Population Pyraminds

I chose to compare the population pyramid between Zambia, which is an LDC, and Italy, which is an MDC. There are a lot of factors that contribute to why these two graphs are so different. Since Italy is already developed, they are just not having as many kids. Their Total Fertility Rate is just 1.3 children per woman. That is not even enough children to replace the mother and father after they die. That is why they are worried about their population is diminishing. They have a large population of middle aged people. But those middle age people are not having as many children. In the past, when they were still developing, their pyramid would have looked a lot like Zambia's. They big section in the middle would have been at the bottom, and it would have gotten smaller from there on up. That is where Zambia is right now. They have very few in the age range above the age of 55. From then on down, the pyramid increases greatly. Since the country is still developing, they are having many children. This is for many reasons. Some of those include that the Total Fertility Rate in Zambia is 5.23 children born per woman. That is a very high number. To go along with that, the life expectancy is about 38 years old. So there are a lot of babies being born, and people are not living to be that old at all. Another reason is because of all of the disease that is in Zambia. They have food or water borne illnesses, malaria, plague, water contacts diseases, and rabies from wild animals. All these things cause teenagers and young adults to die because they do not have proper medical equipment. AIDS is another big factor in Zambia. 16.5% of adults have AIDS in Zambia. Each year about 89,000 people die from HIV and AIDS. The population growth rate of Zambia is 1.654% in 2008. Until Zambia become an MDC, these trends will continue to be like this.