Post a New Question | Current Questions | Live Experts
Homework Help: Social Studies: World Issues: Population Pressure in Australia
by Emily McPherson
Since 1901, the natural increase in birth rates has dropped, yet the
population of Australia grown rapidly. This is mainly because of the
longer life expectancy due to technological advances.
The main population growth was after the end of World War two; this
rapid growth continued for around 20 years. Since the 1970s,
Australia's population has continued to grow, but at a much slower rate.
The following factors effect population growth:
- Fertility- The number of births per thousand in one year
Crude Birth Rate= (number of births / total population) x 1000
- Morality- The number of deaths per thousand in one year
Crude Death Rate= (number of deaths/total population) x 1000
- Natural Increase- The number of people added to the population of a
country in one year
- Rate of Natural Increase= number of births - number of deaths
- Net Migration Gain- The number of people migrating to Australia in one
years minus the number of people emigrating from Australia in one year.
Both the fertility and morality rates have declined over the past 50
years due to advances in technology and education. The natural increase
rate has also been declining since 1970.
The baby boom was the period of time after the second World War. During
this time, many Australian soldiers returned back to their wives and
girl friends to create families. This increase in babies born caused a
steep population growth so that by 1947 Australia's population had
doubled and was continuing to climb.
Nowadays couples are marrying later, delaying starting a family, and
having less children. This is mainly due to the increased cost of
having children and the decreased benefits of having them- many years
ago children were thought of as 'life insurance'.
The decrease of fertility rates has also been acquired with the improved
contraceptive methods which have allowed greater control over timing and
spacing of births. Added to this, most women in today's society have
been educated well enough to understand the commitment needed to raise
children.
Since 1900 the average life expectancy has increased by about twenty
years. This increase is due to advances in medicine and changes in
lifestyle factors. Some of these lifestyle changes include improvement
in diet and fitness, as well as reduced smoking.
The annual rate of migration gain has dropped since 1951. The migration
rate of people to Australia has had a noticeable difference on the total
increase of the Australian population. Without a net migration gain,
Australia's population would drop dramatically, thus, leaving other
countries and cities in the world to become over
populated.
If the net migration gain to Australia is reduced in the future, our
annual rate of population growth would continue to rise, but at a much
slower rate. By reducing the annual migration rate to Australia, our
country would still continue to gain a smaller amount of migrants each
year.
Also, if their are fewer migrants entering Australia, there will need
to be a stricter policy for selecting which people can gain entry
into Australia. If the criteria for selecting people becomes harder,
then all the people immigrating to Australia will probably be skilled in
an area that is necessary in Australia.
Hence, these migrants will be of benefit to Australia and may help to
make even more scientific advances that will boost life expectancy even
further.
Homework Help: Social Studies: World Issues
For Further Reading
|
