Demographic Problems in Fiji - Essay Example

Qiu, Haonan T.A. Hayal Akarsu SECTION: 1F Fiji Fiji is Republic that is located in the South West Pacific and has more than 332 islands,of which 110 are permanently inhabited. The total land area of circa is about 18,300 square kilometers. The republic is located midway between Vanuatu and Tonga. This essay aims at analyzing demographics so as to discover some of the problems facing children and elders in the regards to their influence in the society. The essay seeks to create an understanding of the directions taken by the development of various sectors such as the economy, politics, population and the different ways they have affected the general development of the country in the period ranging from 1990 to 2050. (Source: http://www.statsfiji.gov.fj/). There is data available to show the population of Fiji in 2013 and how it relates to the total World Average. The Population of world averages at about 7,137 million people and to this number, Fiji adds about 0.9 million which is the total population of the republic. The projected population of Fiji is within the range of 1.1 million while the projected population statistics of the world is marked at about 9,727 million. According to this data, details show that the Crude Birth Rate is 21 in Fiji; it is higher than the world average. This would mean that more people get born as compared to the projected demographics. The total rate of fertility is recorded at 2.6 in Fiji that is a slight difference from the figure projected in average across the world at 2.5. This would mean that many more people are to be born because the crude birth rate and death rate are one point higher than the world average. Fiji, as a country is not fully developed and so it can be considered as a developing country. The proof of this is that the TFR (total fertility rate) of Fiji at the range of 2.6 which is somehow close to the world TFR and this makes Fiji one of the greatest reflections of the general rates of population growth expected from the entire world. The economy of this developing country is, however, still not fully developed because it relies on the tertiary industry to help facilitate the development of the economy to the levels that can be said to compete with other developing or developed countries in the world. The data presented to support this fact comes from the International Merchandise Trade Statistics whereby they showed provisional data for October 2013 which showed that the total imports were at $447.6 million while the total exports were shown to stand at $228.7 million. When comparisons are made with regards to the previous corresponding months, an increase of $119.1 million appear to have been recorded which translates to (36.3%) increase as the exports recorded a (1.8%) decrease as compared to corresponding months from previous years. The October 2013 trade deficit amounted to $218.9 million compared to $172.3 million a month earlier. (Source: http://www.statsfiji.gov.fj/). The country, being an archipelago (group of islands), has shown results that depict it as an export oriented country from the statistics above but the exports do no bring in enough revenue to overshoot the growth of the economy. The growth system, therefore, depends on its people to work towards achieving economic balance that would foster speedy growth. The different islands found in this nation act as tourist attraction sites that help in boosting the economy majorly so as to make the state’s income steady enough to sustain the needs of the people that is constantly growing. (Data Source: http://www.census.gov). The table underneath indicates the relationship between the particular demographics of Fiji as a country as it compares to the world projected averages over the same period. Demographic Indicator Comparison Table Indicator Fiji World average Population 0.9millions 7,137millions Projected Population 1.1millions 9,727millions 2050 Population as a Multiple of 2012 1.1 1.4 Rate of Natural Increase: RNI 1.2% 1.2% Crude Birth Rate: CBR 21 20 Total Fertility Rate: TFR 2.6 2.5 Crude Death Rate: CDR 9 8 The Percentage of the Population aged between 15-49 living with HIV/AIDS Read More

 

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