Country Comparisons - US and Japan, China and India, Saudi Arabia and Mexico - Assignment Example

 US and Japan United States is the third highly populous country in the globe with populace of 313,376,000 people. Most of the population lives in the urban centers i.e. approximately 82 percent. This high population has been attributed to the high immigration rates to the country (Livi- Bacci, 2012, pp. 15). A research conducted in 2009 showed that America has a low fertility rate of 2.01. Over the last one century, the America’s population is said to have increased by more than three times from 76 million people in 1900 to 281 million in the year 2000 (Gilbert, 2005, pp. 129). Japan’s population on the other hand according to the recently conducted census in 2010 is 128,057,352 and was approximated to be 127, 650,000 by March this Year. This makes it to be the world’s tenth most populated country. The population growth rates of Japan have been declining from the 19th century to the 20th century. This Japan population is estimated to keep on declining. Japan has a birth rate of 8.3% and a fertility rate of 1.39 (CIA). United States living standards are among the top 20 in the world according to the economist’s standards i.e. United States has been ranked among the top 20 countries in the UN Human Development Index, Human Poverty Index and quality-of-life index. America has a low inflation rate of 2.7% as was recorded in March 2012 (World Bank, 2010, pp.399). America’s GDP is valued at 14582 billion dollars which is 23.52% of the globes’ wealth. United States has the largest economy in the world and has had a Gross Domestic Product of 3.0% for the quarter period of ending in December 2011. The average GDP from 1947 till 2011 has been 3.8 with the highest recorded GDP of 17.20 in the first quarter of 1950 and the lowest GDP of -10.40 in the first quarter of 1958 (BEA, 2012,pp. 1-4). Japan has a high Gross Domestic Product of 5498 billion dollars which is 8.87% of the world’s economy. This makes the third best GDP in the world with a 0.2% growth rate. The average GDP growth rate has been 0.52% attaining an historical high of 3.15% in 1990 and a low of -4.90% in March 2009. Japan has a low inflation rate of 0.3% as was recorded in February 2012 (World Bank, 2010, pp.390). in conclusion both countries have strong economy supported by strong manufacturing industry and skilled labor. China and India China has the largest population in the world which is estimated to be over 1.3 billion people. This population is composed of aged people due to China’s one child policy which was implemented in 1979 to control the birth rate. China has a low population growth rate of 0.47%. The first census was carried out in 1949 and the population was 583 million. This population then doubled after 5 decades reaching 1.2 billion in the year 2000. China’s population is projected to increase to 1,391,491,000 by 2030 and then start declining (Livi- Bacci, 2012, pp. 70, Gilbert, 2005, 107). On the other hand, India is the second highest densely inhabited country in the globe with the populace estimate of 1.21 billion people. This country is projected to be the most populated country in the world by 2025. India’s population growth rate is estimated to be 1.41%. India’s population consists of the youth with 50% of the population being below 25 years and 65% below the age of 35 (Livi- Bacci, 2012, pp. 60). China has the second best performing economy in the globe with a Gross Domestic Product of 5879 billion dollars which is 9.48% of the globes’s economy as per the World Bank report. From the year 1960 till 2010, china has had an average GDP of 839.37 billion dollars attaining a peak of 5878.63 billion dollars in 2010 and lowest being 46.46 billion dollars in 1962 with an inflation rate of 3.6 percent as recorded in March 2012 (CIA). China’s GDP growth rate has increased by 1.8% in the first quarter of 2012 against the previous quarter of 2011. The average GDP growth rate of 2011 was 2.15% attaining an historical high of 2.20 in June 2011 (World Bank, 2010, 395). According to the World Bank, India’s economy is the ninth best performing economy in the globe with a Gross Domestic Product of 1729 billion dollars which is 2.79% of the world economy. From 1960 till 2010, India’s economy has had an average GDP of 339.84 billion dollars which attained an historical peak of 1729.01 in December 2010 and a low of 36.61 billion dollars in December 1960 and has had an inflation rate of 9.5 % as recorded in March 2012 (CIA) India’s Gross Domestic Product improved to 6.1 % in the final quarter of 2011 over the previous year’s final quarter i.e. 2010 fourth quarter. Since 2004 to 2011 India’s average GDP growth was 8.45% achieving the highest in history of 10.10 percent in September 2006 and a low of 5.50% in December 2004 (World Bank, 2010, pp.389). Both countries have therefore recorded tremendous growth in the economy. They also have a high population. Saudi Arabia and Mexico Saudi Arabia’s population is estimated to be 27,136,977 according to the census conducted in 2010. Of this population, 18,707,575 are Saudi citizens while 8,429,400 non-citizens. This population consists of the young people. Saudi Arabia has an estimate population growth rate of 1.536% (Livi- Bacci, 2012, pp. 55). Mexico on the other end is the most populated country among the Spanish speaking countries with a population of 112,336,538 people and the second most populated country after Brazil in the Latin America. Mexico’s population has also been characterized by an increasing growth rate with a high number of youth age sets. This high population growth rate has also been attributed by the high rate of immigration into the country (Livi- Bacci, 2012, pp. 45). Saudi Arabia has the 23th best performing economy in the world with a Gross Domestic Product of 377 billion dollars which is 0.62% of the globe’s economy. The average GDP from 1969 till 2009 was 143.62 billion dollars recording a high of 143.61 billion dollars in December 2008 and a low of 4.2 billion dollars in December 1968. Saudi’s economy is boosted by the oil prospects present. Saudi Arabia’s GDP increased by 6.8% in 2011 and the annual average GDP from 1969 till 2010 was 5.03 percent (World Bank, 2010, pp.389). On the other hand Mexico according to the World Bank has the 13th best performing economy in the world. Mexico’s GDP recorded an increase of 3.7 percent in December 2011. From 2004 till 2011, Mexico has had an average GDP of 2.43 percent attaining a peak GDP of 7.60 percent in 2010 and a low of -9.60 % in 2009 (World Bank, 2010, pp.390). This exponential growth of the Mexican economy has greatly reduced the percentage of poverty levels in the country with a high per capita income of 8,960 US dollars though poverty is still rampant with 44.2% of the population living in penury. Saudi Arabia on the other hand has lower poverty levels due to the oil prospects and has a high per capita income of 24,000 US dollars (World Bank, 2010, pp.392) Mexico’s inflation rate was reported to be 3.7% in March 2012 and has had an average inflation rate of 29.7 percent from 1974 till 2010 while Saudi Arabia’s inflation rate in February 2012 was recorded to be at 5.4 percent. The average Saudi Arabia’s inflation rate from 2003 till 2010 had been 3.43 percent, reaching a high of 11.1% in July 2008 and a low of 0.01% in the month of September 2004 (CIA). Both countries have a high population comprised of young generation. They also have a strong economy. References Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), US Department of Commerce, March 2012, News Release. Livi- Bacci.. A Concise History of World Population. John Willey& Sons, 2012. Print. Gilbert Geoffrey. World Population: A reference Handbook. ABC-CLIO,2005, Print. CIA World Fact book. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2195.html World Bank. World Development Indicators 2010. World Bank Publications, 2010. Print. Read More