Population Case

Many factors such as the fertility rate, life expectancy, literacy rate, and GNIPPP per capita are used to determine if a country is designated as a More Developed Country or a Less Developed Country. While the country of Australia is classified as an MDC, the country of Malawi is classified as an LDC. Both countries have extremely differentiating statistics, dividing them into the two different categories of countries.

The country of Australia is an MDC for its low fertility rate, high life expectancy, high literacy rate, and high GNIPPP per capita. Fertilities rates are currently at a low 1.77 children per one woman. Many woman choose not to have as many children due to the increasing cost of $1 million it takes to raise a child in Australia. Also, the low fertility rate is attributed to the fact that most australian women put off having children until their mid to late 30s so they focus on their careers. But in some cases it is too late and they have missed their chance to have a child. Australia has a highly educated society with a literacy rate of 99%. Their literacy rate is substantially higher than most countries. Education is compulsory from the ages 6-16, but many students attend preschool before the age of 6 and remain at school after the age of 16. Because the literacy rate is so high, most of the population is employed and working. Along with its high literacy rate, Australia has a high life expectancy. The average life expectancy is 81.9 years. Many people say Aussies live so long because Australia's universal healthcare is available to anyone no matter their employment status or personal wealth. Therefore, medical help is considerably easier to access even for the lower classes. Also, the relatively low smoking rates could be taken into account for the longer lives. Lastly, Australia has a GNIPPP per capita of 38,100. The infrastructure of Australia is technologically advanced and includes all of the support systems needed to keep the economy going. Australia is a major exporter and the exports of minerals and fuels from Australia are huge contributors to the GNIPPP per capita.

On the other hand, Malawi is the exact opposite with high fertility rates, low life expectancies, low literacy rates, and low GNIPPP per capita making it an LDC. Malawi has one of the highest fertility rates in the world with an average of 5.35 children per woman. One reason for this unsustainably high fertility rate is the inability for men and women to afford contraceptives. Also, many parents need a large amount of children to help provide for the family, usually by having the working in agriculture. The low literacy rate of 74.8% also has a big influence on the fertility rate. Many children get a primary school education but do not progress to secondary school because of fees they must pay to help provide for the school. This is unaffordable for most Malawian families. In some cases students also drop out of school due to the significant