HCI Geog Essay Question Notes Sec 2

3 Factors Affecting Natural Population Growth 1. Improved Living Standards Explanation (increase): Improved living standards means that there is a higher level of healthcare and sanitation , such as clean water. A higher level of sanitation means that there are more people living in more hygienic conditions, and their homes are supplied with clean piped water and rubbish disposal facilities and sewers. Therefore, they are less susceptible to infectious diseases and dying prematurely, which reduces the number of people who fall sick . A higher level of healthcare means people have access to advanced medical facilities and healthcare services, patients will be able to receive better medical care in time . This causes the death rate to decrease, especially in infant mortality rate, and an increase in the life expectancy , which leads to a natural increase in population . 1. Example (increase): Singapore, a developed country that has advanced health care and a high level of sanitation has a low death rate of 5.2 deaths per 1000 people . Explanation (decrease): Improved living standards refer to a developed economy , which means that many births are required for manpower . Moreover, improved living standards also refer to a developed society , where there is better family planning , which reduces the fertility rate and birth rate, thus decreasing the population growth . Also, improved living standards increase the cost of living in the more developed urban areas , which causes families to have fewer childre n as it is too expensive to raise them. In addition, women are more educated and they will rather pursue their careers , so they do not want to spend time at home taking care of children ,As a result, some of them might decide to marry later. This decreases their child-bearing years and they will have fewer children . Example (decrease): Singapore is a developed country that has a Family Planning and Population Board to control the population growth through family planning , and most women in the country are educated . It has a low birth rate of 1.14 births per woman in 2019 . 2. Government Policies Explanation: The government can launch policies to increase or slow down the birth rate , depending on the country’s situation . The

government can give rewards , salary bonuses etc. to people who