Activity 3.1 – Human Population

Activity 3.1 – Human Population

    For this core activity I chose Denmark and Somalia to compare and contrast their reported population ecology to understood how we can understand what generally classifies them as a developed and third world country, respectively, and how they may differ from other countries in their same classification.

Denmark's demographic profile (2021):
Total population: 5.8 million
Birth rate: 1%
Death rate: 0.9%
Population growth rate (rate of natural increase): 0.1% (calculated using birth rate - death rate)
Life expectancy for males and females: 82 years average
Fertility rate (average number of children per childbearing-aged female): 1.7 
Percent of All Births to Mothers Ages 15-19: 0%
Infant Mortality Rate: 3.2% 
Gross National Income (GNI): 62,180

    For the data set in 2021, Denmark has a higher GNI than the average of Most Developed(2021) countries, almost by 50%. Additionally having less of a percentage in Infant Mortality rate and non-existent teenage mothers, while a higher Life Expectancy helps reflect that the country's health education and health coverage is easily accessible, even more so than the average Most Developed countries. This would reflect a very healthy Type I survivorship curve, help reflecting that most humans born in this country will only die in their older years.

    The International Database (2023), predicts that Denmark's total population will continue to grow, despite most developed countries(2021) population growth will decrease, in other words, "more deaths than births occurring", which their total population will decrease. Their demography will continue to grow and this may be due to multiple factors including availability of higher education, and addressing economic barriers that prevent caretaking and career pursuing. Additionally this will assist in their dependency ratio as a more developed nation which will allow mew generations to easily assist their retired citizens.

Somalia's demographic profile (2021):
Total Population: 16.4 million
Birth rate: 4.9%
Death rate: 1.1%
Population growth rate (rate of natural increase): 3.8%
Life expectancy for males and females: 58 years average
Fertility rate (average number of children per childbearing-aged female): 6.9
Percent of All Births to Mothers Ages 15-19: 13%
Infant Mortality Rate: 65%
Gross National Income (GNI): 870

For the data set in 2021, Somalia has a higher birthrate, higher death rate, higher population growth, lower life expectancy, higher fertility rate, lower rate of teenage mothers, and higher infant mortality rate than the average Least Developed(2021) countries average. This reflects the dire environment their citizens face on surviving, this would show a hybrid type I and II survivorship curve for having such a high infant mortality rate. The fertility rate is possibly the biggest factor that contributes to the population growth rate since each childbearing capable women are having an average of more than 6 children. 

The International Database (2023), predicts that Somalia's total population will continue to grow, aligning with developing nations population growth rates. Their demography will continue to grow and this may be due to multiple negative factors due to the cultural stigma's that may be placed in this moment due to higher infant mortality rate influencing women to bear more children to help their economic situations. Interestingly, Somalia had a sharp decline in total fertility rate, life expectancy, and expected males in their 20 to 24 years age group in the early 1990's. A quick web search result shows that Somalia had a long lasting civil war, that impacted the majority of its nation. This shows that even statistics can be used to determine how impactful devastating events can have on a nation and even lead demographers to identify events. 

Resources
Population Reference Bureau. (2021). 2021 world population data sheet. 2021-World-Pop Data-Sheet.pdf

United States Census Bureau, International Database: Dataset for Denmark (2023), https://www.census.gov/data-tools/demo/idb/#/country?menu=countryViz&COUNTRY_YEAR=2023&COUNTRY_YR_ANIM=2023&FIPS_SINGLE=DA

United States Census Bureau,  International Database: Dataset for Somalia (2023), https://www.census.gov/data-tools/demo/idb/#/country?menu=countryViz&COUNTRY_YEAR=2023&COUNTRY_YR_ANIM=2023&FIPS_SINGLE=SO

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