8.2. Population Problems of Advanced Countries

♤ Ageing Population: Due to low birth rate the proportion of young people in the population is relatively small. Low death rate and high life expectancy mean that there is an ever- increasing proportion of older people in the population. Many retire from active work in their sixties and then become dependent on the working population. Provisions of pension and other facilities, e.g. health services for elderly people pose financial challenges.

♤ Small Work force: As educational standards improve children remain longer at school and join the workforce later. This, combined with the low birth rate, means that the labour force expands only slowly while industrial and other employment opportunities continue to multiply. Despite a high degree of mechanization in most industries many countries are short of workers. Another problem is that the workforce is generally well educated and skilled and there is a shortage of unskilled workers. Because the majority of workers are skilled and the work force is relatively small wages are high.

♤ Rural Depopulation: Steady movement of population occurs from countryside to towns due to the pull factors of city life. The fewer people in the countryside make it less economical to provide services or do business. This creates disparity between towns and countryside.

♤ Urbanization: As towns expand, the pressure on transport, water supplies, sewage and refuse disposal grows and creates problems. Smoke and chemical effluents from factories produce air and water pollution. Traffic congestion and noise are other problems. A tension created by urban life leads to far higher incidence of mental illness than in underdeveloped countries. Urban sprawl is another problem; the expanding towns engulf land which would otherwise be suitable for agriculture and thus reduce self-sufficiency in many countries.

Most advanced countries have areas where agriculture or industry could be improved or where the population is too large. Similarly the underdeveloped countries all have large towns where

the problems are similar to those of urbanized societies everywhere. It is also important to bear in mind the differences between under developed countries. Some have a much better resource base or a smaller population, and these, such as Argentina, Mexico and Malaysia, are much more likely to be able to overcome their problem than countries with few resources and a large population with fixed traditional ideas.