MODULE: SS02: THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD

CHAPTER 10: GLOBAL DEMOGRAPHY

Objectives:
At the end of this module, the learners must have:
 articulated important terms and concepts related to demography;
 evaluated sources of demographic data, elements of demography and
stages of demographic transition and causes of rapid population
growth;
 assessed impacts of overpopulation to different aspects of society.
 explained the reasons for the migration of people;
 discussed the effects of global migration on the economic and well-
being of the state;
 described the characteristics of a global citizen;
 determined the challenging issues on integration and citizenship.

GLOBAL DEMOGRAPHY
Demography – The Scientific Study of
Population
Since you have successfully
listed ideas and concepts related to
demography and population, it is now
the high time to acquire more
information about the topic.
The roots of statistical
demography may be found in the work
of the Englishman John Graunt who
was regarded as the founder of
demography. He was one of the first demographers and perhaps the first
epidemiologist, though by profession he was a haberdasher.
John Graunt https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Graunt
In search of statistical regularities, Graunt made an estimate of the male-
female ratios at birth and death-birth ratios in London and rural communities.
He was also able to construct the first mortality table.
Demography is the scientific study of population. It comes from the Greek
word demos and graphone, meaning “measuring people.” A demographer or a
person who engaged in social planning, market research, insurance forecasting,
labor market analysis, economic development and so on conducts studies on
human population which is defined as follows: (1) the area of sociology that
includes the size, growth, demographic characteristics, composition, migration,
changes and quality vis-a-vis economic, political and social systems; (2) the
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number of persons occupying certain geographic area, drawing subsistence

from their habitat and interacting with one another.
He also communicates population facts using information on birth and
death, the basic elements of life.
Demography studies the population’s size, composition and distribution
across space – and the process through which populations change. Births,
deaths and migration are the ‘big three’ of demography, jointly producing
population stability or change.
For most of the 19th century, demographic studies continued to
emphasize the phenomenon of mortality; it was not until demographers noted that
a considerable decline of fertility had taken place in the industrialized countries
during the second half of the 19th century, that they began to study fertility
and reproduction with as much interest as they studied mortality. During the
period between the two world wars, demography took on a broader,
interdisciplinary character. In 1928 the International Union for the Scientific
Study of Population was founded.

Sources of Demographic Data

1. Census - a census is a population count where the demographic, economic and
social data of every individual of a given time are collected, tabulated, compiled
and published. It provides the statistics of population data for sample surveys
and studies and guides the government and nongovernment administrations in
economic and social planning.

2. Vital Statistics System – refers to events that deal with an individual’s life from
birth to death and those in between, such as marriage annulment, adoption,
separation, divorce and other events and changes in his/her status.
3. Sample Surveys – conducted by private and public institutions to obtain data
and information on matters not covered by the census or vital statistics system.

Elements of Demography
1. Birth rate – the yearly count of live births per 1000 population; gives data on a
society’s reproductive patterns.
2. Total fertility rate – the average count of children conceived; can project a
society’s future population growth.
3. Death rate - the yearly count of deaths per 1000 population; gives data on a
society’s mortality patterns.
4. Life expectancy – the average number of years a person is expected to live.
5. Growth rate – differences between births and deaths plus the differences
between immigrants and emigrants per 1000 population.

Global Demographic Transition

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Demographic transition pertains to an observed pattern in changing vital

statistics (birth rate and death rate).

Stages of Demographic Transition

1. Pre-transition Stage – is the first stage of demographic transition which
occurred in the 18th century. It is characterized by high birth and death rates
with minimal population growth.
2. Transition Stage – is the second stage which took place in the 18th and early
19th centuries. It was the stage of declining death rate and the era of the
Industrial revolution and population explosion.
3. Post-transition stage – is the third stage which took place in the late 19th
century. It is characterized by low birth and death rates with minimal population
growth.
After World War II, another demographic transition occurred with Asia, Africa and
Latin America experiencing population explosion. There was “baby boom” in the
developing countries and in the West. During this stage, there was increase in food
production as a result of “Green Revolution” and improved public health care. Infant
mortality declined and life expectancy increased.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2781829/

Figure 4
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The global demographic transition began in the nineteenth century in the now
economically developed parts of the world (the North) with declines in death rates. Large
reductions in birth rates followed in the early part of the twentieth century. These
transitions are now more or less complete. But, as shown in Table 1, trends for the two
principal regions in the North are expected to diverge between 2005 and 2050: an
increase from 0.33 to 0.45 billion in Northern America, and a decline from 0.73 to 0.66
billion in Europe. In fact, several countries in Europe (e.g. Russia) and East Asia (e.g.
Japan) face significant population declines as birth rates have fallen below death rates.

Causes of Rapid Population Growth

Population change in a country is caused by three basic components: birth,
death and migration. Birth rate is the ratio between births and individuals in a specified
population and time. It is directly affected by fertility which refers to the actual number
of children born to a woman or group of women. If high fertility is not matched with
mortality, overpopulation is bound to happen.
On the other hand, the ratio between deaths and individuals in a specified
population and time is known as death rate. A decline in mortality and a more stable
birth rate means a rise in population.
Migration which is another cause of population growth refers to the movement
of people from one place to another with the intention of finding a permanent residence.
It was observed that most people migrate because of economic reasons. A person
usually leaves his locality to look for a better and higher paying job that would improve
his economic status.

The Perils of Overpopulation

Urbanization and
industrialization are considered by
development planners as indicators of
a developing society but they disagree
on the role of population growth or
decline in modernization.
A British scholar, Thomas
Malthus, wrote “An Essay on the
Principle of Population” in 1798, where
he warned that population growth will
inevitably exhaust world food supply
by the middle of 19th century.
Malthus’ prediction was off base but in
1960s,an American biologist, Paul
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R. Ehrlich. and his wife Anne, revived it when they wrote “The Population Bomb,’ which
argued that overpopulation in the 1970s and the 1980s will bring about global
environmental disasters that would lead to food shortage and mass starvation. In
addition, they proposed that United States should work on reducing the population
growth rate to zero by taking the lead in the promotion of global population control
through chemical castration, through implementation of policy that would demand tax
for an additional child and luxury tax on child-related products, giving of monetary
incentives to men who would agree to be sterilized after two children and by building
a powerful Department of Population and Environment.
The global population increase was at its height at 1.8% per year between 1955
and 1975, peaking at 2.06 percent annual growth rate between 1965 to 1970. This
happened when nations were finally able to recover from the devastations brought by
the World War II.
The argument which states that “by limiting the population, vital resources
could be used for economic progress and not to feed more mouths” became the
government’s basis for “population control” programs worldwide.

Population Growth and Food Security

It is estimated that by 2050, global population will reach 9.5 billion and will
increase to 11.2 billion by 2100. Ninety-five percent of this population growth will
happen in the developing countries, with demographers predicting that by middle of
this century, several countries will have tripled their population. Considering the given
scenario, feeding the population will be an immense challenge.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warns that for the countries to
mitigate the impact of population growth, food production must be increased by 70%.
FAO also recommends that countries increase their investments in agriculture, craft
long-term policies aimed at fighting poverty and invest in research and development.
The United Nations (UN) also suggests that countries develop a comprehensive
social service program that includes food assistance, consistent delivery of health
services and education especially for the poor.
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Interesting facts about Philippine Population:

* The current population of the Philippines is 109,698,807 as August 1, 2020, based on

Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations data.
* The Philippines 2020 population is estimated at 109,581,078 people at mid-year
according to UN data.
* The Philippines population is equivalent to 1.41% of the total world population.
* The Philippines ranks number 13 in the list of countries (and dependencies) by
population.
* The population density in the Philippines is 368 per Km 2 (952 people per mi2).
* The total land area is 298,170 Km2 (115,124 sq. miles)
* 47.5 % of the population is urban (52,008,603 people in 2020)
* The median age in the Philippines is 25.7 years.

Summary
Global demography is a complex discipline that requires the integration of
various social scientific data. Demography is the scientific study of population. It comes
from the Greek word demos and graphone, meaning “measuring people.” A
demographer or a person who engaged in social planning, market research, insurance
forecasting, labor market analysis, economic development and so on conducts studies
on human population.
Demography studies the population’s size, composition and distribution across
space – and the process through which populations change. Births, deaths and
migration are the ‘big three’ of demography, jointly producing population stability or
change.
Population change in a country is caused by three basic components: birth,
death and migration.
The different issues related to population such as rapid population growth,
overpopulation, migration and food security are important because they help shape the
quality of life in a given society and the world as a whole; thus, the study on global
demography.

GLOBAL MIGRATION
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What is Migration?
Migration is the movement of people from one place to another with the intention
of finding a permanent residence.
Though the main factor for migration of people is economic consideration,
demographers also identified the push and pull factors. The push factor means that
people are pushed away from their homes due to natural calamities such as floods,
famine, loss of jobs or political oppression. The pull factors are those reasons which
invite people to a place due to promising and extensive opportunities for a better life.

Two (2) Types of Migration

There are two types of migration. First is internal migration which refers to the
people moving from one area t another within one country while the other type is known
as international migration where people cross borders of one country to another like:
a. those who move permanently to another country (immigrants);
b. workers who stay in another country for a fixed period (at least 6 months in
a year);
c. illegal immigrants;
d. migrants whose family members have petitioned them to move to the
destination country; and
e. refugees and vagabonds or those who are “unable or unwilling to return
because of a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion.”

Demographers estimate that 247 million people are currently living outside the
countries of their birth. Ninety percent (90) of them moved for economic reasons while
the remaining ten (10) percent were refugees and asylum-seekers. The top three (3)
regions of origin are Latin America (18 percent of the global total), followed by Eastern
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Europe and Central Asia (16 percent), and the Middle East and North Africa (14
percent). On a per country basis, India, Mexico and China are leading, with
Philippines, together with Afghanistan, ranking 6th in the world. The top 10 country
destinations of these migrants are mainly in the West and the Middle East, with the
United States topping the list.
Fifty percent (50%) of global migrants have moved from the developing countries
to the developed zones of the world and contribute from 40 to 80 percent of their labor
force.

Benefits and Detriments for the Sending Countries

Even if 90 percent of the value generated by migrant workers remains in their host
countries, they have sent billions back to their home countries. Remittances make
significant contributions to the development of small and medium-term industries that
help generate jobs. It likewise changes the economic and social standing of migrants
as shown by new or renovated homes and their relatives’ access to new consumer
goods. The purchasing power of the migrant’s family doubled and makes it possible for
their children to start or continue schooling.

On the other hand, global migration may result to “siphoning” qualified

personnel and removing dynamic, young workers or often been referred to as “brain
drain.” Furthermore, the loss of professionals in certain key roles, such as doctors and
nurses, has been detrimental to the migrant’s home countries. In 2006, some 15% of
locally trained doctors from 21 sub-Saharan African countries have emigrated to the
United States or Canada.
In line with this, there are many restrictions for labor migration and many of
these are related to the Westphalian conception of the nation-state. According to
Shamir (2005), the loss of the part of a country’s workforce is one of the major reasons
for the state to control migration. He added that conflicts between local residents and
migrants may surface due to influx of migrants. Moses (2006) another concern of the
state in regulating migration is terrorism.
Governments are aware of this long-term handicap, but have no choice but to
continue promoting migrant work as part of state policy because of the remittances’
impact on Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The Problem on Human Trafficking

Human trafficking, another – often times involuntary – form of migration, is an
important international issue. The UN defines human trafficking as, “the recruitment,
transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or
use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the
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abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments

or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for
the purpose of exploitation.” (UNODC.org)
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation listed human trafficking as
the third largest criminal activity worldwide. In 2012, the international Labour
Organization (ILO) identified 21 million men, women and children as victims of forced
labor, an appalling three (3) out of every 1,000 persons worldwide. Ninety percent of
the victims (18.7 million) are exploited by private enterprises and entrepreneurs; 22
percent (4.5 million) are sexually abused; and 68 percent (14.2 million) work under
compulsion in agricultural, manufacturing, infrastructure and domestic activities.
Human trafficking has been very profitable, earning syndicates, smugglers, and corrupt
state officials profits of as high as $150 billion a year in 2014. Governments, the private
sector and civil society groups have worked together to combat human trafficking, yet
the results remain uneven.

Integration
Integration is the final issue as to how migrants interact with their new home
countries. Migrants unwittingly reinforce the tension by “keeping among themselves.”
The first-time migrant’s anxiety at coming into a new and often “strange” place is
mitigated by “local networks of fellow citizens’ that serve as the migrant’s safety net
from the dislocation of uprooting oneself.

Democratic states assimilate immigrants and their children by granting them

citizenship and the rights that go with it (especially public education). However, without
a solid support from their citizens may just be a formality. Linguistic difficulties,
customs from the “old country” and of late differing religions may create cleavages
between migrants and citizens of receiving countries, particularly in the West.
Governments and private businesses have made policy changes to address
integration problems, like using multiple languages in state documents (in the case of
the United States, Spanish and English). Training programs complemented with
counselling have complemented with counselling have also helped migrant integration
in Hamburg, Germany, while retail merchants in Barcelona have bought in migrant
shopkeepers to breakdown language barriers while introducing Chinese culture to
citizens.
Citizenship
Citizenship is the status of a person recognized under the custom or law of a
sovereign state as a member of or belonging to the state. Each state is free to determine
the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and the conditions
under which that status will be withdrawn. Recognition by a state as a citizen generally
carries with it recognition of civil, political, and social rights which are not afforded to
non-citizens.
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In general, the basic rights normally regarded as arising from citizenship are the
right to a passport, the right to leave and return to the country/ies of citizenship, the
right to live in that country and to work there.
Some countries permit their citizens to have multiple citizenships, while others
insist on exclusive allegiance. A person who does not have citizenship of any state is
said to be stateless, while one who lives on state borders whose territorial status is
uncertain is a border-lander.
Nationality is often used as a synonym for citizenship in English although the term
is mainly – notably in international law – understood as denoting a person's
membership of a nation (a large ethnic group).

Transnationalism
The heightened interconnectivity between people and the receding economic and
social significance of boundaries between nation states paved way to a scholarly
research agenda and social phenomenon known as transnationalism, a term
popularized by the writer Randolph Bourne in the early 20th century to describe about
relationships between cultures.
With the aim of reducing costs, transnationalism as an economic process, led to
the global reorganization of the production process, in which various stages of the
production of any product can occur in various countries.
It was in the latter half of the 20th century by the development of the internet and
wireless communication, when economic transnationalism, commonly known as
globalization, spurred. During this time, there was also a reduction in global
transportation costs caused by containerization. Multinational corporations are
considered as a form of transnationalism. Multinational corporations seek to minimize
costs, and hence maximize profits, by organizing their operations in the most efficient
means possible irrespective of political boundaries. Transnationalism is a part of the
process of capitalist globalization for its concept refers to multiple links and
interactions between and among people and institutions across the borders of nation-
states.

What is a Global Citizen?

According to Oxfam, a Global Citizen is someone who:

• is aware of the wider world and has a sense of their own role as a world citizen.
• respects and values diversity.
• has an understanding of how the world works.
• is outraged by social injustice.
• participates in the community at a range of levels, from the local to the global.
• is willing to act to make the world a more equitable and sustainable place.
• takes responsibility for their actions.
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To be an effective Global Citizen, one must be flexible, creative and proactive.

He/she needs to be able to solve problems, make decisions, think critically,
communicate ideas effectively and work well within teams and groups. These skills and
attributes are increasingly recognised as being essential to succeed in other areas of
21st century life.
Summary
Migration is the movement of people from one place to another with the intention
of finding a permanent residence. There are many economic, social and physical
reasons why people emigrate and these can be classified into push and pull factors.
The push factor means that people are pushed away from their homes while pull factors
are those reasons which invite people to a place due to promising opportunities.
Migration can be classified into internal migration which refers to the people moving
from one area to another within one country and international migration where people
cross borders of one country and stay in the host state for some minimum length of
time. Migration has positive and negative impacts on countries of origin and host
countries. Developing countries benefit from remittances. It also uplifts the social and
economic status of the migrant’s family. Unemployment rate decreases in the countries
of origin. On the other hand, working abroad has detrimental effect to the country’s
economy because it causes brain drain. Some of the advantages of migration on host
countries are economic growth can be sustained, job vacancies can be filled, cheap
labor costs and services to the elderly can be maintained. Some issues related to global
migration are human trafficking, integration, transnationalism and global citizenship.

Video Links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsBT5EQt348
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVkY1FzyNik
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fkZdubYxSI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNxctzyNxC0

References:
Vanham, P. (2019), A brief History of Globalization.
Retrieved from
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/01/
how-globalization- 4-0-fits-into-the-history-of-
globalization/August 18,2020