Identify and explain 3 reasons for population changes in developing countries (9marks)
Looking at population changes in the developing world, in a sociological way, means looking into demography, sociologist believe that It is important to study demographic trends such as, birth, fertility, infant mortality, death and migration, because they can produce ‘insights into why societies experience social changes’. The main population change in developing countries is its rapid growth. In 1999, the UN declared that the population of the world had reached 6 billion people, compared to only 2 billion people in 1925. Most of this increase has occurred in the developing world, with less developed regions of Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean taking up 99% of the world’s population increase, which are about 83 million people.
Theories on this included Malthus, who argued that ‘populations increase in size at a much faster rate than the ability of those same populations to feed themselves’, he concludes with, that theses limits on food supply would lead to ‘natural checks’ on population such as famine and malnutrition, and maybe the possibility of the out break of war, because countries would fight over what little food there is left. Such checks limit population because there is an increased death rate. He also argued that we should attempt to avoid overpopulation, by delaying marriage and abstaining from sex.
A biologist, who’s ideas where adopted from Malthus, Paul Ehrlich argues that the high birth rate in developing countries has led to a ‘population explosion’ that has put to much strain on their limited resources of food and energy. His theory is that this is responsible for problems in the developing world such as famine, malnutrition, poverty, war desertification, deforestation and increasing environmental pollution. He concludes that ‘the birth rate must be