Population growth in LEDCs

Most LEDCs are experiencing rapid population growth. Most LEDCs are in stage two or three of the demographic transition modeldemographic transition model: The demographic transition measures population change over time, by studying birth rate and death rate. In stage one the high birth rate balances (matches) the high death rate. In stage two, the total population starts to rise as death rates start to fall, but birth rates remain quite high. In stage three, the population is still growing, but the gap between the birth rate and death rate narrows. In stage four, the total population is high, but it is balanced due to a low birth rate and a low death rate.. This means that they have falling death rates, due to improving health care and greater access to modern medicine, while birth rates remain high.

Causes of population growth in LEDCs

• Limited access to family planning services or contraception.
• Limited education about family planning.
• Children are a valuable source of income for a family as they can work on the land from quite a young age. As children get older they may be able to earn money in other ways, eg selling snacks to tourists on the beach in a holiday resort.
• As children get older they can help to care for younger children in the family.
• High rates of infant mortality (infant deaths) means that women need to have many children in order to ensure that some survive through to adulthood.
• It may not be culturally or religiously acceptable to use contraception or other methods of family planning.
• In some places it may be traditional or culturally important to have a large family.

The fact that LEDCs have a high population-growth rate means that they tend to have a very young population with many young dependants. Governments in LEDCs and international organisations such as charities are working together to reduce birth rates and slow down rates of population growth.