essay writing day 2

During class, we were allowed to work on our essay for our midterm. This is what I wrote:

During Human Geography this year, we have talked about different nations and their place with population and migration. Nations all over the world have different situations regarding population growth, decrease and migration. Migration and population growth can be because the economy is strong, there are little to no wars and there is good health care. Migration and population decrease can be because of the economy, war, low fertility rate, and little health care. All of these things are essential to life and if a few or even all of these things are missing, a country’s population and immigration will rapidly decrease.

 Afghanistan is one example of a nation that has a decreasing population. Afghanistan has a high birth rate and a high death rate which causes a low rate of natural increase. The crude birth rate and crude death rate is high because of the health care. Afghanistan has very little health care so women tend to have more children to ensure that at least one of them will live to adulthood. The death rate is high because there are few vaccinations or medication in Afghanistan. This causes many people to die from illnesses such as the flu, something that nations like the United States could cure within a week. Afghanistan also has a negative migration rate due to wars, poverty and their ineffective healthcare. 

Belize is also an example of a place with a very low rate of natural increase. Belize has a very low crude birth rate and a moderate crude death rate causing a very low population growth rate of only 1%. This could lead to underpopulation in the future. Like Afghanistan, Belize has a negative migration rate because of poverty, little access to clean water and little health care. Most people in Belize are from the age of 0-14. This is the pre-reproductive age. Most women have around 3 children, in fear that some might not live to see adulthood. In the future, the population could rise slowly if Belize keeps a total fertility rate of 2.8. 

The final example is Japan.  Japan has a very low crude birth rate and a higher crude death rate leaving Japan with a negative rate of natural increase. Japan also has zero immigrants to help with their underpopulation. Japan has a very high life expectancy which means that most people are in their post-reproductive years. This means that there will not be a baby boom any time in the near future. 

All three of these countries have a very low or even negative rate of natural increase. If Belize and Afghanistan had better health care, it would lead to a lower total fertility rate and a higher life expectancy. Most women would have fewer children if they knew that they would live until their adulthood. Japan has a very low fertility rate which is causing their drop in population. If their total fertility rate went up, they would have a spike in their population. Until wars are resolved and better health care is found, these countries will not have a high migration rate, which is also causing their population to drop.