Evening is universal time for viewing news. Viewers hear a lot of terms that are not always clear and do not completely immerse themselves in the essence of the problem. The demographic problem of the country, the difficult demographic situation, the demographic crisis - often these phrases come out of the mouths of politicians, public figures, sociologists and leaders. In order to understand what is at stake, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the term "demography", with its origin, development and role in the development of modern society.
Origin of new science
January 1662 is universally considered the birth date of demography as a science. At that time, she still did not have this modern name. John Graunt spoke about it in his long-titled book, which is now rephrased and simply called “Demography through the eyes of John Graunt, a citizen of London.” Studying the actual mortality bulletins at that time, Graunt was the first to notice that the population exists according to certain laws. Thanks to the ninety-page booklet of a self-taught scientist, three sciences were subsequently born: sociology, statistics and demography.
History of the origin of the term
Relatively recently, namely in 1855, the French scientist A. Guillard published a book with a title that was not talking at that time - “Elements of human statistics, or Comparative demography”.
The Russian language was replenished with this term in 1970, thanks to the holding of the eighth international statistical congress in St. Petersburg. Initially, demography in Russia was perceived solely as a synonym for population statistics. In modern society, demography is an activity aimed at collecting data, describing and analyzing changes in the number, composition and replenishment of the population. Using the term in the form of an adjective gives it the meaning of “referring to the study of the composition of the population”.
What demography talks about
Demography is a scientific study of the size, territorial distribution and composition of the population. Also, within the framework of this science, they study the causes of changes in the composition of the population and ways of solving unfavorable demographic situations for the country. In this regard, demography is not just a science, it is a set of techniques that allow preserving and multiplying a high-quality population in the country and the world. The population is the subject of demographic research.
As a unit of aggregate, a person is distinguished who is considered from the point of view of various signs. This allows us to say that demography is the science of a person, his age, gender, marital status, occupation, education, nationality and other characteristics.
Throughout life, each of these indicators undergoes changes, which significantly affects the general condition of the country's population. Such instability gave rise to a term such as population movement. It is divided into natural, mechanical and social.
Stages of development of demography
In ancient times, thinkers paid attention to the population, its size, but there was no talk that demography was a science. Confucius tried to determine the relationship between population and cultivated land. After him, Plato, describing the ideal state, noted that his population should not be less than 5040 free inhabitants.
The student of Plato Aristotle actively studied the small population. The era of feudalism is characterized by the active use of measures to increase the population. Thus, the authorities tried to strengthen the political and financial condition, as well as the military forces. For the first time, John Graunt began to study the population as an object of science.
Demography in modern society
The rapid development of demography is more inherent in the mid-twentieth century, which is the source of the emergence of modern demography. Demography goes to a new level and begins to play an important role in solving many economic and social problems. Social demography is a combination of two sciences, sociology and demography. It is based on the study of the mutual influence of demography on sociology and vice versa.
Modern demography carries an extensive scientific base, which was developed in the mid-seventies. The scientific approach made it possible to discover new knowledge, develop demographic analysis, and increase the research based on demography. The family has become a fundamental element in studying the country's demographic situation. Such great scientists as D.I. put their hands on the study of the science of the composition of the population. Mendeleev, P.P. Semenov-Tyanshansky, S.P. Kapitsa.
Population explosion
The seventeenth century is characterized by a significant increase in population. The reason for this increase was the high achievements of medicine, which allowed to reduce the mortality rate. According to official figures, the population for a thousand years BC was fifty million people. Over 2600 years, it has increased by only 450 million.
After 130 years, a population explosion was noticed, because during this time the number could increase by a billion. Further, the explosion became larger, and in 44 years there were four billion people on the planet, instead of the recent two billion. The population of the Earth continues to increase rapidly, and by 2025 the population will exceed eight billion. But there are forecasts that promise the extinction of the population in a few decades.
Demographic crisis
The twentieth century was a period of declining birth rates and deaths in many countries of the world. The increase was either minimal, or it was not at all. Some countries have gone negative. With a significant reduction in population faced and Russia.
One of the causes of the Russian demographic crisis was the collapse of the USSR. In most regions of the Russian Federation, there is an excess of mortality over fertility. In Asia, Latin America and Africa, global population decline is due to high levels of migration.
The causes of the demographic crisis also include historical disasters, child mortality, the growth of the urban population who do not want to have more than one child, the lack of funds to support more than one child, the predominance of the male population over the female one.
The inertia of the demographic crisis lies in the pattern: if the birth rate has a stable negative dynamics, then the number of women capable of reproduction is reduced. In this case, the acquisition of positive dynamics is possible only if women will give birth to many times more children.
Ways to solve demographic problems
As you know, the population explosion is most inherent in China. To solve this problem, the government of the country decided to tax every born child, except the first. The disadvantage of this method is the large number of unregistered children. But there is an effect too, annual growth decreased by 1.8%. Following the example of China, India has also chosen this policy.
As for the demographic crisis, an incentive system is effective here. So, in Russia there is a program under which women who have given birth to a second child receive maternity capital, for the third child the state gives land for building a house. French women and Germans receive substantial benefits for two or more children.