Module 13: Global Demography

Demography

Refers to the study of human populations; their size, composition and distribution across space, and the process through which populations change.

Births
Deaths
Migration

The big three of demography, jointly producing population stability or

change.

Mortality

Refers to the level of death within a population as measured by the number of deaths and the death rates characterizing that population during a particular time period.

Population

Mortality is the death rate in a given ________.

Death

Defined as the complete cessation of life after a

live birth has taken place.

Natality

The birth rate in a given population.

Birth Rate

Refers to the total number of live births per 1000 in a given population during a given time period or a year.

Fertility

The natural capability to produce offspring.

Fertility Rate

The number of offspring born per mating pair, individual or population.

Urban Families

One to two children; both parents are working, and long-term savings strategies are prioritized.

Rural Families

Multiple children and a big kinship network are important assets; children may take over agricultural tasks.

Economic
Social Policies

Differing versions of family life determine the ______ and _______ that countries craft regarding their respective population.

Rural Communities

Value extra help during planting and harvesting, often preferring larger families for support in crop cultivation.

Educated
Dual-income

Urban families, typically ________ and _______, tend to have fewer children due to time constraints and professional commitments.

Urban Population Growth

Primarily driven by migration from rural areas to cities for job opportunities, rather than an increase in birth rates

UN DESA 2025

The _______ report estimates that there were 304 million international migrants in 2024, an increase from 275 million in 2020.

48% were female

The UN DESA 2025 report estimates that there were 304 million international migrants in 2024, an increase from 275 million in 2020. Of these migrants, ______.

November 15, 2022

On _______, the global population reached 8 billion, a significant milestone achieved in 12 years since hitting 7 billion.

8 billion

On November 15, 2022, the global population reached ______, a significant milestone achieved in 12 years since hitting 7 billion.

Decelerate

The growth rate is projected to _______, with an estimated 15 years to reach 9 billion by 2037.

2037

The growth rate is projected to decelerate, with an estimated 15 years to reach 9 billion by ______.

High Fertility Rates

Persist in low-income countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where population growth is concentrated.

Thomas Malthus

British scholar who warned in his 1798 work An Essay on the Principle of Population that population growth will inevitably exhaust world food supply by the middle of the 19th century.

An Essay on the Principle of Population

Thomas Malthus is a British scholar who warned in his 1798 work _____________ that population growth will inevitably exhaust world food supply by the middle of the 19th century.

Paul R. Ehrlich

Revived Malthus’ prediction in 1960s An American biologist with his wife Anne, wrote The Population Bomb

Anne

Paul R. Ehrlich revived Malthus’ prediction in 1960s. An American biologist with his wife _____, wrote The Population Bomb

The Population Bomb

Paul R. Ehrlich revived Malthus’ prediction in 1960s An American biologist with his wife Anne, wrote ___________.

Bizarre Suggestion

Chemical castration.

Policy-oriented Suggestion

Taxing an additional child and luxury taxes on child-related products.

Monetary Incentives

Paying off men who would agree to be sterilized after two children

Institution Building

Creation of a powerful Department of Population and Environment

Chemical castration
Taxing an additional child and luxury taxes on child-related products
Paying off men who would agree to be sterilized after two children
Creation of a powerful Department of Population and Environment

They proposed to reduce the growth rate to zero (lead by countries like US). They recommended the following.

2.06%

Between 1955 and 1975, the global population growth rate peaked at _______ annually after World War II, causing concerns over resource allocation.

Limiting

______ population growth was seen as essential to direct resources toward economic progress instead of merely sustaining larger populations.

Philippines
China
India

Countries like the _____, ______, _________ aimed to lower birth rates to prevent potential crises of resources, poverty, hunger, and political instability.

Potential crises of resources
Poverty
Hunger
Political Instability

Countries like the Philippines, China, and India aimed to lower birth rates to prevent ________, _______, ________, _________.

Widespread Poverty
Mass Hunger
Political Instability

Unless controlled it may lead to crisis in resources, which lead in _______, _______, ________.

Foreign Affairs (1958)

An American policy journal had advocated “contraception and sterilization” as the practical solutions to global economic, social and political problems.

American billionaires

In May 2009, a group of _______ warned of how a nightmarish explosion of people was a potentially disastrous environmental, social and industrial threat to the world.

Contend for universal access to reproductive technologies like condoms, pills, abortions, and vasectomies.
Giving women the right to choose whether to have children or not.

Economist argument for the promotion of reproductive health. Advocates of population control.

Irresponsible Fecundity

Egyptians for the nation’s run-on population growth.

Natural Libidinal

Iranians' peasant’s _______ tendencies for the same rise in population.

Lower Castes
Working Poor

In 1920 onwards, the Indian government marked ______, ________.

Hypersexual
Hyper-fecund

Muslims as _______ and ______.

Forced Sterilization

These policy formulations lead to extreme policies such as the ________ of twenty million violators of the Chinese gov’t’s one-child policy.

Coercive Mass Sterilization

Vietnam and Mexico also conducted ___________.

Vietnam
Mexico

_______ and _____ also conducted coercive mass sterilization.