The Western World Daily Readings on Geography Chapter 70 Latin America and the Caribbean (LACAR) Population Geography I

CHAPTER 70 Latin America and the Caribbean ( Population Geography I Total Fertility in the Caribbean Created by LUIS Prado from Noun The Total Fertility Rate ( is the average number of births that a woman bears over her lifetime . This is an important demographic statistic , for it anticipates how sufficiently a population will replace one generation after another . Clearly , to replace a generation a woman needs to have at least two children , conceptually a boy and a girl . Of course , not every woman needs to give birth to both a boy and a girl , for over a large population the numbers of each sex average out , so that a total fertility rate of will produce roughly one boy and one girl for each woman and man . As you will read about the sex ratio in this textbook , you also will understand that there actually are more boys born than girls born therefore , a total fertility rate in reality will produce more boys than girls . Additionally , some children will die before reaching adulthood and before producing their own offspring . A few more of these dying children will be boys relative to girls . So , to compensate for the loss of these small numbers of deaths , the replacement figure used in demography is need to be children born to one generation of women ( and men ) in order for that new generation to replace the previous generation numerically . As you read about the Demographic Transition in this textbook , you learn that birth rates ( births per thousand people per year ) and the statistically correlated total fertility rates begin to decline in Stage . Numbers of births and the corresponding statistics show a general decline for the remainder of the Demographic Transition . There 339

340 JOEL QUAM AND SCOTT CAMPBELL are many significant causes for this decline , but principally these factors are greater food supply and better medical care that together boost child survival rates , as well as lower demand for children in the settings of the modern industrial world . In the Caribbean , we find low figures for total fertility . These Caribbean islands indeed have benefitted from advances in modern medicine and stable availability of food supply . Significantly because of tourism , the islands have gained in wealth and average income . Thus , for the same reasons as elsewhere across the globe , it makes sense that the islands should have somewhat lower rates of fertility . Nevertheless , there is one additional factor that directly affects the fertility on Caribbean islands . These islands are islands ! Indeed , many of the islands are small islands . The space for large families is limited because the area ofthe islands is inherently limited . Of course , there are small islands all across the world . Yes , we can see this demographic trend across the world too . Let look at the numbers , according to the CIA estimates for 2020 for 228 countries and territories . Among these countries and territories , the lowest total fertility is found on five islands . The of Singapore is has the lowest total fertility in the world . Similarly densely crowded urban territories of and Hong Kong follow closely . The highly urban and also Asian country of has remarkably low fertility for a island country . 2079 west Parade Caribbean Arts Photo by on .

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN ( POPULATION GEOGRAPHY I 341 ISLAND FERTILITY Rank Country Total Fertility 228 Singapore 227 226 225 Hong Kong Caribbean Islands 224 Puerto Rico 220 181 178 175 Turks and 174 Trinidad 169 Cuba 166 161 158 Vincent and the 155 and 150 Martin 144 Cayman Islands 143 128 Bermuda 126 Bahamas 116 114 and 113 Curacao 111 110 109 . Virgin Islands 103 Jamaica 89 Dominican Republic 72 Haiti Next is the American territory of Puerto Rico with a total fertility rate of , obviously much lower than the standard replacement rate of . The rest of the table below does not list all island with low fertility ( such as 205 at ) but does enumerate qualifying Caribbean islands . Note that the only Caribbean countries not having below replacement fertility are Haiti and the Dominican Republic , adjacent countries sharing one island . Perhaps this presence above replacement is partly due to their respective larger areas however , other island in the Greater Cuba , Jamaica , Puerto Rico do not share their higher numbers . In fact , Puerto Rico has precisely half the total fertility of Haiti . Instead it would seem

342 JOEL QUAM AND SCOTT CAMPBELL that Haiti failure to join even the most prosperity common throughout the Caribbean prompts parents there to continue to view larger families as necessary to seek economic advantages . Did You Know ?

At the other end of the list , leads the world with a total fertility rate of . In fact , it is the only country with a total fertility rate of greater than . In comparison , for the United States is . The wild card in the discussion fertility rate is migration . Population loss or gain from fertility can be offset or enhanced by migration flows . CITED AND ADDITIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHY Country Comparison Total Fertility Rate The World Central Intelligence 2020 . 2019 . 2019 Parade Caribbean Arts Festival . Generic (