Fertility Decline
The population of the world was on the increase during the centuries before the 20th and 21st centuries. However, the two centuries have witnessed population decrease especially in developed countries. This has been referred to as sub-replacement fertility, that is to say, the rate of fertility in an area failing to replace the population of the given area resulting in a low population. This has been praised as it would counter the imbalance created by immigration. This trend has been reported in over 100m different locations in the world. The main places affected were North America, moving to Western and Eastern Europe then to the former Soviet states and finally East Asia, Japan is the leading in the area.
The other parts of the world are slowly witnessing this trend of sub-replacement fertility. Of the new areas witnessed, Iran is the leading showing that the conservative Arab world is embracing change. North Africa has also been affected. This trend has resulted in an aging population. The trend has mainly been brought by globalization and improvement in technology. People are working around the clock and this has resulted in limited free time for childbearing. Life expectancy in developed economies has gone up and thus children to continue one’s lineage have been seen as not a priority
Gender Imbalance
When gender imbalance has been analyzed, China has represented a good illustration. Naturally, the number of boys born at any given time is higher than that of girls. However, this cannot have been the major cause. It was studied that almost all cultures give preference to boys than girls so there is a tendency in the society to try and sire boys. It was also studied that the illiteracy level of the females affected the gender balance. The imbalance was high in urban areas where women were more educated as opposed to rural areas. The one-child policy in China has seen many sex-selective abortions in a bid to have a baby boy.
In the long-run social problems have occurred where young men have lacked girls to marry. Gender imbalance has also been witnessed in other countries like India and also in Europe like Georgia. This case can be attributed to the fewer wars, in contemporary the world and the preference given to boys. In ancient times boys used to perish due to wars where they were viewed as potential future enemies. In the past, the girl child used to outnumber the boy child.
Mortality
The mortality rate has also affected the population increase. Life expectancy in poor countries has drastically gone down. The living culture has changed and diseases that used to be associated with the rich class have become a common person’s ailment. These are like diabetes and cancer. In Africa, HIV/AIDS has become a major cause of death even at childbirth. In Russia deaths out of drugs have become a common phenomenon. It is reported that two-thirds of men found dead were drunk. Some diseases are known to affect boys under the age of five. Poverty in third-world countries is the main cause of mortality.
America’s Demographic Exceptionalism
The American trend of fertility has not been consistent with the rest of the world especially Europe. Higher births have been recorded in the US than in Europe and the population is projected to be higher by 2050. This has had different reasons, some citing the diverse racial representation other citing births outside wedlock. Others have argued it is the high number of immigrants. However, this could have been due to the US being a cosmopolitan nation actively participating in world affairs. Different states could be seen as representing different fertility patterns this is due to the sub autonomy of states.
Eberstadt Views about the US
Eberstadt’s views apply in the US as the population of the US has not exploded yet the US is among the countries with the best living standards. Population in other parts of the world like in Nigeria has exploded in the last century (Ross, 1982), yet that of the US has remained relatively constant. Gender imbalance and mortality cannot be said to affect the US at a significant level rather the fertility rate is the major cause of sub-replacement fertility. The US being a superpower has been at the forefront in technological advancement and maintenance of world peace. It has initiated globalization through various initiatives like web improvement creation of common market with the dollar as the major international currency.
These endeavors have made the US population be workaholics having limited time for vacation and family upbringing. The population has thus remained down. Change of culture and attitude has also seen people preferring small families as opposed to the traditional times (Bulatao 2001). However, the population of the US has grown as opposed to that of Europe and Japan. The world has been faced with difficult times like an economic crunch. Health care policies must therefore be formulated to guarantee all citizens free medical cover. This will also safeguard people from pandemics. By 2040 it is projected the US will be the third most populous nation in the world and so health care must be streamlined to cater to this.
Reference List
Bulatao, A., & Casterline, B. (2001). Global Fertility Transition. USA: Population Council.
Eberstadt, N. (2001). Population, Public Health, and Globalization. USA: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. Web.
Ross, A. (1982). International Encyclopedia Of Population Volume 1. USA: Free Press.