Global Population Dynamics, Migration Patterns, and Development

Problems Related to Population

• Rapid population growth: Mainly in less developed countries.
• Ageing populations: Mainly in rich societies.
• Effects of large-scale migration.
• Coexistence in a multicultural world.

Migration Definitions

Emigration: Refers to people leaving one place for another.
Immigration: Refers to people arriving from another territory.

Three Factors of Migration

1. Nature: Forced or voluntary.
2. Duration: Temporary or permanent.
3. Place: Internal or international.

Why Do People Migrate?

• Economic: Especially to seek employment.
• Social: Better quality of life or to be near family.
• Political: Escaping from conflicts such as wars.
• Environmental: Escaping from natural disasters like earthquakes or floods.

Effects of Migration

In Countries of Origin

• Positive: Reduces employment pressure; emigrants often send money home.
• Negative: Families are broken up; the age structure of the population changes; highly skilled people tend to migrate.

In Destination Countries

• Positive: The young population and birth rate increase; immigrant work contributes to economic growth; the number of taxpayers increases; cultural enrichment occurs.
• Negative: Increased pressure on healthcare; poor living conditions; conflicts may arise between immigrants and the host society.

Fundamentalism

Religious movements which strictly apply the content of sacred texts to regulate the life of a society.

Measuring Development

The UN created the HDI (Human Development Index) to determine how advanced a country is.

Economic Contrasts

• Unequal distribution of wealth: The GDP is often used to measure a country's economic development.
• Internal inequalities and extreme poverty: The GDP per capita is a good indicator of the wealth of a country's inhabitants.

Factors That Cause Underdevelopment

1. The colonial legacy.
2. The technological gap.
3. External debt.
4. Population issues.

Overcoming Underdevelopment

Less developed countries receive foreign aid from three main sources:

• International organizations: Member states of the International Monetary Fund provide money for loans to countries with economic difficulties.
• Aid from a rich country: Rich countries contribute 0.7% of their gross national income.
• Aid through NGOs: These are private, nonprofit organizations.