Population Density Research Paper

Ashley Lacanaria
Sheana Silapan
Robert Nitor Jr.

How does death affect population change?

Death itself may or may not cause changes in the population. Growth of the
population, decline, and inflation are the features of counting births and deaths around the
world. If we are researching population change in a particular country or continent, then in
the equation we must also include immigration and emigration.

When there is no immigration or emigration, the number of births is equal to the

number of deaths, the population remains the same. The same thing is valid when
immigration and emigration are equal. Population increases as birth are greater than death
and or immigration is greater than emigration.

There have been a lot of ebbs and flows in these factors over the course of history.
For example, it is said that the bubonic plague has wiped out about one-third of Europe’s
population. Smallpox was also a major killer. Cholera and ebola are two other pathogens with
the potential to dramatically reduce a population. For a number of countries, infant mortality
rates are very high.

There must, therefore, note that death alone is not responsible for the growth or
decline of the population. (Lorraine Caplan, 2018)

The Philippines is one of the world’s primary developing nations and has a steady
birth rate along with it. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority(2017), the total
number of births was 1,700,618 and the birth rate was listed at 16.2, or 16 births per thousand
population. In 1998, the PSA also stated that despite declining rates, the fertility rate in the
country is still one of the highest in Southeast Asia. Macrotrends.net, an information website
that uses United Nations projections and information cites the birth rate of the country for this
year at 20.177 births per thousand people, which is 0.98% decline from 2019(2020). The
2017-2019 data are as follows: 21.280 births in 2017(3.2% decline from 2016), 20.576 in
2018(3.31% decline from 2017), and 20.377 in 2019(0.97% decline from 2018). All this data
considered, the birth rate of the country remains stable at around 20 births per thousand
people. However, data shows that the UN projections state that the birth rate of the nation
will continue to decrease within the next century.

The death rate, on the other hand, is a slightly different story. Whereas the birth rate
of the country is ever so slightly decreasing, the death rate is steadily rising. Still, according
to macrotrends.net, the death rates from 2017 to 2020 are as follows: 5.820 deaths per
thousand people in 2017(0.19% increase from 2016), 5.831 deaths in 2018 (0.19% increase
from 2017), 5.900 deaths in 2019(1.18% increase from 2018), and 5.968 deaths in
2020(1.15% increase from 2019). But the good news is that this rate will stabilize in the next
century.

All this in mind, there are many reasons and causes of the shifting birth and death
rates in the country. According to Republic Act No. 10354, or the Responsible Parenthood
and Reproductive Health Act of 2012, more commonly known as the RH(or Reproductive
Health) Bill, it aims to provide universal access to methods of contraception, fertility control,
sexual education, and maternal care. It also encourages family planning, and its observance of
this law is a possible cause for the decline in the country’s birth rate. A concept map
published by ChongMing Nomi(2016) states that there are Economic, Demographic,
Cultural, and Climate-related factors affecting the population, and therefore the birth rate.
Some of these include the country’s tropical climate, low GDP and GNI values, the Filipino
tradition of having 6 or more children, and the demographic growth rate of the country.
Internet Geography(20) stated that 4 major factors that are the causes of a high birth rate.
These include the lack of family planning and education, cultural/religious reasons which
prohibit the use of contraceptives, high fertility rate, and the need for children in rural areas
like farms for labor.

If there are reasons for the declining birth rate, then there are also reasons for the
country’s rising death rate. According to the Department of Health, the leading causes of
death include cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses, several forms of cancer, all forms of
tuberculosis, accidents, and diabetes. This information is logical, particularly with the
factually large number of smokers which explains the leading cause of cancer. Accidents are
particularly vehicular, mainly due to driving under the influence of alcohol. Surprisingly,
murder or homicide is not on the list. Dineshbaksi.com also cites several reasons for an
increasing death rate. Namely the quality of living standards, health care, nutrition levels,
access to clean drinking water, hygiene levels, levels of infectious diseases, and social factors
like violent crime or conflicts.

The country at its current state experiences most of these influencing factors. Even
though the nation does not experience all of them, the effects are still distinct and observable.
Any future projections are still subject to change within the following years, and people never
know what could happen in the future. We can expect both rates to stabilize themselves in the
future for the Philippines’ continued and sustained development.