Evening is the world news time. Viewers hear a lot of terms that are not always clear and do not allow you to fully immerse yourself in the essence of the problem. The demographic problem of the country, the difficult demographic situation, the demographic crisis - often these phrases fly out of the mouths of politicians, public figures, sociologists and presenters. 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.
The origin of a new science
January 1662 is widely regarded as the birth date of demography as a science. At that time, she did not yet have this modern name. It was brought up by John Graunt in his long- titled book, now paraphrased as simply Demographics as Seen by John Graunt, Citizen of London. Studying the actual mortality bulletins at that time, Graunt was the first to notice that the population existsaccording to certain rules. Thanks to the ninety-page book of a self-taught scientist, three sciences subsequently appeared: 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 at that time a meaningless title - "Elements of Human Statistics, or Comparative Demography".
The Russian language was replenished with this term in 1970, thanks to the eighth International Statistical Congress held in St. Petersburg. Initially, demography in Russia was perceived exclusively as a synonym for population statistics. In modern society, demography is an activity aimed at collecting data, describing and analyzing changes in the size, composition and replenishment of the population. The use of the term as an adjective gives it the meaning of "pertaining to the study of the composition of a population."
What demographics tells 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 to solve demographic situations that are unfavorable for the country. In this regard, demography is not just a science, it is a set of methods that allow you to preserve and increase the quality of the population in the country and the world. The population is the object of demographic research.
As a unit of the population, a person is singled out, who is considered withpoint of view of various features. 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. This instability has given rise to the term population movement. It is divided into natural, mechanical and social.
Stages of demographic development
In ancient times, thinkers paid attention to the population, its numbers, but there was no talk that demography is a science. Confucius tried to determine the relationship between the population and the amount of cultivated land. After him, Plato, describing the ideal state, noted that its population should not be less than 5040 free inhabitants.
Plato's student Aristotle actively studied the smallness of the 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, the population as an object of science began to study John Graunt.
Demography in modern society
The rapid development of demography is more typical of the middle of the twentieth century, which is the origin of modern demography. Demography is reaching a new level and is starting to play an important role in solving many economic and social problems.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 brought out in the mid-seventies. The scientific approach made it possible to discover new knowledge, develop demographic analysis, and increase research based on demography. The family has become the main element in the study of the country's demographic situation. Such great scientists as D. I. Mendeleev, P. P. Semenov-Tyanshansky, S. P. Kapitsa.
Population explosion
The seventeenth century is characterized by significant population growth. The reason for this increase was the high achievements of medicine, which made it possible to reduce the death rate. According to official figures, the population for a thousand years BC was fifty million people. For 2600 years, it has increased by only 450 million.
After 130 years, a population explosion was noticed, because during this time the population was able to increase by a billion. Then the explosion became more massive, and in 44 years there were four billion people on the planet, instead of the recent two billion. The world's population continues to grow rapidly, and by 2025 the population will cross the level of eight billion. But there are also forecasts that promise the extinction of the population in a few decades.
Population crisis
The 20th century was a period of declining births and deaths in many countries around the world. The growth was either minimal or non-existent. Some countries have gone negative. Russia also faced a significant population decline.
One of the causes of the Russian demographic crisis was the collapse of the USSR. In most subjects of the Russian Federation, there is an excess of mortality over births. In Asia, Latin America and Africa, the global population decline is caused by high levels of migration.
Also, the causes of the demographic crisis include historical cataclysms, infant 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.
The inertia of the demographic crisis lies in the regularity: if the birth rate has a stable negative trend, then the number of women capable of reproduction is reduced. In this case, the acquisition of positive dynamics is possible only if women give birth many times more children.
Ways to solve demographic problems
As you know, the population explosion is most characteristic of China. To solve this problem, the government of the country decided to tax every child born, except for the first. The disadvantage of this method is the large number of unregistered children. But there is also an effect, the annual growth decreased by 1.8%. Following the example of China, this policyIndia has also chosen.
As for the demographic crisis, the 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 a land plot for the construction of a house. French and German women receive substantial benefits for two or more children.
