5.3 Population explosion in India

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• Middelbare school
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• Leerjaar 1

5.3 Population explosion in India

Learning objectives:

After studying this section, you will be able to:

• Describe what the population diagram of India looks like, and explain why it looks this way;
  
• Explain the rapid population growth in India and other LEDCs.

India’s population

• More than 1.3 billion inhabitants

• 75x more than the Netherlands

• In 2022 India is expected to exceed the population of China

India’s population

India has a young population.

Downsides of a young population:

• All children need food and water; 
• They all have to go to school;
• They will all need to find a job in the upcoming years.

Family planning

To solve these problems, India tries to limit the number of births, by forms of birth control  = a method of reducing the chance of becoming pregnant, by using condoms or the pill.

A high birth rate

• India's birth rate of 20‰ is lower than most African countries, but definitely higher than birth rates in MEDCs. 
• LEDCs have a high fertility rate, which is the number of births a woman is expected to have in her life.
• There are big differences between the city and the countryside. 
• In fact, the more developed a country or region is, the lower the birth rate.
  

A high birth rate

People in less developed places have more children because:

• Children can help taking care of the family, by starting to work at an early age or helping on the farm 
• Women have no knowledge of birth control, or access to this 
• There is social encouragement to have babies at a young age.

Talking point

China decided to limit births by a law, instead of education. Between 1979 and 2015, people were only allowed to have one child. Should other LEDCs follow this strategy, or find other ways of limiting births?

Family planning

Speaking about preventing pregnancy, you generally sum up the possibilities, talking about condoms and the pill, etc. There are words that cover all methods: birth control or contraception. If you use one of these words, people understand you’re talking about all possibilities to prevent a baby being born.

A declining death rate

Reasons for a declining death rate: 

• More medical knowledge.
• Better hygiene standards.

As a result there is a decrease in the rate of infant mortality: From 96‰ to  30‰. However, this is still is a high number (E.g. Netherlands 3‰).

The doubling time for India, which is the time taken to double a population, is only 58 years. This means India will have more than 2.6 billion inhabitants in your lifetime!

How are other LEDCs doing?

• India is inbetween South American and African countries.
• African populations are growing so fast, that it is difficult for authorities to keep up with the speed. 
• Many countries in Africa have a doubling time of less than 40 years and a fertility rate above four. 
• As a result, Africa is also named the ‘young continent’. If numbers stay like this, in 2050 one in three babies will be born in Africa!

Niger

Niger has the highest rate of population growth in the world. With a birth rate of 51 and a death rate of 14, they only need 18 years to double their population. Each woman in Niger has seven babies, on average.

India 2020

India 2100?

Nigeria, a fast-growing population

Nigeria is a country that stands out in Africa, looking at their demography. In 2050, they will be the fourth largest country in the world, only behind India, China and the United States in size of population. This projection is based on the assumption that Nigeria’s birth rate, as in India, will decline; if population growth in Nigeria stays the same, with a birth rate of 41 and a death rate of 13, the country will become more populous than the United States in 2050. At this moment, they have already doubled their population twice (quadrupled) since 1950.

Nigeria 2020

Nigeria 2100?

Essence

India has a very young population. The birth rate is high, because children are a source for income, women don’t know how to prevent having babies and big families are part of the culture. The death rate has declined because of improved medical care. Young populations are a challenge for authorities, because all children need food, education and eventually work. India is making progress lowering the birth rate. LEDCs in Africa aren’t that far advanced yet; Africa is, and will stay, the ‘young continent’.

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