Contemporary (Final Term) - 5
Contemporary (Final Term) - 5
Contemporary (Final Term) - 5
GLOBAL DEMOGRAPHY
■ Concept
Demography
: ‘demos’ which means people, and ‘graphy’, which
means science.
: is the statistical study of human populations.
: it examines the size, structure, and movements of
populations over space and time.
: It uses methods from history, economics, anthropology,
sociology, and other fields.
(National Geography, Demography, available at https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/demography/ accessed date Nov. 2, 2023)
• The current population of the Philippines is 117,981,923 as of Sunday, November 12, 2023, based on
Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations data
• The Philippines population is equivalent to 1.46% of the total world population (8,045,311,447)
• The total land area is 298,170 Km2 (115,124 sq. miles)
• Life Expectancy: 72.3; Females- 74.3, and Males- 70.3
The Perils of Overpopulation
❖ Population and Economic Welfare
■ Economics – It is a social science concerned chiefly with description and analysis of the
production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services (https://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/economics) ;
– - It’s the study of scarcity, the study of how people use resources and respond
to incentives, or the study of decision-making. (https://www.aeaweb.org/resources/students/what-is-
economics)
– - is a social science that examines how people choose among the alternatives
available to them. It is social because it involves people and their behavior. It is a
science because it uses, as much as possible, a scientific approach in its
investigation of choices. (https://open.lib.umn.edu/principleseconomics/chapter/1-1-defining-economics/)
■ Economic Well-being - Well-being includes intangible aspects that cannot be traded in a
market, such as happiness, trust, and bio-diversity. (International Monetary Fund, MEASURING ECONOMIC WELFARE: WHAT AND
HOW?, p. 8 , May 2020 )
■ Economic Welfare - It is the part of well-being having to do with broadly-defined current and
lifetime consumption and the resources that enable the consumption (income, comprehensive
wealth, and households’ time endowment).
■ Overpopulation- It is a human population in numbers high enough to cause environmental
deterioration, impaired quality of life, or population crash. ( Brown, Erin, A Brief on Overpopulation – Why it Matters and What
You Can Do About It, available at https://mahb.stanford.edu/blog/a-brief-on-overpopulation-why-it-matters-and-what-you-can-do-about-it/, April 4, 2023)
❖ Population Growth and Food Security
• Food Security- when all people, at all times, have physical and economic
access to sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs
and food preferences for an active and healthy life. ( The World Bank, What is Food Security? Available at
https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/agriculture/brief/food-security-update/what-is-food-security accessed date Nov. 2, 2023)
1) Physical availability of food: Food availability addresses the “supply side” of food security and
is determined by the level of food production, stock levels and net trade.
2) Economic and physical access to food: An adequate supply of food at the national or
international level does not in itself guarantee household level food security. Concerns about
insufficient food access have resulted in a greater policy focus on incomes, expenditure,
markets and prices in achieving food security objectives.
3) Food utilization: Utilization is commonly understood as the way the body makes the most of
various nutrients in the food. Sufficient energy and nutrient intake by individuals are the
result of good care and feeding practices, food preparation, diversity of the diet and intra-
household distribution of food. Combined with good biological utilization of food consumed,
this determines the nutritional status of individuals.
4) Stability of the other three dimensions over time: Even if your food intake is adequate today,
you are still considered to be food insecure if you have inadequate access to food on a
periodic basis, risking a deterioration of your nutritional status. Adverse weather conditions,
political instability, or economic factors (unemployment, rising food prices) may have an
impact on your food security status.
❖ Effects of Overpopulation
1. Animal Extinctions
2. Climate change and global warming
3. Land, water, and air pollution
4. Food Shortage
5. Diseases
6. Depletion of Finite sources
7. Territorial Conflict
8. Unemployment
❖ Possible solutions
1. Support Education for Women and Girls
2. Support Initiatives that Provide Education and Access to Family Planning
3. Invest in and Support Responsible and Innovative Agriculture
4. Consume Less, Consume Better and Choose Sustainable Sources
5. Choose Renewable Energy Resources
6. Actively Participate in Reducing Waste and Pollution
Ageing Population
■ It is a term used to describe the situation where the
average age (median age) of the citizens of a
country increases as a result of longer life
expectancy of its citizens or a reduction in the
number of births per annum.
■ An ageing population is one where the proportion of
older people is increasing.
■ This is also known as ‘demographic ageing’ and
‘population ageing’.
■ Population ageing is a result of people living longer
and having fewer children.
(7 graphics that explain: What is an ‘ageing population’? at https://www.aetnainternational.com/en/about-us/explore/future-health/ageing-population-graphics.html accessed date Nov. 11, 2023)
Why do populations age?
(7 graphics that explain: What is an ‘ageing population’? at https://www.aetnainternational.com/en/about-us/explore/future-health/ageing-population-
graphics.html accessed date Nov. 11, 2023)
Factors that can impact population age distribution include:
■ Life expectancy increases due to improved lifestyle (diet, exercise, not-smoking) and
importantly, access to quality health care — drugs, treatments, expertise, surgical
procedures, technology.
■ Birth rate decline itself is driven by a number of factors:
1. Improved availability, education and effectiveness of contraceptive measures
2. The rising costs of living influencing people’s decisions whether to have
children and how many
3. Increasing number of women working
4. Changing social attitudes (for example acceptance of alternative lifestyles,
including choosing not to have children)
5. The rise of individualism
■ Lack of inward migration (fewer younger people and families moving to a given
country, thereby reducing the average age)
Which countries have ageing populations?
Advantage Disadvantage
1. Providing family support and care 1. Social exclusion, reduced wellbeing and
2. Providing assistance to individuals of all ages. significant health problems.
3. One of the results of successful public health 2. Rising Healthcare Costs
interventions. 3. Economic Slowdown
4. More time to spend with loved ones.
5. Seniors still have an opportunity to pursue their
dreams.
6. Cost savings associated with having to cater to
fewer children and young people in the economy.
What can be done?
1. Phased-in retirement, fiscal sustainability, and well-being.
2. Promoting and rewarding volunteering, care, and artistic work among the elderly.
3. Providing incentives/aid to families with newborn children.