South Asia's Population Dynamics and Development Challenges - Prof. W. Rowe, Study notes of Geography

Download South Asia's Population Dynamics and Development Challenges - Prof. W. Rowe and more Study notes Geography in PDF only on Docsity! GEOG 1003 Rowe October 12, 2010 South Asia III - Green revolution averted famine in the 1960s, but many rural families were still in poverty. Population - They had multiple children - This is the strategy for many people in the developing world, which is why you see such incredibly high populations and population additions in South Asia. (not in China – one child policy) - 1.5 billion people living in South Asia (more than China – 1.3 billion) - 1/3 of the population is under the age of 15 o It is estimated that by 2020, India alone will have more people than China o India adds the population of Louisiana times 3.5 every single year. - Health care has risen dramatically in rural areas which allows people to have more people to live past infancy and into adulthood - India and Bangladesh have tried to reduce birth rates since the 1950s o Bangladesh has succeeded in reducing birth rates 51% since the 1950s o India has succeeded in reducing birth rates 42% since the 1950s o Pakistan still has a very high birth rate and is expanding drastically - More educated women do not want to have as many children, so the use of contraceptives are higher in educated women - The bulk of the population in Pakistan is under 20 o There will have to be an enormous amount of jobs created to employ all of these people - For a lot of these families, especially the poorer and less educated people, they are still living on rural farms o Farm families want big families because you can get more work done - Like China, South Asians value boys over girls o India, 67% boys are educated versus 44% girls o Produced a disproportionate amount of males to females (not as bad as China)  Boys are more prone to diseases due to the Y chromosome  More girls make it to 20 years of age because more boys die young - Education is not that great in South Asia o Florida is ranked 51st in education in U.S. o Tennessee is ranked 48th in education in the U.S. - South Asia – 50% of people still live in villages - Younger people want to go to Mumbai(Bombay), Calcutta, and other major cities and get jobs outside of agriculture o These cities have grown exponentially since the 1960s  Urbanization without industrialization  People moving into cities without jobs waiting for them  India is only just 1/3 urban (U.S. 80%)  A lot of these people are trying to find whatever means they can when they get there  Traditional workers and clothes makers lose their jobs because Chinese imports are cheaper (even though they are not of the same high quality) - Infrastructure has not kept up with the growing population o The sewer system of Calcutta was built by the British for 1 million people. There are now 13 million people in Calcutta and there have been no additions to the sewer system. Calcutta floods, and sewage floats when this happens o Roads, housing, nothing has kept up - “Bustees” o Slums that run through and around the cities of South Asia o Has fueled congestion, acute housing shortages, and extraordinary difficulties in finding anything to make money  People, especially young kids if they are orphans, are trying to find anything to make them money Microcredit (Grameen Bank) - The biggest lender of Microcredit is the Grameen Bank - A small group of people, most of whom are women, will borrow a small amount of money to start a tiny business o This money is usually between $15 and $50 o Can start a business (tire repair, bike repair, sewing intricate designs on saris) - Grameen Bank has a 98% payback rate (paid back with interest) - Opportunities exist in India and Pakistan o In India, there are so many problems and natural disasters, so these type of things work well India - Leader in developing world in industry - Recently been trying to get into the vehicle market - Budding software industry (particularly large in southern India) o All of population can’t access this  Too poor and cant access internet or even know what it is