Population in India and China

POPULATION ISSUES IN CHINA AND INDIA

OVERVIEW:

China and India are the two most populous countries in the world, but they have taken very different approaches to population control. Students will gather population statistics for these two countries, read about population issues in both places, and determine whether India should adopt a one-child policy like the one implemented by the Chinese government.

OBJECTIVES:

•      Discuss why a country might try to limit its birth rate

•      Compare life expectancy and per capita income for China and India

•      Use and online database to compare other population indicators for China and India

•      Write paragraphs explaining what these population statistics reveal about China and India

•      Read and answer questions about the population situation in China and India

PROCEDURE/EVALUATION:

1. Go to https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html.

2. Compare China and India on the following indicators:
1.  life expectancy
2.  population size
3.  per capita income (GDP-per capita)
4. birth rate
5. death rate
6. literacy rate
7. infant mortality

3.  Record the numbers you see. Make a chart that displays the information in an orderly way

4. What do these numbers reveal about China and India? Support your answer with specific examples from the statistics.

5. Read the article about China’s population controls and India’s family planning policies here:  http://www.country-studies.com/china/population-control-programs.html

1. What factors contribute to China's birth rates?

2. What is the government’s role in this country’s growth rate?

3. Should India have a one-child policy like China’s? Why or why not? Use specific examples from the research.

4. Hypothesize the economic reasons why people might want to have smaller families. In particular, how might limiting the number of children in a family affect the family’s ability to earn and save money?

5. Can you think of examples of the reverse scenario, in which it would make more financial sense for a family to have more children? Explain. 

6. Discuss the force that was sometimes used to “encourage” China’s one-child policy in a negative way.  In your opinion, could this happen now?

6. Read the following article published by the Associated Press which appeared in The Denver Post as well as in many newspapers around the country in July of 2010. 

http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_15542377?source=email

1. Looking this article in a strictly economic sense, is this an effective population control?  Why?

2. What is the ethical dilemma of government involvement in population controls?

3. What is your reaction to this article?