Population Dependency
When a country has a high number of children, it is said to have a youthful population, but when a country has a high number of elderly people, it has an ageing population. both of these situations can give rise to a number of problems.
Dependency ratio: the ratio between those of working age and those of non-working age. This is calculated as:
| % pop aged 0 -14 + % pop aged 65+ % of population aged 15-65 |
x 100 |
The ratio for an MEDC usually lies between 50 and 75. The ratio for an LEDC is typically higher. Mexico, with a youthful population structure, has a dependency ratio of 104. The higher the ratio, the greater the number of dependents that have to be provided for from the taxes on the workforce.
| Youthful Population (LEDCs) | ||
| Advantages | Disadvantages | Solutions |
|
- provides a large and cheap future workforce - provides a growing market for manufactured products |
- puts strain on education and health services - puts strain on food supplies - puts strain on available accommodation - lack of available jobs in the future
|
- family planning - industrialisation to provide jobs in manufacturing |
| Ageing Population (MEDCs) | ||
| Advantages | Disadvantages | Solutions |
|
- A larger proportion of ageing people can add experience to the workforce - a growing 'grey' market for leisure and health products - construction boom in favoured retirement locations such as the Costa del Sol (Spain). |
- cost of providing pensions, health care and sheltered housing leads to increased taxes on a proportionally small workforce - many young people are employed caring for the elderly. This harms a country's competitiveness, since they are not producing products for export.
|
- abolish state pensions - raise retirement age - locate retirement 'colonies' in LEDCs - increase taxes - sell homes of the elderly to pay for retirement care |