Chapter 3 - Challenges and Opportunities
Population Trends
- Fertility rates are a very effective mirror of family size because fertility rates
are defined as the average number of children that would be born per woman
if all women lived to the end of their childbearing years
- People living in more economically developed societies where infant
mortality rates are low have fewer children than families in poorer countries
where infant mortality rates are higher
- Some societies have a male children preference as males are usually made
the heir of the family. This results in some families continue to have children
until a male child is born
- In Figure 3.2 on page 106, it is showing that all countries are starting to have
a decreasing birth rate
- Males outnumber females in some parts of the world, while females
outnumber males in others, the way these situations are analyzed is by using
the sex ratio
- Sex ratio measures the number of males to very 100 females in a country or
society
- Sex ratio of births in a country compares the relative percentages of male
and female babies
- Sex ratio of the population measure the sex ratio of the population as a
whole
- Males have a higher death rate than girls because they engage in more
risky behaviours during their youth
- Their rates of smoking and alcohol consumption are higher than
females
- They engage in more hazardous occupations
- They are more likely to be killed in combat as soldiers during war and
conflicts
- Rates of male depression and suicide are higher than female rates
- Figure 3.4 on page 107 shows the sex ratios of the world
- Figure 3.9 on page 109 shows there is a general global trend towards higher
sex ratios, which means an increasing proportion of males in the world
- As average life expectancies around the world increase, the proportion of
elderly people in the population increases
- A population with a growing proportion of elderly people is said to be aging or
greying
- It is generally agreed that elderly people are defined as being 65
years of age and older
- Greying is usually most noticeable in high-income countries, and not very
noticeable in low-income countries
- Figure 3.10 and 3.11 o n page 110 shows the global greying population and
the trend of growing elderly population
- Consequences of aging population
- Aging population caused an increase in dependency ratio
- Placing financial pressures on both the active workforce and
governments that must find sufficient revenue to cover expenditure
- Grey economy may emerge
Population Trends
- Fertility rates are a very effective mirror of family size because fertility rates
are defined as the average number of children that would be born per woman
if all women lived to the end of their childbearing years
- People living in more economically developed societies where infant
mortality rates are low have fewer children than families in poorer countries
where infant mortality rates are higher
- Some societies have a male children preference as males are usually made
the heir of the family. This results in some families continue to have children
until a male child is born
- In Figure 3.2 on page 106, it is showing that all countries are starting to have
a decreasing birth rate
- Males outnumber females in some parts of the world, while females
outnumber males in others, the way these situations are analyzed is by using
the sex ratio
- Sex ratio measures the number of males to very 100 females in a country or
society
- Sex ratio of births in a country compares the relative percentages of male
and female babies
- Sex ratio of the population measure the sex ratio of the population as a
whole
- Males have a higher death rate than girls because they engage in more
risky behaviours during their youth
- Their rates of smoking and alcohol consumption are higher than
females
- They engage in more hazardous occupations
- They are more likely to be killed in combat as soldiers during war and
conflicts
- Rates of male depression and suicide are higher than female rates
- Figure 3.4 on page 107 shows the sex ratios of the world
- Figure 3.9 on page 109 shows there is a general global trend towards higher
sex ratios, which means an increasing proportion of males in the world
- As average life expectancies around the world increase, the proportion of
elderly people in the population increases
- A population with a growing proportion of elderly people is said to be aging or
greying
- It is generally agreed that elderly people are defined as being 65
years of age and older
- Greying is usually most noticeable in high-income countries, and not very
noticeable in low-income countries
- Figure 3.10 and 3.11 o n page 110 shows the global greying population and
the trend of growing elderly population
- Consequences of aging population
- Aging population caused an increase in dependency ratio
- Placing financial pressures on both the active workforce and
governments that must find sufficient revenue to cover expenditure
- Grey economy may emerge
