Describe and analyze the reasons for high population growth in South Asia. Include an examination of family planning in your discussion

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The primary cause of high population growth in South Asia is the low level of economic development. Many people are engaged in subsistence agriculture, which makes children very valuable. South Asia is essentially in the 2nd and 3rd stages of the Demographic Transition, where birth rates exceed death rates. As economic development and urbanization increase, birth rates will likely decrease as well, if South Asia follows the same pattern of population change seen in other regions such as western Europe, and represented by the Demographic Transition Model. There are efforts in these countries to encourage family planning, with Bangladesh implementing a family planning program that employs women to talk to other women in this Islamic society. The strategy has been effective, with Bangladesh's TFR dropping to 2.4, which is the lowest in the region and equivalent to that of Sri Lanka, which also has encouraged family planning.