SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND USES OF RESOURCE

HUMAN RESOURCES
CHARACTERISTICS OF POPULATION

POPULATION STRUCTURE

The correct term for the study of the population is demography. This is the study of the changes

in the composition: the size, age, distribution, sex balance of the population. Population

structure is the population make-up of a country. It is commonly described using a population

pyramid. A population pyramid wide at the base means that there is a large proportion of youths.

This is the structure of a developing country and it includes various aspects of the society,

including the population density, distribution, size and stratification.

POPULATION SIZE

This is determined by the number of people born, the number of people who die and the

difference between the numbers entering and leaving the country.

BIRTH RATE

This is the number of babies born in a year for every 1,000 people in the population. The higher

the birth rate, the more babies are born.

FERTILITY RATE

This is the number of children born for every 1,000 women of childbearing age (approximately

15 to 40 years of age).

POPULATION PYRAMIDS

This is a way of displaying the age/substructure of a population. We can analyses it to predict the

future and plan accordingly.

DEPENDENCY RATIOS

This is a ratio that compares the percentage of population available for work (15-64) to that of

those who are economically inactive. To get this ratio, we look at the number of all children14

and under plus those aged 65 and over then divide by the number of adults aged 15-64. However,

as a population we must realize that the higher the ratio the more potential problems for the

future.

SEX BALANCE

This is the age/sex balance that exists. As mentioned before, the usual way to show this is with a

population pyramid. This is simply a combination bar graph showing the percentage of males at

different ages and the percentage of females at different ages. It can, however, tell a lot more

about a country and its development.

POPULATION PYRAMIDS

When the base is very wide, it indicates a very high birth rate. If the width drops off very

quickly, it means that there are not many people living to very old ages; very few reach old age.

A large base means a high birth rate but a wider and taller pyramid means that more people are

living to older ages. A more dome-shaped pyramid means that many people are living to older

ages as the quality of life improves. There are also proportionately fewer births. There may also

be a very small base due to the very low birth rates and death rates displayed in the wide top.

With this, there are serious implications about providing for the elderly population as there is an

increasing cost of health care and the need for more pensions, especially as the working

population becomes proportionally smaller.

POPULATION COMPOSITION

Population composition refers to the combined demographic characteristics of person within a

geographic area. Major characteristics of a population include age, sex, occupation, ethnicity,

religion, dependency ratio. Age, sex, race and ethnicity, to an extent, are all ascribed

characteristics at birth and, in most cases, are not amenable to change.

ETHNICITY

‘Out of Many, One People’. This illustrates the racial mixture in the Caribbean. There are two

distinct factors which influence the size of families across ethnic groups: culture and age

composition of the ethnic group. This is so as ethnicity has its roots in common cultural heritage.

AGE

The greater the numbers of younger people in a society, the higher the birth rate. Knowing the

proportion of the population in each age group is important in every country for development

purpose. It influences whether a population will increase in size. High growth rates mean more

young people. The age distribution represents its most significant compositional variable for a

population as it suggests whether a country has a young or an old population.

SEX

Populations can be divided into male and female. More women than men live to an old age. The

over-80 age group is predominantly female. This is stated as the number of males to 100 females.

OCCUPATION

People change their occupation as they progress from young children to students then from one

job to another as their career develops unto retirement. The working population may be divided

into different industries such as agriculture or mining.

RELIGION

Christianity is the dominant religion to be found in the region; a legacy of plantation life. Islam

and Hinduism are the legacy of indentureship and there are various religions associated with our

mixed cultural base

FACTORS INFLUENCING POPULATION DISTRIBUTION

Population Distribution Refers to the spread of a population; it is the way in which a population

is disseminated over a given area.

Population Density

The number of persons living in a particular region in relation to the land area can be

termed population density. This is of paramount importance to the policy makers who use this

information to help make decisions about the distribution of important resources’

This is calculated by dividing the number of persons living in a country by the area of the

country or a specific land space (such as the number of persons living in Kingston by the area of

Kingston.) You should note that many persons live in the cities and so population density tends

to be high, i.e, the number of persons living in each square kilometre.

For example, that the population size of St. Kitts is 50,000 and the land area is 5,000 km2, using

the information above, what would be the population density of St. Kitts?

Calculation of population density- (the formula)

Total population of St. Kitts ═ 50,000 people

Area of St. Kitts ═ 5,000 km2 ═ 10 persons per km2