Activity 3.1 – Human Population

More Developed	Least Developed	World Average
Singapore Birth Rate: 9 Death Rate: 5 Population Growth Rate: 0.4 Life Expectancy For Males: 81 Life Expectancy For Females: 85 Fertility Rate: 1.2 Gross National Income: 90,570	Cambodia Birth Rate: 23 Death Rate: 6 Population Growth Rate: 1.7 Life Expectancy For Males: 67 Life Expectancy For Females: 71 Fertility Rate: 2.6 Gross National Income: 3,760	World Birth Rate: 19 Death Rate: 7 Population Growth Rate: 1.2 Life Expectancy For Males: 70 Life Expectancy For Females: 74 Fertility Rate: 2.4 Gross National Income: 16,927

Singapore, a more developed Southeast Asian country, has a much lower birth rate than Cambodia, one of the least developed South Asian countries. Singapore’s birth rates are significantly less because Singapore is a post industrialized country and one hundred percent urbanized. According to the demographic transition model in Introduction to Environmental Science, “as a country’s economy changes from preindustrial to postindustrial, low birth and death rates replace high birth and death rates” (Mutiti 18). Singapore is at Stage IV on the demographical transition model meaning “birth rate and death rates drop to low, stable, approximately equal levels” (Mutiti 20). Cambodia, on the other hand, has not been industrialized, and has a much higher birth rate. Cambodia is at State II on the demographical transition model. That means “people are living longer and childhood morality drops” because of better sanitation, water quality, and food supply (Mutiti 19). “However, birth rates are still high… [because] there is a time lag between the improving conditions and any subsequent changes in family size, so women are still having many children and now more of these children are living into adulthood” (Mutiti 19). The Gross National Income is another sign that points to Singapore being postindustrial. Singapore’s Gross National Income is about twenty four times higher than Cambodia’s. Singapore’s males and females will typically live fourteen years longer than the males and females in Cambodia, however they have a similar death rate around five to six thousand annually. Cambodia’s population growth rate is much higher because of this. As seen in their fertility rates, Cambodian people are having more the twice the amount of children than the Singaporean people, but they only have one thousand more people pass away annually.

The world's total averages sit in the middle of Cambodia and Singapore. Although Singapore’s birth rates are ten thousand less than the world average annually, Cambodia’s birth rates are only four thousand more. The world has a death rate of seven thousand, which is still pretty similar to Cambodia’s six thousand and Singapore’s five thousand. That means the world’s population growth rate, at 1.2%, is closer to Cambodia’s, 1.7%, because on average more people are having children, and living longer. Singaporean’s are having significantly less children than the world average, and the Cambodian average, so their population growth rate is only 0.4. Since Singapore is a more developed country, Singaporeans live about eleven years longer than the world average, which is around the early seventies, meaning Cambodians live only three years less than the world average. The world’s fertility rate is exactly twice the amount of Singapore’s fertility rate. Cambodia’s fertility rate is only slightly higher than the world average. Lastly, Singapore’s Gross National Income is about five times higher than the world’s average Gross National Income, and Cambodia’s Gross National Income in about four times less than the world’s further point to Cambodia being a less developed country.

Demographic transition model found in Introduction to Environmental Science

References

Mutiti, S., Mutiti, C., Manoylov, K., VandeVoort, A., & Bennett, D. (2018). Introduction to Environmental Science (3rd ed.). Biological Science Open Textbooks. University System of Georgia.

Population Reference Bureau. (2018). 2018 world population data sheet. Retrieved from https://www.prb.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/2018_WPDS.pdf. Accessed 25 February 2020.

U.S. Census Bureau. (2018). International database. International Programs. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/data-tools/demo/idb/informationGateway.php. Accessed 25 February 2020. Acc (Links to an external site.