Module 6 Global Issues

While having high fertility rates and significant population growth populations can be a challenge, especially for poorer developing countries, having large numbers of elderly citizens can also pose problems, such as not having enough working age people to support social security systems. Fourteen countries have more than 20% of their populations over 65 years of age (all but one in Europe, where 26 of the 27 countries with oldest populations can be found). Match the letter in the histogram to the country to find the world's seven oldest populations.

- A, B, C: Bulgaria, Germany, Greece. - F: Italy - D, E: Finland, Portugal - G: Japan

When looking at the population pyramid for The Netherlands, which of the following are correct statements?

- About 11% of the population is under ten years of age. - More than 50% of the Dutch population is of working age (15-64 years of age). - Just over 18% of the population is older than 65 years of age.

Which of the following are correct statements about the world's population?

- By 2050, India is projected to be the most populous country in the world. - By 2050, India's population is projected to reach 1.6 billion people.

What are some things that can be seen on the passage through the Darien Gap?

- Children crying of hunger because there is no food. - Young men carrying backpacks filled with bricks of cocaine. - Skeletons of people who got injured while making the treacherous journey. - Rivers overflowing, making it impossible to pass (the area has some of the highest rainfall totals in the world). - Smugglers hired to get people into Panama demanding payment.

The role of women has been seen as central to population control because women's empowerment tends to lead to smaller but healthier families. Clearly, even with a number of countries having missing data, the map above shows that women in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia face the most disparities and/or persecution. Match the country below to the main subdimension under "Gender Inequality and Integrity" where that country ranks as the worst in the world for that subdimension.

- China: "Female/Male Health and Survival" - Eritrea: "Female Physical Integrity" - Yemen: "Female/Male Economic Participation and Opportunity" and "Female/Male Political Empowerment" - Chad: "Female/Male Education Attainment"

What was the Human Genome Project found that tells us that variations in health outcomes based on race and ethnicity are linked to something other than DNA?

- DNA shows that all humans are 99.9% the same. - There's more variation within a like group than between single individuals of different groups.

What are policies undertaken by the former Trump administration with respect to migration?

- Ending the protected status of more than 200,000 Salvadoran immigrants, many of whom had been here well over a decade. - Drastically reducing the number of refugees accepted for resettlement in the United States. - Instituting a "zero tolerance" policy at the U.S.-Mexico border, which included separating children from their parents after they crosses into the United States. - Instituting a travel ban on select Muslim-majority countries. - Trying to rescind the Defend Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA, which grants legal protection to nearly 800,000 immigrants brought to the U.S. as children)

What are some of the reasons why the world's population drastically increased over the past 70 years?

- Improved food production and distribution. - Reduced mortality rates. - Major public health advances

Which of the following are common themes connecting all models of thought on the question of how to address population growth?

- Improving the statue of women. - Increasing sustainability of food production.

Match the term to its definition.

- Internally Displace Persons: People displaced within their own countries. - Immigration: International migration into a country. - Urbanization: Growth in the size of cities. - Refugee: A person who is outside their country of origin because of well-founded fears of being persecuted. - Emigration: International migration out of a country.

Population projections are not predictions but rather represent a calculation of future population size based on a set of assumptions or variants, including expected fertility rate. Which of the following variants project that the world's total population will surpass 9 billion by 2100?

- Medium Fertility Variant. - Instant Replacement Variant.

Once they have crosses the Darien Gap, what do migrants find?

- Minimal food and other assistance. - Stalled journeys in squalid camps because COVID-19 has put up a major roadblock.

When looking at Niger's population pyramid, which of the following are correct statements?

- Niger has a youthful population. - Less than 5% of Niger's population is over the age of 65.

One needs only to consider the COVID-19 crisis that began in 2020 to recognize that health factors, such as the quality of health care systems and the prevalence of disease, can have a significant impact on demographics. Clearly, from the map above, Africa as well as South and Southeast Asia face major health challenges. Match the country below to the subdimension under "Health" where that country ranks as the worst in the world for that subdimension. Does anything surprise you? Do you know the location of each of these countries?

- Non-infectious diseases: Nauru - Health Outcomes: Afghanistan - Infectious diseases: Lesotho - Health Systems: South Sudan - Substance Abuse: United States

Which of the following is true about population and population growth?

- Patterns of population growth differ significantly between more and less developed regions of the world. - Fertility rates in the least developed countries are declining but still very high. - The world's population continues to grow but the rate of population growth is decreasing. - Nearly one-fifth of the world's population lives in China. - Nearly 60% of the world's population lives in Asian countries. - European populations make up about 10% of the world's population. - More than 85% of the worlds population is located in countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

What were some negative consequences of the original green revolution?

- People around the world eat the same few things. - Many vulnerable farmers became dependent on expensive and environmentally contaminating pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. - Loss of local food diversity. - Local knowledge that was built over thousands of years of agricultural history was almost lost.

"Brain Drain"

- Sometimes not entirely negative, as those who emigrate can sometimes return home with new skills or capital. - The loss of highly skilled persons, mostly from developing countries, as they migrate to, most often, developed countries.

Across the globe, urbanization has been caused by?

- Technological developments, "pushing" people off the farm. - Environmental decline, such as the overgrazing of land. - Industrialization, "pulling" people into cities.

The Cornucopian perspective rests on the following ideas:

- Technology innovation can overcome problems of population growth. - Use of natural resources is best managed through forces. - Population growth is positive as it increases economic productivity and capacity for economic progress.

Key "general tendencies" of international population movements in an age of globalization include:

- The "feminization" of migration, as women are an increasing part of workforces. - The increasing politicization of migration. - The involvement of an increasing number of countries, both as sending and receiving states. - Ongoing changed in where people go and where they come from.

In his 1798 publication, Thomas Malthus argued that...

- The "population checks" of famine, war, and epidemics would bring populations back under control. - The human desire to reproduce would lead to starvation, poverty, and human misery.

Which of the following are correct statements about fertility rates?

- The fertility rate for the world as a whole is about 2.51 births per woman. - The fertility rate is a strong indicators of overall population growth. - The fertility rate in high income countries is below replacement and stands at about 1.67 per women. - The fertility rate in middle income countries is estimated at about 2.35 births per woman. - The fertility rate in low income countries has declined from just under 6.68 for 1970-1975 to 4.52 births per woman in the period from 2015-2020. - The total fertility rate measure the average number of births per woman of childbearing age.

As discussed in the video, why is there so much violence in the Central American states?

- The prevalence of significant amounts of guns. - The prevalence of powerful drug gangs, with many members trained in the U.S.

The longitudinal chart above shows that "Population Growth" patterns have been quite challenging in Lebanon and Syria because of the devastating civil war in Syria, with well over a million refugees being driven into tiny Lebanon, and some eventually returning home to Syria. More broadly, this variable helps us understand where a country stands in its "demographic transition." Countries with the highest population growth generally are in the earlier stages of the demographic transition, whereas countries with the lowest population growth or declining populations generally are in the latter stages. Using the RCII, match each country below to its population growth rate.

- United States: .7 - Russia: -.2 - Germany: -.21 - India: 1.04 - Nigeria: 2.53 - Japan: -.37 - China: .26

What are some of the uneven effects brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic felt by people of color in London?

- When looking at survival at 30 days, patients of Black and Asian ethnicity had an increased risk of death. - A significant gap in health outcomes between White, Asian, and Black communities admitted to hospital with complication from COVID-19. - Those of Asian and Black ethnicity were younger and fitter and were dying from COVID-19.

According to the UN Population Division's 2020 analyses, what is the medium variant projection for the world's population by 2100?

10.9 billion people by 2100

How many refugees AND internally displaced people does Syria have?

13.2 million

What percentage of global calories come from animals raised for food?

20%

What percentage of crops grown goes into feeding livestock?

33%

How many unaccompanied minors entered the U.S. during the 2014 crisis?

60,000-80,000

As noted in the introduction to this lesson, the world's population is currently close to...

7.9 billion people

In 2019, the number of people living as refugees or internally displaced people worldwide was estimated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at:

79.5 million

What percentage of global agricultural lands do animals raised for food take up?

80%

What do we call the graphical representation of the proportions of persons in different age groups in a population?

A population pyramid

Africa has 37 of the top 38 countries with the highest birth rate. What is the one country in the top 38 that is NOT from Africa?

Afghanistan

"Urbanization," a key dynamic in the movement of people worldwide, has been sparked by such factors as technological change, industrialization, and rural environmental decline. It is seen as an important factor in the demographic transition. Order the countries in the chart above from least urbanized (25.75%) to the most urbanized (91.7%).

Afghanistan, India, China, Ireland, United States, Japan.

As can be seen in the bar chart above, Syria leads the world with over 6.6 million refugees. Four other countries after Syria have 900,000 or more refugees. Place these four in order from most refugees to least refugees. Do you know why these countries have so many refugees?

Afghanistan, South Sudan, Myanmar, Somalia.

What is replacement fertility (in births per woman)?

Approximately 2.1 births per woman

By the end of the 21st century, which of the following regions will see their share decrease while still holding the largest share of the world's population?

Asia

In which region are the world's three largest cities found?

Asia

Where do migrants going through the Darian Gap come from?

Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Cuba, Haiti, and other places around the world.

When did the world's population reach one billion people?

At the beginning of the 19th century.

Why is it important today to think about the relationship between population growth and food supply even though the rate at which the global population increases has slowed?

Because of the additional problems of carbon emissions and climate change.

Which country has been known for its "one child policy"?

China

According to the UN's 2020 projections, the two countries with the largest populations will continue to see growth, but where ________ is projected to peak in size at 1.5 billion in 2030, ________ is projected to soon over take it, reaching an estimated 1.6 billion by 2050.

China / India

The analyst points to a 15-year, $10 billion U.S. effort in which country as a model for what's needed in Central America?

Colombia

Which countries will continue to hold the largest share of the world's population?

Countries in Asia

The demographic transition model suggests that as societies industrialize and urbanize...

Death rates will fall, and when values shift from large to small families, fertility rates will decline.

What do we call the "study of population change and characteristics"?

Demography

The video points to which country as having the highest homicide rates in the world?

El Salvador

What are the most effective ways to lower birth rates?

Empowering women and increasing women's access to education.

U.S. support for international family planning programs:

Has shifted with changing administrations, with Republicans barring fertility control programs that include legal access to abortion, and Democrats supporting such programs.

The moderator interviews an economic immigrant from Mexico who builds homes. How much more can he make in the U.S. than in Mexico?

He can make in a day what he would in a week in Mexico.

The moderator interviews an 11-year old boy who fled to the U.S. by himself because of the extreme drug-gang violence. What country was this boy from?

Honduras

What do we mean by the term "replacement fertility"?

It is the rate at which one generation of parents is replacing itself in the next generation.

Which of the following statements is correct?

It took the UK 95 years to halve birth rates while Brazil did it in 26 and Iran in 10.

What regions hold what percentage of the world's population? Europe, North, America, and Oceania combined hold ______ of the world's population, whereas Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean hold _______ of the world's population.

Less than 20% / more than 80%

In general:

Many LDCs have enacted policies to reduce population growth, while many MDCs have enacted policies to increase population growth.

Which of the following statements is true concerning urbanization?

More Developed Countries (MDCs) are more urbanized than Less Developed Countries (LDCs).

If we all lived as densely as people in Manhattan, every human could fit inside...

Norway

How is a country's population size (P) determined?

P = (+) births (-) deaths (+) in-migration (-) out-migration

Which of the following is an example that shows that genetically modified crops can have good and bad effects?

Pest-killing corn has lowered pesticide use in parts of the world by 90% but has also resulted in some bugs like root worms developing resistance to the bacterial toxin inserted into the corn's DNA.

Those pointing out that we need to focus on the structural dimensions of social change, argue that?

Population growth, in particular high fertility, is a consequence rather than a cause of slow economic development.

The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration:

Seeks to promote national and international policies with respect to migration that follow the rule of law and promote sustainable development and human rights.

What is a key challenge of aging populations?

Smaller cohorts of young people coming into the labor force to support elderly populations.

As discussed in the video, many of the immigrants coming into the United States are from:

The Northern Triangle of Central America (Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador), the world's deadliest countries outside war zones.

Which country accepts the largest total number of immigration worldwide?

The United States

Critics of the demographic transition model argue that?

The model applies the record of population change and development in Europe and North America as the universal standard.

What is the relationship between expected population growth over the next two decades and climate change?

The vast majority of people (75%) are going to be born in regions hardest hit by climate change.

Which writer first proposed a negative relationship between human population growth and the supply of food and other resources?

Thomas Malthus

The majority of the world's refugees and internally displaced people are:

Women and children