Country's Growth Rates
Reasons for High/Low Growth Rates
Different countries have very different population growth rates. High and low growth rates are affected by various factors, physical, economic, and cultural. It is important to understand these patterns in order to better provide solutions to overpopulation and to understand how different cultures view this topic.
There are many factors that affect how many people live in a certain country. Some of these factors can be traced back to the Earth’s geography. Early civilizations developed around river valleys, where land was fertile and transportation up and down the river was easy. In modern times, people don’t need to rely so heavily on natural systems to fertilize land and aid in transportation, however, there are still natural factors that can affect human population size. For example, if a country has large tracts of flat land that’s easy to build on, it tends to have a larger population compared to countries with less land or mountainous terrain. Also, countries with abundant natural resources typically can support more people than one without. There are always exceptions to the rules, but these characteristics usually mean a larger population or greater population density.
Population growth rates are also greatly affected by the fertility rate: the average number of children a woman has. This differs greatly in various countries. In developing countries such as in Africa and the Middle East, they are as high as five or more, while in industrialized regions, especially in Europe, Australia, Canada, or Japan, they have fallen to below the replacement rate, around 2.1 children per woman. In much of Asia and South America, it lies between 2 and 2.9. However, fertility rates have been falling overall. As females become more educated and enter the labor force, the wage increase is correlated with a lower fertility rate, while increase in the male’s relative income causes a rise in fertility. As a country’s population becomes more urbanized and women are more highly educated, females have much fewer children. Religion also plays a role in fertility rates. Greater religious observance tends to go along with higher marriage and lower divorce rates, leading to higher fertility rates. A third factor in this is contraceptive use. Methods of contraception have become more reliable, and rates of use have increased also. Again, more urbanized countries have lower fertility rates since contraceptive use is higher and access is easier. These factors are important in the differences in fertility rates and consequently population growth rates across the globe - we see falling rates of fertility in general, with developing countries having larger fertility rates. An important consequence of this is that population growth is likely to continue falling with the fertility rates as well.
Wars are cause major changes in population. Syria is recorded to have a population growth rate of a low of -3.1% in 2014. A for such a low growth rate is caused by the Syrian Civil War, which has had over 480,000+ deaths, as well as around 11 million refugees that fled since the outbreak of war. From 2015-2016 the population rate of Syria was -1.6%. Ukraine has a population growth rate of -0.3%. The population has been on a steady decrease since 1991. Ukraine has a birthrate that is very well below replacement level, the life expectancy is lower than in wealthier countries with low fertility, and mortality rates are high, especially those areas bordering Russia. Also, many people have migrated out due to “political reasons”. According to the UN, Bahrain (a country in the middle east) currently has the highest rate of population growth of 3.8% from 2015-2016. Other countries with high population growth rates are the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has population growth rate of 3.3% from 2015-2016, and Angola, which has population growth rate of 3.4% from 2015-2016. The US growth rate is 0.7%, with a birth rate that has averaged steadily of 2 children per woman. The population still increases, some of which can be attributed to refugees and immigrants. Trends that show that developing countries usually have higher birthrates than developed countries. Reasons for that include economic weakness that make it more difficult to acquire contraceptives or abortions, as well as the other above mentioned factors.
There are many factors that affect how many people live in a certain country. Some of these factors can be traced back to the Earth’s geography. Early civilizations developed around river valleys, where land was fertile and transportation up and down the river was easy. In modern times, people don’t need to rely so heavily on natural systems to fertilize land and aid in transportation, however, there are still natural factors that can affect human population size. For example, if a country has large tracts of flat land that’s easy to build on, it tends to have a larger population compared to countries with less land or mountainous terrain. Also, countries with abundant natural resources typically can support more people than one without. There are always exceptions to the rules, but these characteristics usually mean a larger population or greater population density.
Population growth rates are also greatly affected by the fertility rate: the average number of children a woman has. This differs greatly in various countries. In developing countries such as in Africa and the Middle East, they are as high as five or more, while in industrialized regions, especially in Europe, Australia, Canada, or Japan, they have fallen to below the replacement rate, around 2.1 children per woman. In much of Asia and South America, it lies between 2 and 2.9. However, fertility rates have been falling overall. As females become more educated and enter the labor force, the wage increase is correlated with a lower fertility rate, while increase in the male’s relative income causes a rise in fertility. As a country’s population becomes more urbanized and women are more highly educated, females have much fewer children. Religion also plays a role in fertility rates. Greater religious observance tends to go along with higher marriage and lower divorce rates, leading to higher fertility rates. A third factor in this is contraceptive use. Methods of contraception have become more reliable, and rates of use have increased also. Again, more urbanized countries have lower fertility rates since contraceptive use is higher and access is easier. These factors are important in the differences in fertility rates and consequently population growth rates across the globe - we see falling rates of fertility in general, with developing countries having larger fertility rates. An important consequence of this is that population growth is likely to continue falling with the fertility rates as well.
Wars are cause major changes in population. Syria is recorded to have a population growth rate of a low of -3.1% in 2014. A for such a low growth rate is caused by the Syrian Civil War, which has had over 480,000+ deaths, as well as around 11 million refugees that fled since the outbreak of war. From 2015-2016 the population rate of Syria was -1.6%. Ukraine has a population growth rate of -0.3%. The population has been on a steady decrease since 1991. Ukraine has a birthrate that is very well below replacement level, the life expectancy is lower than in wealthier countries with low fertility, and mortality rates are high, especially those areas bordering Russia. Also, many people have migrated out due to “political reasons”. According to the UN, Bahrain (a country in the middle east) currently has the highest rate of population growth of 3.8% from 2015-2016. Other countries with high population growth rates are the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has population growth rate of 3.3% from 2015-2016, and Angola, which has population growth rate of 3.4% from 2015-2016. The US growth rate is 0.7%, with a birth rate that has averaged steadily of 2 children per woman. The population still increases, some of which can be attributed to refugees and immigrants. Trends that show that developing countries usually have higher birthrates than developed countries. Reasons for that include economic weakness that make it more difficult to acquire contraceptives or abortions, as well as the other above mentioned factors.