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Population Dilemmas in Europe

Population Dilemmas in Europe. How do population trends affect a country’s future?. Imagine.

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Population Dilemmas in Europe

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  1. Population Dilemmas in Europe How do population trends affect a country’s future?

  2. Imagine You are driving through Italy on a hot summer day. As you wind your way through the dry brown hills, you decide to stop for a drink. You park your car in the tiny village of Cersosimo. As you begin to walk through the old narrow streets, you notice something strange. Cersosimo is filled with elderly people! In fact, for every three faces you see, two of them are over 65 years old. Looking in the village school, you see that children of all ages are studying together in just one small class. Finally, you find a shop where you can buy a cold drink. You ask the shopkeeper why there are so many elderly people and so few children in Cersosimo. What is his reply? What’s the problem with this?

  3. Demography • Definition: study of human populations and how they change over time. • Birth rate: number of births every year per 1,000 people. • Death rate: number of deaths every year per 1,000 people. • Human migration: movement of people from one place to another. • Help track population trends. • Shrinking or growing? • Trend in Europe: smaller families

  4. Essential Question “How do population trends affect a country’s future?” • Population pyramids • Diagrams that show the make-up of a country’s population by sex and age groups. • Shape of pyramid shows how country’s population is growing. • Population density • Calculation of the average number of people in a square mile.

  5. Geographic Setting of Europe • Size v. Density • Smallest continent in size. • 1/8 of world’s population. • High population may not last long. • Oldest population of any continent. • Lowest birth rate of any continent. • Europe’s population is shrinking!

  6. Population Change • Problem in Europe is that birthrate is low! • Replacement Rate: enough babies are born to replace the people who die each year. • Italy: TWO babies per woman. • Life Expectancy: number of years a person can expect to live. • People today live longer • France in 1950: 50 years old. • France in 2004: 80 years old.

  7. Effects of Migration • Another cause of instability in Europe’s population. • Immigrant: • In past people left Europe to escape wars & poverty. • Emigrant: • TODAY, more people emigrate to Europe than leave. • Not enough to aid in population growth!

  8. Dilemma 1: Shrinking Population • Between 2005 and 2050, Italy’s population is expected to shrink from 58 million to 50 million. • What are the effects of this? • National Security (power & influence) • Education • Effects economy (unemployment, labor shortages) • Causes of Negative Growth: • Low TFR (total fertility rate) • Women pursuing education & careers • Improvements in family planning methods • Family finances (high cost of living) • Expenses of childcare • Responses to Negative Growth: • “Birth Bonus” • Government assistance for child-care. • Family-friendly policies

  9. Dilemma 2: An Aging Population • Europe- the “old continent”: • By 2050, average Spaniard will be 50. • Causes of aging population: • Rise in life expectancy, drop in birthrate, “baby boom” • sudden increase in the birth rate (1945-1960). • Problems with aging population: • Pensions • Fixed amount of money paid to a retired person by government or former employer. • Raise retirement age or cut pension amount. • Healthcare • As people age, need for healthcare increases. • Looking for ways to cut costs!

  10. Dilemma 3: Declining Workforce • Causes: • Dependency ratio: • More people are dependent on fewer workers. • Germany 2030: 100 workers will support 121 dependents. • Aging population: • More people retire than join workforce. • Germany, 42 million to 30 million in 50 years. • Results: • Shortage of skilled workers. • Economic decline • Cut in government programs • Responses: • Raise retirement age • Women in workforce • Move countries out of Europe • Encourage immigration to Europe

  11. Population Pyramid • http://www.china-europe-usa.com/level_4_data/hum/011_7b.htm • Can you identify the baby boomer generation? • How can you tell that Europe is experiencing negative population growth? • What solutions would you create to resolve these dilemmas?

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