Fertility rates, Mortality rates and Life Expectancy

Fertility and mortality rates are two primary factors that determine changes in population growth rates. According to demographers, fertility rate refers to the number of births that occur to a woman at any given time in a society. Fertility rates are often influenced by not only the psychological standing of a woman but also, the economic, social and other health factors that guide reproduction choices of a given country or society.  Relationship status is a paramount nonphysical factor that dictates the total fertility rate of a country. Relationship status implies the commitment levels of a woman to her husband that could otherwise expose them to pregnancy prevalence. The use of contraceptives together induced prevalence of abortion is other non-physical factors whose influence to a country’s fertility rates cannot be neglected (Harris 2012).

Diagram 2: Total fertility rates in industrial, less developed, and least developed countries, 1950-2010

Source: earth-policy.org

In comparison with the developed economies, fertility levels in developing are often higher. This is relatively because most women in third world countries and emerging economies are house wives and are exposed to marriage pretty early. In addition, most of these women are ignorant of family planning methods i.e. the use of contraceptives to avert unwanted pregnancies. Moreover, their lack of exposure to schooling disadvantages them in matters abortion. Abortion is often used by educated women to delay pregnancy. In developed economies, most women have access to good education. This has created avenues for them to acquire work outside their homes. In addition, their engagement to work discourages early marriages hence pregnancies are contained till later stages in life. Nevertheless, total fertility rates of nearly all developing countries have fallen drastically since the mid-20^th century (Ewert 2012). Central and West African countries have showcased remarkable improvement. Total fertility patterns often vary from one country to another. Most of the time, Minorities i.e. in terms of race, ethnicity and tribe often showcase higher rates of fertility in comparison with majority. On the other hand, low income households or those with minimal exposure to education are characterized by a lot of children than those who are literate or affluent. Another notable aspect is that well educated women whom work stations are located outside their homes tend to have few children than those who spend a lion’s share of their time at home. Developing economies are often characterized by large levels of people living in the rural areas than those living in the urban areas. This unique characteristic is responsible for the high rates of fertility. For example, households who reside in the rural areas often tend to sire more children than those who reside in urban centers (Hunter 2000).

Mortality and life expectancy rates are other variables that shape population growth trends magnificently. The age structure of a people is an important characteristic as it guides death rates in a society. In developing economies, death rates are high among young kids, infants and the old. Therefore, societies or economies with large base of elderly people often experience increased deaths that those economies whose large group of citizens are the young or mid age adults. Courtesy of good medical avenues, developed economies i.e. the United States and Europe have a large portion of the elderly than the developing economies. From the aforementioned, it is evident that despite having state of the art health services, developing economies my witness high levels of death rates. To fully understand longevity in a country, Life expectancy is often calculated by demographers (McFee, et al. 2012). Life expectancy can be defined as the average age a newborn child is able to live considering a postulated yearly rate of mortality. After a kid passes through early childhood stages, the probability that he/she could die in subsequent years i.e. through adolescence is gradually reduced.  In the year 2006 for example, life expectancies of some developing ranged from mid-40s to a high of 70s in the United States and some African states at birth. Considering how it is calculated, life expectancy is litmus that can be used to ascertain the health levels of a population. The general health of a people largely depends on a number of aspects i.e. access to clean water, good nutrition, sanitation and access to medication i.e. vaccination.  A society that has fully addressed all the above is better placed to avert preventable illnesses that may otherwise lead to unnecessary deaths. Most children in developing economies are often exposed to killer infections i.e. cholera and typhoid courtesy of poor sanitation and lack of access to clean water (Jansen, et al. 2012).