Chapter 15

POPULATION AND DEMOGRAPHY

Sullivan (1995) defines population as a total number or people

inhabiting a particular geographical area at a specified time (qtd. in Balinao
and Parcon 135).
Demography is the study of population based on two sources: census
and vital statistics. Census which involves head counting of the entire
population refers to name, age, gender, education, occupation, and residence.
Vital statistics refers to birth, marriage, death, and migration. These four
elements usually change the size of population in a given place.

Elements of Population
The three elements of population are fertility, mortality and migration,
which demographers believe, are affected by economic conditions, sociocultural norms, values and patterns of society. For example, fertility and
mortality are largely affected by financial status of the family. On the other
hand, migration is affected by the physical situation of the place and the
norms and values of the neighborhood.
1.Fertility
Fertility is the ability to produce offspring. By fecundity we mean the
woman's potential for child bearing. Zulueta and Liwag said that women are
fertile from ages 15-49
To measure fertility is to get the crude birth rate, which is the number
of registered live births per 1,000 of the population in a given area at a
specific time. Abelos presents the following formula:

CBR=

Example=

Registered number of births in a year

----------------------------------------------- x 1,000
Total population
35,415
----------- x 1,000 = 52.23 is the CBR
367,120

It is crude because it simply considers all births within one frame. A

more reliable measure is the Age-Specific Fertility Rate, which refers to the
number of live births per 1,000 women of childbearing age (15-45 years old).
The formula is:

ASFR=

Number of births to women ages 15-45

-------------------------------------------------- x 1,000
Number of women ages 15-45

Example=

18,200
----------- x 1,000 = 65.10 is the ASFR
279,880

2.Mortality
Mortality is the measure of the rate of death in population. It is
affected by wealth. Hence, poor countries have a higher rate of infant
mortality and shorted life expectancy. To measure mortality is to get the
crude death rate which is the number of deaths per 1,000 of the population
in a particular place at a specific time. Formula:

CDR=

Registered number of deaths in a year

----------------------------------------------- x 1,000
Total population

Another way of measuring mortality is through Age-Specific Death

Rate which is the number of deaths occuring to persons at a certain age
group per 1,000 if the total population in the same group. Formula:

ASDR=

No. of deaths of certain age group

--------------------------------------------- x 1,000
Total population

3.Migration
Migration is the movement of a person or group of persons from one
place to another to establish residence. The three types of migration:
emigration, immigration and internal. Emigration means moving out of the
place while Immigration means moving into the place, and Internal
migration is the movement within a country.
Two factors of migration: Push factor refers to the unfavorable
conditions in a place like harsh climate, poor employment opportunities,
absence of basic facilities, etc. Pull factor includes favorable and attractive
climate, high salary scheme, many job opportunities and peace and order.

Theories of Population Growth

Reverand Thomas Robert Malthus (1824) claimed that even if the
food supply would increase, it would not be enough to feed the entire
population that was growing fast. To control population growth he
recommended that people should delay marriage or refrain from having
sexual activity.
However, neo-Malthusians insist that the natural as well as artificial
means of birth control must be used to control population growth. NeoMalthusians also strongly recommend that couples should limit their children
to only two in order to attain ZPG or zero population growth. By zero
population growth we mean the state of population where the number of
births and immigrants is equal to the number of deaths and emigrants (Baliao
and Parcon).
Ben Wattenberg in his book, Fewer, writes why: Populations will
age, the customer based will shrink, there will be labor shortages, the tax base
will decline, pensions will be cut, retirement ages will increase (qtd. In
Ehrlich and Ehrlich). In other words the so called zero population will lead to
economic decline or even collapse.
Paul and Anne Ehrlich, together with their Standford University
colleague, Gretchen Daily suggested that world population should be around
2 billion which was the number of people who were alive in 1930s. To
achieve this goal, the number of children per family should be limited to two.
We cannot ignore the fact that that the more people there are, the more
we suffer the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem. Thus, proponents of
artificial methods of birth control suggest drasctic measures like sterilizations
and abortions to curtain population, otherwise there would not be enough
food for all.

Relationship between Population and Economic Situation

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels disagreed with Malthusian view on
population believing that technology can produce enough food supply for the
growing population. Too many people is not the problem but too many
poor people who are oppressed by the rich sector of the community. Brym
and Lie (2005) claimed that if only all people are rich, then there is no such
thing as overpopulation.
In the Philippines, overpopulation is considered as the major source of
poverty. It causes massive use of natural resources and too much spending in
expenses.