates Slowing of growth Social programs, urbanization decrease need for large families Low birth and death rates Very low pop. growth Improved access as stage 3, more social equality

Demographic Transition Model Stage 5 Birth rate drops below the death rate Shrinking population Puts less strain on the natural environment, but risks culture and language as people born in the country decrease

Population Pyramids – Focusing on Trends in Populations Are charts which break down populations into age categories, usually of 4 or 5 years Often used to look at a stage of development for a country, and predict future problems Four major types – Early expanding, expanding, stable, declining

Population Pyramids – Early Expanding Early expanding populations usually have a significantly greater portion of the population below the age of 20 and have a wide, downward curving base Few citizens have regular access to health services or education, country is just starting to grow economically

Population Pyramids - Expanding Expanding population pyramids usually have much wider bases than tips, but as birth and death rates are lowered, the base isn’t nearly as wide as on an early expanding pyramid Citizens have more access to health and education services, which helps reduce the number of births, but also brings down the high death rates found at the early expanding stage

Population Pyramids – Stable populations Usually found in countries that have finished their development and have a stable economy Top tapers off gently and the rest of the age categories are fairly evenly distributed Citizens have access to a wide range of education, healthcare, and social services, greatly decreasing birth and death rates

Stable population pyramid here

Population Pyramids - Declining Has a wider middle and upper portion than base Usually found in countries where the economy has been stable and developed for many years Most citizens are literate, have access to both healthcare and education, as well as other social services; trend towards urbanization leads to smaller families, thus resulting in very low birth rates; most growth comes from immigration

Population Studies - Organizations Canadian International Development Agency Official Development Assistance Canada Fund for Africa La Francophonie

Population Studies - Organizations Main focuses CIDA – Human needs, women’s rights, infrastructure services, human rights, democracy, environment, private sector Social Focuses – Education, health and nutrition, HIV/AIDS, child protection

Population Studies – Why bother? The UN publishes a report yearly on the state of development around the world, ranking countries according to their development in certain human areas (ie. Literacy, women and children’s right, education levels etc.) Why do we bother?

Environmental Issues

Agricultural Damage Creation of farmland destroys natural habitat Certain chemicals/pesticides/herbicides can affect local water supplies Also hurt animals Use up nutrients in the soil GMFs – not sure what the long term out comes could be

Water Damage Pollution destroying water supplies, natural habitats Many natural underground formations that make pure, clean water are being affected; digging wells too deep, using up too much water Affected by: farm waste, mining waste, industry waste Leads to the spread of disease in developing nations

Air Pollution Leads to poor air quality Ozone depletion – UV rays, heating up of many climates Greenhouse effect – make things too warm, potential to melt polar ice caps, change weather patterns Kyoto Protocol – an attempt by some developed nations to reduce harmful emissions

Developing Nations and the Environment Many products and processes to keep environment clean are too expensive Lack clean water and sanitation – populations have other concerns Gov’ts unwilling to punish those who are damaging the environment A “if you did it, so can we” attitude