Changing population - Policies (population, gender equality + anti-trafficking) Flashcards
How is the rate of population growth expressed?
As a percentage for each country
- commonly between 0.1% and 3% annually
What is the difference between natural growth and overall growth?
Both measure percentage difference in births and deaths (linking to population growth)
However overall growth takes migration into account, while natural growth does not
How is the doubling time of population calculated?
This length of time is found by dividing the growth rate (which is a %) into 70
What is China’s population growth rate?
0.59%
- Therefore 70/0.59 = 118.64 years for China’s population to double
What are the doubling time of Niger (PGR = 3.8%), France (0.4%), and Japan’s (-0.2%) population?
- Niger = 18.4 years (current population = 25 million)
- France = 175 years
- Japan = 350 years (halving rate, not doubling)
What is are anti-natal policies?
They persuade couples to have less children through a combination of penalties and incentives
What percentage of the world’s land and population does China have?
- 7% of the world’s land
- 18% of the world’s population
(1.4 billion people)
What did China think about population in the 1950s?
- Population was seen as an asset: “More people, more power”
What changed China’s perception of population in the 1950s?
- As many as 30 million Chinese people are thought to have perished in the famines between 1958-62
- China’s population began to grow more rapidly than its ability to increase food production through the 1960s
- By 1970, the fertility rate was 5.8
When and what was the initial policy launched in China?
The initial anti-natal policy was a voluntary family planning campaign launched in 1971
What was the motto of the initial anti-natal policy in China?
“Later, Longer, Fewer”
- “Later” = late marriage requirements of 23 years for women and 25 years for men
- “Longer” = birth planning rule of more than 3 years between first and second child
- “Fewer” = couple could have 2 children at most
Was the “Later, Longer, Fewer” campaign a success?
Yes, as the fertility rate declined to 3 by 1979
However this was still not enough as China’s population was still, growing and in 1979 was approaching 1 billion
What next policy was introduced in China in 1979?
The One Child Policy
What was used to ensure that couples only had one child in China?
A combination of penalties and incentives
What penalties did the Chinese One-child policy use?
- Fines from $370 to $12,800
- Pressure to abort pregnancy
- Confiscated belongings
- Getting fired from work
What incentives did the Chinese One-child policy use?
- Higher wages
- Interest-free loans
- Retirement funds
- Priority housing + school enrollment
Was the Chinese one-child policy a success, and if so, then why?
Yes, as it slowed the rate of population growth
- It is estimated that there have been 400 million less births because of the One Child Policy
- Fertility rates have fallen to 1.5
- Food security fears have been reduced and famine avoided
Why is China’s population still growing even though the One Child Policy was introduced in 1979?
Population momentum
- It is expected to peak at 1.5 billion in 2035
How many Chinese people support the One Child Policy?
76%
What is the 4-2-1 structure?
The problem of an increasing amount of an ageing population
What problems did the Chinese anti-natal policy cause?
- Social pressure and cultural traditions meant that families preferred male children to females
- Increase in sex-selective abortion + infanticide
- Neglect + abandonment of girls
- Abortions in some regions forced on women pregnant with 2nd child
- High divorce rate including women whose one child was a girl
- Poor families burdened by debts from fines
What population imbalance did the Chinese anti-natal policy cause?
118 male : 100 female
What is a dependency time bomb and why will China have it?
A shortage of workers and an increasingly ageing society
- 450 million over 60 by 2050
- 17.1% of the Chinese population will be over 65 by 2030
When did China abandon their One child Policy?
2015
When did China now allow people to have 3 children?
May 2021
- Hasn’t had a great effect because the people who were raised as only children don’t want to have more than one child
What are the reasons for the historic low fertility rates in Russia?
- Poor reproductive health care services
- A relative lack of modern contraceptives
- Widespread, unsafe abortions
- High divorce rates
- An ageing population structure
- Infertility
- Women choosing to have fewer children
What was the fertility rate in Russia in 2006?
Less than 1.3 births per woman
What were pro-natal measures used to increase birth rate?
- Increase in pregnancy + child benefits according to the number of children a family had
- Increased parental leave following the birth of a child
- Increased payments to mothers of 2nd +3rd children (up to $12,500 in 2012)
- Considered - tax on childlessness
