Passive demographic policy examples. "Population policy" in different countries and its goals

Demographic policy is a system of measures (administrative, economic, propaganda, etc.) aimed at regulating the process of population reproduction.

In countries with the first type of population reproduction, demographic policy measures are aimed at increasing the birth rate. In countries of the second type - to reduce the birth rate.

In order to stimulate the birth rate, such measures are taken as the payment of benefits, the provision of various benefits to large families and newlyweds, the expansion of the network of preschool institutions, sex education for young people, the ban on abortion, etc. The first country where measures were taken to stimulate the birth rate was France. Until the end of the 1980s, countries pursued an active policy in this direction. of Eastern Europe. At present, economic measures play an important role in the countries of Western Europe, including a system of various kinds of payments and benefits to families with two or more children.

China and Japan have achieved the greatest results in reducing the birth rate. Here, in the demographic policy, the most radical both propaganda and economic measures were used (fine systems, obtaining permission to have a child, etc.). Currently, these countries have annual population growth below the global average. Their example was followed by India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and some other developing countries.

Particular difficulties in the implementation of demographic policy exist in the Arab-Muslim countries of Southwest Asia and North Africa, as well as in the countries of Tropical Africa, where the national-religious traditions of a large family are preserved.

It is clear that the direction of demographic policy depends primarily on demographic situation in one country or another.

In countries first type population reproduction is dominated by demographic policy aimed at increase in the birth rate and natural population growth. It is carried out mainly with the help of various economic stimulus measures - such as lump-sum loans to newlyweds, benefits for the birth of each child, monthly allowances for children, paid holidays, etc. France or Japan can serve as examples of countries pursuing an active demographic policy.

Most countries second type reproduction in recent decades began to implement a demographic policy aimed at to reduce the birth rate and natural population growth. Perhaps the greatest efforts in this regard are made by the two most big countries world - China and India.

Example 1. InThe Chinese Constitution states that spouses must carry out planned childbearing. A committee on planned childbearing has been created, and permission from local authorities must be obtained for the birth of a child. A later age for marriage has been established. During the period of study at the institute, marriages, as a rule, are not allowed. The main motto of the population policy of the PRC: "One family - one child". The implementation of this policy has already yielded great results.

Example 2India was the first developing country to adopt a national family planning program as an official program back in 1951. public policy. The age of marriage was significantly raised, mass voluntary sterilization of the population is carried out, a family of four is promoted under the motto: "We are two - we are two". As a result of these measures, the birth rate and natural increase decreased somewhat, but nevertheless, almost 1/5 of all newborns in the world are children born in India.

However, many difficulties arise in the way of implementing demographic policy, not only financial and economic, but also moral and ethical. In the 90s. the question of a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy, which the Catholic Church sharply opposed, aroused especially great discussions. Many Muslim Arab countries, especially in Southwest Asia, for reasons of religious morality, generally reject any "family planning" measures. Neither are most of the least developed countries in sub-Saharan Africa pursuing any demographic policy.

Demographic policy developed And developing countries differ from each other, since each of these types of countries faces different tasks in regulating the size and reproduction of the population.

And in other states in last years a family planning policy is being pursued to reduce the birth rate. For example, in China (the world's largest country in terms of population), as a result of the implementation of the demographic policy, the most tangible results were achieved - the annual population growth decreased from 28 per thousand (1968) to 11 per thousand (in the 1990s), i.e. That is, natural growth has become even lower than the world average (the generation “without brothers and sisters” is growing). The policy of state birth control is also pursued by India, Indonesia, Bangladesh and a number of other countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa. Moreover, in the latter region, the demographic policy is the least effective (especially in the underdeveloped countries of Africa). Adult illiteracy is one of the significant obstacles to the successful implementation of this policy. IN modern world about 1 billion people in the population over 15 years old are illiterate. Thus, demographic problems for countries different types and different levels of socio-economic development are not the same. In 12% of the countries of the world (mainly in Europe), a policy is being pursued aimed at increasing the birth rate, and in more than 40% of the countries of the world - at reducing it. The task of natural stabilization of the number of inhabitants of our planet is considered one of the global problems humanity.

………. About 140 million people are born every year in the world. Accordingly, three appear every second, every minute - 175, every hour - 10.4 thousand, and every day 250 thousand new "earthlings" (this is approximately equal to the population of such cities as Rybinsk, Bratsk or Yoshkar-Ola). Every week a new Kharkiv or Hamburg is added on the Earth, every month - the population of such a country as Austria or Tunisia.

………. car accidents claim about 250 thousand human lives annually. Including on the territory of the CIS, 60 thousand people die in road accidents (35 thousand of them in Russia).

………. according to demographic statistics, the most mother of many children in the world in the 80s. was one of the residents of Chile, who gave birth in total 55 children. She has always had twins and triplets.

The need for a demographic policy - the impact of the state on the processes of fertility - is recognized by almost all countries of the world, regardless of the demographic situation and population growth rates. The purpose of demographic policy is to change or support demographic trends existing in a given period of time.

Depending on the demographic situation, there are 2 main types of policies: aimed at increasing the birth rate (typical for economically developed countries) and reducing the birth rate (necessary for developing countries). Often, the practical implementation of demographic policy is fraught with difficulties, both of a moral and ethical nature, and a lack of financial resources.

Demographic policy in economically developed countries is carried out exclusively by economic measures and is aimed at stimulating the birth rate. The arsenal of economic measures includes monetary subsidies - monthly allowances for families with children, benefits for single parents, promotion of increasing the prestige of motherhood, paid parental leave. In some countries where the position of the Catholic Church is strong (for example, in Ireland, the USA, Poland), laws that provide for criminal liability for a woman who terminated a pregnancy and a doctor who performed an abortion have recently been discussed in parliaments on its demands.

Carrying out a demographic policy in developing countries with high population growth rates is especially important. However, its implementation is hampered by the lack financial resources and is often limited to declarative statements only. Often this policy is not accepted by citizens at all due to the traditions of large families, high social status motherhood and especially fatherhood. The governments of most Muslim countries generally reject state intervention in family planning.

Simple population reproduction, or "zero growth", the goal of population policy in developing regions is theoretically possible if each family has an average of 2.3 children (because there are people who do not marry, families without children, death in early age due to accidents). But the achievement of such a position does not automatically mean an immediate stabilization of the population, since population growth is characterized by inertia that is difficult to reverse - people who were born with a high birth rate enter childbearing age. In addition, if a sharp decrease in the birth rate occurs as a result of demographic policy, the sex and age structure of the population will be characterized by periods of sharp fluctuations in the population, which are very "inconvenient" for the stable development of the economy.

Demographic policy - it is a purposeful activity government agencies and other social institutions in the field of regulation of population reproduction processes.

Demographic policy is an integral part of the general socio-economic policy and, at the same time, it is an integral part of population policy.

The term "birth control" is used to describe the influence of the state on the birth process, mainly in order to reduce its level and maintain population growth rates in the country

The goals and objectives of demographic policy are formulated, as a rule, in political programs and declarations, etc. IN general view the goals of demographic policy are usually reduced to the formation of a desirable regime for the reproduction of the population, the preservation or change in trends in the dynamics of the size and structure of the population, the rate of their changes, the dynamics of fertility, mortality, family composition, resettlement, internal and external migration, and qualitative characteristics of the population.

dem objects. politicians may be the population of the country as a whole or individual regions, social demogr. groups, cohorts of the population, families of certain types or stages of the life cycle.

The principal feature of demographic policy is that it influences the dynamics of demographic processes not directly, but indirectly, through demographic behavior, through decision-making in the field of marriage, family, childbirth, choice of profession, employment, place of residence.

Main directions demographic policy include: state assistance to families with children, creating conditions for combining parenthood with active professional activity, reducing morbidity and mortality, increasing life expectancy, improving the qualitative characteristics of the population, regulating migration processes, urbanization and settlement, etc.

Demographic policy, as a rule, is implemented through a set of various measures:

– economic(paid holidays and various benefits for the birth of children; benefits for children depending on their number, age, type of family; loans, credits, tax and housing benefits, etc.);

– administrative and legal(legislative acts regulating marriages, divorces, the position of children in families, maintenance obligations, maternity and childhood protection, abortion and the use of contraceptives, social Security disabled, employment conditions and working conditions of working women -

mothers, internal and external migration, etc.);

– educational and propaganda measures designed to shape public opinion, norms and standards of demographic behavior, a certain demographic climate in society.

The policy that affects the processes of fertility, marriage, divorce, the age structure of the population and its mortality is the demographic policy of the state. In a broad sense, population policy is sometimes identified with population policy, and in a narrower, more accepted sense, it is considered as one of its components. It is closely related to social and economic policy, but, nevertheless, has its own characteristics. The object of such a policy can be countries, their individual regions, as well as individual groups (cohorts) of the population.

Demographic policy is usually based on a complex of various measures: economic, administrative, legal, educational and propaganda. Among the economic measures aimed primarily at stimulating the birth rate include:

Paid holidays and various benefits for the birth of children,

allowances for children depending on their number, age and family composition - on a progressive scale,

various loans, credits,

tax and housing benefits, etc.

Administrative and legal measures include:

Legislative acts regulating the age of marriage,

divorce,

attitude towards abortion and the use of contraceptives,

property status of mother and children in case of family breakup,

the mode of work of working women, etc.

Educational and propaganda measures are aimed at the formation public opinion, norms and standards of demographic behavior, determination of attitude to religious and other traditions and customs of population reproduction and family planning policy (intra-family regulation of childbearing), to sex education and education of young people, etc. Maksakovskiy V.P. Geographical picture of the world. Book. I: general characteristics peace. 4th ed. - M.: Bustard, 2009.- p.121

The history of population policy dates back to the times of ancient times. It was reflected in many legal and legislative acts of antiquity, especially in cases of overpopulation of countries or, on the contrary, large human losses (although religious and ethical doctrines were almost always more important than such acts). In the Middle Ages, in conditions of increased mortality due to wars and epidemics, some demographic measures, for the most part spontaneous, were aimed at maintaining a high birth rate. In modern times, the first country where the demographic policy that stimulated the birth rate received a quite distinct design was France. Then some other European countries began to pursue such a policy. Subsequently, it was partly replaced by a policy aimed at curbing the rate of population growth. The same change of priorities - depending on the phase of the demographic transition - was also characteristic of modern times. Maksakovskiy V.P. Geographical picture of the world. Book. I: General characteristics of the world. 4th ed. - M.: Bustard, 2009.- p.123

But with all this, one cannot but agree with the well-known demographer A. Ya. Kvasha, according to whom, in general, the history of demographic policy indicates that it was a rather weak tool and could not significantly affect the reproduction of the population.

As the experience of carrying out demographic policy in the countries of the world in the 20th century shows, among the targets, the population itself is rarely found. The exceptions were China, which sought by 2000 not to exceed its population of more than 1,200 million people (in fact, by the middle of 1999 - 1,254 million people) and Romania, which set the task of bringing its population to 30 million people (in fact, by the middle of 1999). city - 22.5 million). Kharchenko L. P. Demography: study guide / L. P. Kharchenko. -- 3rd ed., erased. -- M.: Omega-L, 2009.- p.305

Economically less developed countries with rapidly growing populations most often choose a reduction in the rate of population growth or a decrease in the total fertility rate (total fertility rate) as a target.

Countries with high mortality rates consider achieving certain levels of life expectancy or reducing infant mortality as goals for population policy.

In more economically developed countries, the goals of demographic policy are the regulation of migration policy, the introduction of immigration quotas that restrict the entry and naturalization of foreigners.

The demographic policy received the greatest development and distribution in the second half of the 20th century, which is explained, on the one hand, by the onset of a population explosion, and on the other, by a demographic crisis. Many politicians and scientists saw in it perhaps the main means of curbing population growth in the first case and accelerating it in the second case.

It is not surprising that the United Nations has also paid much attention to these issues. World population conferences were held under its auspices: in 1954 (Rome), in 1965 (Belgrade), in 1974 (Bucharest), in 1984 (Mexico City), in 1994 (Cairo). In 1967, the United Nations Fund for the Encouragement of Population Activities (UNFPA) was formed. Since the 1960s The UN conducts systematic surveys of governments on population policy issues. They are also discussed at sessions of the UN General Assembly. In 1992, they entered the agenda of the World Conference on environment and development. Of the individual documents, the "World Population Action Plan" adopted in Bucharest in 1974, which contains many specific recommendations for the implementation of population policy, is of particular importance. Then, at conferences in Mexico City and especially in Cairo, it was further developed with the inclusion of a number of fundamental changes. Maksakovskiy V.P. Geographical picture of the world. Book. I: General characteristics of the world. 4th ed. - M.: Bustard, 2009.- p.124

However, in order to make the population policy truly effective and efficient, all these decisions were not enough. New means of its implementation were also needed, which were invented. The first big breakthrough in this area occurred at the turn of the 1950s and 1960s. XX century, when it was possible to obtain combined contraceptives for internal use - hormonal tablets, pills and other means, which gradually improved more and more. All this led to the fact that in the 1960s. a real sexual revolution took place in the world. Here it is appropriate to recall the words of the American writer Upton Sinclair that "birth control is the highest achievement of the human mind, equivalent to the discovery of fire and the invention of printing." Maksakovskiy V.P. Geographical picture of the world. Book. I: General characteristics of the world. 4th ed. - M.: Bustard, 2009.- p.124

Like any other revolution, the sexual revolution gave rise to the sharpest contradictions in views and, accordingly, polemics and a struggle of opinions. First of all, perhaps, they touched on the attitude towards abortion. In the Christian world, the Catholic Church categorically spoke out against artificial termination of pregnancy. Back in 1987, the Vatican issued a special “Instruction” on this matter, and at the Cairo Conference in 1994, it again spoke just as sharply. Most Muslim countries also oppose abortion and family planning in general. In Protestant and Orthodox countries, the attitude towards them is much more tolerant. In total, about 60 million abortions occur annually in the world. Among the record-breaking countries, where there are more than 50 abortions for every 1,000 women aged 15 to 44, are Vietnam, Romania, Cuba, Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Estonia, Bulgaria. At the other extreme (less than 10 abortions) are Zambia, India, South Africa, Bangladesh, Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland. Maksakovskiy V.P. Geographical picture of the world. Book. I: General characteristics of the world. 4th ed. - M.: Bustard, 2009.- p.125

Information about the spread of population policy in the modern world is not always comparable. So, according to some data, in developed countries, about 70% of women of reproductive age resort to various forms of birth control, in developing countries - 50%. According to other data, a more or less active demographic policy is carried out in about half of all countries of the world. According to the third, from 1970 to 1993 alone, the number of married couples in developing countries using various forms of family planning increased 10 times (from 40 million to 400 million), and the number of these countries increased to 130. According to the fourth, the number of participants family planning by 2000 in East and Southeast Asia has already exceeded 300 million, in South Asia - 100 million, in Latin America - 75 million families. Despite some inconsistency of such information, on the whole, they indicate that the spread of demographic policy is gaining more and more scope. Maksakovskiy V.P. Geographical picture of the world. Book. I: General characteristics of the world. 4th ed. - M.: Bustard, 2009.- p.125

Depending on the demographic situation, population policy usually pursues one of two main goals.

In developing countries that are still at the stage of a population explosion, the main goal of population policy is to reduce fertility rates and natural population growth. Fertility is declining as a result of the promotion and dissemination of contraceptives, health education, family planning counseling, promotion of the benefits of a small family, and the promotion of small families through various economic and administrative measures. Some countries not only allow, but strongly encourage the voluntary sterilization of men and women as one of these measures. Maksakovskiy V.P. Geographical picture of the world. Book. I: General characteristics of the world. 4th ed. - M.: Drofa, 2009.- p.126

The most striking example of the implementation of demographic policy is the developing countries of Asia. There it covers the vast majority of residents. First of all, this applies to countries with the largest population in the world - China, India, as well as Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines. A fairly active demographic policy is also being pursued in Latin America and some North African countries. However, in the rest of the developing world, especially in Muslim countries, it has so far received little attention. Maksakovskiy V.P. Geographical picture of the world. Book. I: General characteristics of the world. 4th ed. - M.: Drofa, 2009.- p.126

This can be judged, in particular, by the use of contraceptives. According to UN statistics, the average contraceptive use rate for all developing countries is just over 1/2 ( we are talking on the number of families using contraceptives), and for the least developed - 1/5. China is ahead in this indicator (almost 85%). In Thailand, Vietnam and Sri Lanka it reaches 65-75%, in Malaysia and India - 50-60%, in most Latin American countries - 50-75%. At the other extreme are the countries of Western and Central Africa and some countries of Southwest Asia, where the proportion of such families usually does not exceed 10%; in Afghanistan it is only 2%, and in Yemen it is 7%. Maksakovskiy V.P. Geographical picture of the world. Book. I: General characteristics of the world. 4th ed. - M.: Drofa, 2009.- p.126

As one of the effective measures of population policy, many developing countries are implementing legislative increases in the age of marriage. For example, in China it was raised to 22 years for men and 20 years for women, in India - to 21 and 18 years, respectively. In reality, there is an even greater “aging” of marriage, which is explained by the fact that a significant part of young people seek to get an education first and then undergo vocational training, often combining it with labor activity. As a result, while 15-20 years ago average age brides in developing countries was 16-18 years old, by the beginning of the XXI century. even in Africa it began to exceed 20 years, and in Asia and especially in Latin America it “aged” even more. Maksakovskiy V.P. Geographical picture of the world. Book. I: General characteristics of the world. 4th ed. - M.: Drofa, 2009.- p.126

At the same time, however, it must be borne in mind that among the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America there are dozens of very small in number of inhabitants, and often simply dwarf states, the demographic policy in which (if carried out) is primarily aimed not at reducing but to increase natural population growth.

In most economically developed countries that have entered a period of demographic crisis, they are implementing a demographic policy aimed at increasing birth rates and natural increase. First of all, this applies to the countries of Europe.

Solution example demographic problems became France. At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. depopulation began in the country. Thanks to outreach measures, society, government agencies, scientists and entrepreneurs have understood the need to increase the birth rate and population growth in the country. In 1896, the National Council for the Support of Population Growth was established, in 1920 - the Higher Council for Fertility, in 1921 - the Federation of Unions of Large Families, in 1939 - the Higher Committee for Population Problems, in 1945 (according to initiative of President de Gaulle) - the Supreme Advisory Committee on Population and Family Problems. Kharchenko L.P. Demography: textbook / L.P. Kharchenko. -- 3rd ed., erased. -- M.: Omega-L, 2009.- p.308

France skillfully combined advocacy with economic and regulatory measures. For example, in 1920, a law was passed prohibiting abortion, allowing the sale and distribution of contraceptives, public information about methods of birth control, and so on. In 1939, the "Family Code" was adopted, providing for the introduction of cash benefits. The amount of monthly allowances for large families was determined as a share of the base wage (the monthly wage of an unskilled metal worker in Paris). The amount of benefits varied by territorial zones. The gap between the maximum and minimum levels set in 1945-1946. 49%, in 1968 - up to 4%. Types of benefits:

* family benefits in the amount of 22% of the base salary for a second child under the age of 10; 31% - aged 10 to 15 years; 38% - 15 years and more; 33% - for the third and each subsequent child under the age of 10; 42% - from 10 to 15 years; 49% - 15 years or more. The allowance was not paid for the firstborn, but if there are three children in the family, then it amounted to 9% of the base salary under the age of 10 years, 16% - from 15 years and more;

* allowance for a family with one breadwinner: 20% of the basic salary for the first child up to five years, 40% for the second,

50% - for the third and each subsequent child. Payments were carried out on a par with family benefits (the age limit is 16 years plus six months of grace);

* antenatal benefit from the moment of official confirmation of pregnancy until childbirth in the amount of 22% of the base salary;

* a one-time allowance for the birth of a child in the amount of double the basic salary, provided: a) if this is the first-born, and the mother is not older than 25 years or has been married for less than two years; b) if this is not the first child, but at least three years have passed since the previous birth. Kharchenko L.P. Demography: textbook / L.P. Kharchenko. -- 3rd ed., erased. -- M.: Omega-L, 2009.- p.308

In 1975, a law was passed allowing abortion during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.

Following France, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and other countries have taken various measures to carry out demographic policy.

Depopulation is underway in Russia, now more than ever, information and propaganda measures, especially through modern media, should be used to understand the need to solve demographic problems, population growth should become a nationwide idea of the country.

It will not be erroneous to say that a particularly active demographic policy until the end of the 1980s. carried out by the socialist countries of Eastern Europe.

In the countries of Western Europe, the system of demographic policy measures is generally similar, although, of course, it differs in the amount of various payments and other benefits. Demographers believe that France and Sweden are most actively pursuing the policy of encouraging fertility and natural increase.

The current average age of marriage in Europe is 26.4 for men and 23.4 for women. In Italy, Switzerland, Sweden for men, it exceeds 27, and in Germany - even 28 years. For women in the UK, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain, it exceeds 27, and in Denmark and Sweden - 29 years. Maksakovskiy V.P. Geographical picture of the world. Book. I: General characteristics of the world. 4th ed. - M.: Bustard, 2009.- p.127

In the United States, the state population policy in its usual interpretation is virtually absent. Citizens in this area are given complete freedom of choice. Assistance to the family is provided, as a rule, indirectly, in the form of various tax benefits. In the United States, the birthplace of the sexual revolution of the 1960s, different kinds contraceptives. However, the “rehabilitation” of sex led to such heated discussions that literally split society into warring factions. First of all, this refers to the dispute about the ban or legalization of abortion, which in the United States was either banned or allowed depending on the balance of power between “liberals” and “conservatives”.

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Books

Demographic policy in the USSR, A.Ya. Kvasha. Considering the current trends in the development of the population in the USSR, the author pays special attention to the problems of developing an effective demographic policy in the country, reproduction of the population,…
demographic policy. Performance evaluation. Textbook for bachelor's and master's degrees, Arkhangelsky VN. The relevance of the topic of the textbook is determined by a broad discussion around the demographic dynamics of Russia. An analysis of the role of demographic policy in the shifts that have taken place is extremely important for assessing ...