Why is population important for a country?

Population trends and dynamics can have an enormous effect on prospects for poverty reduction and sustainable development. Poverty is influenced by – and influences – population dynamics, including population growth, age structure, and rural-urban distribution. All of this has a critical impact on a country’s development prospects and prospects for raising living standards for the poor. Investments in better health, including reproductive health, are essential for individual security and for reducing mortality and morbidity, which in turn improve a country’s productivity and development prospects.

Reproductive health and poverty reduction

Access to sexual and reproductive health, including family planning, can affect population dynamics through voluntary fertility reduction and reductions in infant and maternal mortality. Improved reproductive health also helps individuals, particularly young women, break out of intergenerational cycles of poverty. When women and couples are empowered to plan whether and when to have children, women are better enabled to complete their education; women’s autonomy within their households is increased; and their earning power is improved. This strengthens their economic security and well-being and that of their families. Cumulatively, this contributes to development progress and poverty reduction.

In addition to improving general health and well-being, analysis shows that meeting the reproductive health and contraceptive needs of all women in the developing world more than pays for itself. For every dollar invested in contraception, the cost of pregnancy-related care is reduced by $1.43. The lifetime opportunity cost related to adolescent pregnancy – a measure of the annual income a young mother misses out on over her lifetime – ranges from 1 per cent of annual gross domestic product in a large country such as China to 30 per cent of annual gross domestic product in a small economy such as Uganda. If adolescent girls in Brazil and India were able to wait until their early twenties to have children, the increased economic productivity would equal more than $3.5 billion and $7.7 billion, respectively.

The power of young people

A country’s economic growth is often shaped by overarching demographic trends. Developing countries with large youth populations and declining fertility rates could see their economies soar, provided they invest heavily in young people’s education and health and protect their rights, according to The State of World Population 2014. Potential economic gains could be realized through a 'demographic dividend,' which can occur when a country’s working age population grows larger relative to dependent populations, the report shows.

Family planning is important an important part of this process because many countries have large youth populations that will almost ensure continued rapid poulation growth unless fertility declines, which is what offers the possibility of the demographic dividend.

Where rapid population growth far outpaces economic development, countries will have a difficult time investing in the human capital needed to secure the well-being of its people and to stimulate further economic growth. This issue is especially acute for the least developed countries, many of which are facing a doubling, or even a tripling of their populations by 2050.  

A doubling of the population in the least developed countries means that between now and 2050 the working-age population will increase by about 15 million persons per year, on average, and that the labor force will increase by 33 thousand persons per day. Every day over this period about 33,000 young men and women will enter the labor force and will be looking for productive and remunerative employment that allows them to escape poverty, stay out of poverty, or simply live a better life than their parents did. In the least developed countries, about 80 per cent of the work force is unemployed, underemployed or are only vulnerably employed. The extent to which they can contribute economically will have huge impacts on their countries’ futures, as well as on their own lives.

Human capital critically depends on investment in education beyond the primary level, but even more fundamentally it begins with investment in health, including sexual and reproductive health. This is particularly true when considering entry points to unleash the economic potential of women and girls.

Read more

State of World Population 2014: The Power of 1.8 Billion
Adding it Up 2012: Costs and Benefits of Contraceptive Services
Impacts of Population Dynamics, Reproductive Health and Gender on Poverty
Population Dynamics in the LDCs: Challenges and Opportunities for Development and Poverty Reduction
Population Situation Analysis
Growth, Productive Employment and Decent Work in the Least Developed Countries

​Key terms:

• Development geography: refers to the standard of living and quality of life of its human inhabitants. In this context, development is a process of change that affects people's lives. It may involve an improvement in the quality of life as perceived by the people undergoing change. However, development is not always a positive process.
• Quality of life: the standard of health, comfort, and happiness experienced by an individual or group.
• Economic development: is a measure of a country's wealth and how it is generated (for example agriculture is considered less economically advanced then banking).
• Human development: measures the access the population has to wealth, jobs, education, nutrition, health, leisure and safety - as well as political and cultural freedom. Material elements, such as wealth and nutrition, are described as the standard of living. Health and leisure are often referred to as quality of life.

Using the term 'DEVELOPMENT'

The word 'development' is not always straightforward to use and is often incorrectly referred to. Here are some common misconceptions:

1. Referring to a a country as 'being developed' - this is incorrect because it implies a finite goal that is reached by a country. This is not possible as all countries and regions are constantly improving and developing.
2. It can also be considered insulting talking about a peoples culture, society or beliefs and calling them underdeveloped. This is problematic as they are not measurable or comparable and therefore not judged as superior or inferior. ​
3. The Third World is out of date and should not be used. This idea was created to separate the the 1st World - Capitalist, 2nd World - Communist and 3rd World - Non aligned.  

Correct usage of the word 'DEVELOPMENT' 
To correctly use the term 'development' we usually refer to economic development or Human Development Index (HDI). The main reason for the use of economic development is because it is easily measurable and comparable between countries. We have many different ways of examining economic development such as: GDP, GNI, economic growth, unemployment, average wage etc.  

Explore the different development indicators and discuss which are the most useful and why. Note down the 5 most useful Human and Physical indicators 

How we measure development from Steven Heath

What is the Difference between Quantitative and Qualitative Indicators?Quantitative indicators are commonly believed to be measurements of cold, hard facts and rigid numbers; their validity, truth and objectivity taken as unshakeable facts. They are also seen as “objective and verifiable”. For example, the number of computers in a workplace or the number of telephones in a community; the quantity and frequency of computer and internet - related training workshops. Quantitative indicators deal with outputs, are easier to define and to look for.​

On the other hand, qualitative indicators are seen as subjective, unreliable and difficult to verify. They are more difficult to ascertain because they probe the whys of situations and the contexts of people’s decisions, actions and perceptions. However, qualitative indicators are valuable to the evaluation process because projects and initiatives are involved with studying changes in people’s lives and in communities. They seek to measure the impact and evaluate the long-term effects and benefits of a project or an initiative. They focus on people’s own experiences and from a gender analytical/feminist perspective, qualitative indicators are particularly useful and important in understanding women’s experiences and perceptions in relation to empowerment and development. For example, the number of women using telecentres becomes more significant if the information they find and the links they make through the internet contribute to their sense of independence and empowerment.

Composite development index: measures more than one variable. It do not just consider GDP per capita but will also consider for example Education. These are considered to be more accurate that looking at a single factor because they can take into account a variety of socio-economic indicators and therefore no single factor can 'tip the scales'. ​

Human Development Index (HDI)

1. Poor health and low levels of educationPeople who don’t have access to healthcare or education have lower levels of productivity. This means the labor force is not as productive as it could be. Therefore, the economy does not reach the productivity it could otherwise.

2. Lack of necessary infrastructure

3. Flight of Capital

4. Political Instability

5. Institutional Framework

6. The World Trade Organization

Extended Reading

The main determinants affecting economic growth File Size: 99 kb File Type: pdf Download File

Factors Affecting Economic Growth in Developing Countries File Size: 371 kb File Type: pdf Download File

1. Provide basic facts for Mongolia
   1. Population size
   2. HDI
   3. GDP (per capita) 
   4. Other development indicators 
2. Describe Mongolia's population distribution
3. What factors determine where people live in Mongolia - be specific?
4. Where and why are people migrating in Mongolia?
5. What issues does this cause?

1. Provide basic facts for Brazil
   1. Population size
   2. HDI
   3. GDP (per capita) 
   4. Other development indicators 
2. Describe Brazils's population distribution
3. What factors determine where people live in Brazil - be specific?
4. Where and why are people migrating in Brazil?
5. What issues does this cause?
6. What are people/Government doing to help?

The Favela is the name given to the slums or shantytowns in and around the large cities of Brazil. There are many favelas existing around the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paolo. A Favela exists when homeless people or squatters occupy vacant plots of land, and build their homes out of things they can get scavenging. Today, millions of Brazilians live in these mazes of shanties. Approximately 6% of the entire Brazilian population lives in Favelas as per the Census of 2010.