Birth Rate

This week, we were taught on high and low birth rates. High birth rates result from a lack of education which leads to lack of contraception and family planning skills and knowledge. A lack of education also results in people not being skilled and therefore people, especially women, cannot hold proper jobs. Another cause of high birth rates would be traditions in LDC's. In places like China, a preference for sons reults in women giving birth until a son is born and this might sometimes produce a lot of females in the process. In some rural areas, farming is a source of income for many families and having many children can help lessen the work load of a farmer and his family.

Moving on to high birth rates, they are usually present in developed countries (DC'S). The cause of low birth rates would be due to the the fact that women tend to be more educated in these countries and would allow them to have careers and jobs. Women would prefer to focus on work first and as a result, there would be delayed marriages which result in less children as women are less fertile as they grow older.


In an article we came across, ( http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=30365&Cr=population&Cr1=mdg ) it said that high birth rates hamper development in less developed countries. However, low birth rates result in less people supporting the older generation, so is a higher or lower birth rate better? Or is there a 'perfect' birth rate?