Geo Factsheet: How Do Countries Achieve Optimum Populations?
Geo Factsheet: How Do Countries Achieve Optimum Populations?
Geo Factsheet: How Do Countries Achieve Optimum Populations?
1,300
1
How Do Countries Achieve Optimum Populations? Geo Factsheet
Population Control The slogan “Development is the best contraceptive” has lost some of its impact; in many countries
such as Africa real increases in income per capita show no correlation with birth rates or the family’s
Case Studies In Asia perceptions of ideal family size. Higher levels of education, particularly of women, do seem to be
Many countries in South East Asia have positively linked not only with declining fertility (See Fig 2a and b) but with declining mortality
adopted ambitious population programmes rates and a general increase in health. Increasing the educational level of women has proved to be
since the 1960s. extremely effective in improving reproductive health as education helps rural women to move away
from traditional roles into paid work. Further children are then seen as a threat to this freedom and
In 1966 Singapore established a five-year as a cost in terms of the potential earnings lost.
rolling programme of measures actively
promoting the two-child family norm. Fig 2a. Variations of Fertility Rate Fig 2b. Percentage of Women Who
Contraceptives were widely distributed and
abortion and sterilisation were legalised. with Female Literacy (1990) Practise Contraception (Selected
Sterilisation was promoted as the most effective developing countries)
contraceptive method for those who had
completed their families. Delivery charges in
government hospitals were graduated according
1234
(births per woman, total fertility rate)
14,000
123
123123
12,000
In the Philippines the government introduced
123123
123123
10,000
widespread legislation to encourage families to
8,000 123123123
123123123
have fewer children. Income tax reductions
were limited to the first four children, paid 6,000
123123123123
maternity leave was abolished after the fourth 123123123123
child and couples using contraceptives were 4,000
123123123123123
1212123123123123123
rewarded with lower interest rates on rural bank
loans for any kind of agricultural development.
2,000
1231231212123123123123123
0
From the year 2000 half a million women will Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep
be added annually to the cohort of reproductive 1992 Demographic features: (month)
age. Inter-communal family planning centres,
communal health clinics and women-status Madhya Pradesh
improvement programmes are all aimed to
overcome this potential threat. Couples who
agreed to undergo IUD insertion were exempted Population Density Female per Female Mean age at
from the normally requisite month per year of (m) 1000 males literacy rate marriage
corvee labour. Violations of such family
State: Madhya Pradesh 66.1 149 932 23.2 16.6
planning policies resulted in loss of bonuses and
family allowances. National Average 844 267 929 39.4 18.3
2
How Do Countries Achieve Optimum Populations? Geo Factsheet
^ k Deforestation
^
^ ^
^
^
production
^ kCultivation of
^
Negative
feedbac
k
“Increasing population leads to environmental degradation which limits further population growth”
Exam hint - Wherever possible,
Boserupians (after Ester Boserup, a Danish economist) candidates should try to explain
rather than merely describe. Why
does declining land fertility lead
kTechnological to increasing deforestation?
innovation
k Population kDemand for firewood kAgricultural kFood Production
^
^
^
^ intensification
Positiv kMulticropping
e feedba
ck
“Necessity is the mother of invention”. “Increasing population drives agricultural productivity which allows further increase in population”.