Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
the use of birth-control pills and condoms is growing.
Pills are unpopular due to misinformation about their
side effects, especially the perceived high risk of can-
cer. Gender issues and cultural barriers continue to
limit the use of condoms.
Vietnam' s population programs have relied heavily
on international donor support, which has provided
84 percent of the budget especially for IUDs. Since this
support ended in 2009, the government faces major
challenges for the future. It hopes to increase the use
of pills and condoms through education and media
campaigns.
Basic population statistics should be interpreted as
estimates of numerical change. They reveal nothing tan-
gible about the well-being of people. On the other hand,
projections and related measures are used to illustrate
perceived population problems such as “overpopula-
tion.” Since population “control” measures are ubiqui-
tous in Asia, we can assume that governments believe
they have too many people relative to available re-
sources. Y ou can read more about this idea in the re-
gional chapters.
POPULATION AND QUALITY OF LIFE
Selected quality of life statistics are shown in Table 3-2.
While life expectancies at birth (LE) have improved over
time, only Japanese, Singaporeans, and Taiwanese can
expect to live as long as people in Canada or the United
States. Infant mortality rates (IMR) in the first year of
life and child mortality rates (CMR) in the first five years
of life are excellent indicators of living conditions. Pakistan,
Myanmar (Burma), Laos, and Timor-Leste, among the
poorest, exhibit very high IMRs.
DEPENDENCY RATIOS (DR)
Table 3-1 lists percentages of populations under 15 and
over 65 years old. These age groups are perceived as
not working and therefore as being “dependent” for
survival on the middle-age groups, who are assumed to
be working. A dependency ratio (DR) is easily deter-
mined. Just add the percentages of population under
15 and over 64 years old; divide the total by the per-
centage of population from 15 to 64 years old; then
multiply this figure by 100 to get the result. For exam-
ple, Pakistan has an under-15 population of 42 percent
and an over-65 population of 4 percent for a total of
46 percent “dependents.” This leaves 34 percent of the
population as the “producers” and supporters. Conse-
quently Pakistan' is DR is 82 percent. In contrast, Singa-
pore, with its highly educated and richer society , had a
DR of 37 percent.
Don't be fooled by dependency ratios, because they
are often based on faulty assumptions especially con-
cerning developing countries. In Asian and many other
societies, significant numbers of young and old people
work and contribute to their own survival, as well as that
of their extended family . Dependency ratios do not ac-
count for this fact. Nevertheless, they are at least some-
what indicative of problems governments around the
world are facing.
Japan is clearly an unusual case. It is the only coun-
try in the world to have a higher percentage of its popu-
lation over 65 than below 15. This bodes dire
consequences not only for providing services to the eld-
erly also for having enough people of employment age to
work in the country' s vast industrial sector in the near
future. In contrast, most Asian countries face the opposite
challenge of trying to provide services, such as health,
education, and employment, to their predominantly
young populations.
LIFE EXPECTANCY (LE)
Life expectancy figures indicate how long one can ex-
pect to live from birth. In most societies, women outlive
men. LEs are quite low in many Asian countries. As of
2009, a male child born in Myanmar (Burma) can look
forward to a life span of 59 years and a female to 63 years.
In Taiwan, which is much more developed and richer,
LEs are significantly higher.
The percentage of children under five years of age suf-
fering from malnutrition, as represented by being under-
weight or under-height, is very high for many countries.
Y ou will notice that in six Asian countries, 40 percent or
more children are underweight and/or shorter than they
should be for their age. These children will most likely not
live as long as their healthier counterparts.
Poor countries experience high infant mortality
rates (IMRs) . This population measure refers to the
number of babies that perish before they are one year old
per 1,000 live births in a year. T Typically, , these data are de-
rived from officially registered births. However, many
births, especially in squatter settlements, urban slums
and remote rural areas, are not registered so the data are
not always accurate.
Life expectancy and infant mortality rates are obvi-
ously related to an array of factors. Poor diet, disease—
especially diarrhea for newborns—lack of medical
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