Demography: So What?

Demography is a really long word. And a complicated subject too. It took me a long time to understand and use. Now though, I do understand it, and have learned a lot about it. But here is the thing: if I don't know how it relates to my life, then why does all that matter? And I want it all to matter, plus, I think I understand how it relates to my life.

Question number one...

1. How are demographics relevant to your life?

Demographics can determine how I live, how my life will turn out and how I will be like. One thing is about how I live in a developed country, and I am so lucky to be able to do that. I have clean water at my finger tips, great medical care and am clean. I am healthy, with no worries about getting very sick or starving to death. I live in Singapore, which is one of the best places to live, because everyone has something to live with. Another thing is how the Singaporean population is negative growth. However, since they are negative growth, a government policy is now to bring in expats, like me. If demographics weren't a things, I wouldn't be living in the this country at all.
The positives here are good, but the negatives aren't that great. I am in a developed country, but even here, overpopulation around the world effects me.  It is just a circle, going around and around. More population creates more pollution, and right now in Singapore, we are having a problem with haze. Indonesia, a country next door is burning trees to create space and palm oil, a growing demand. The smoke travels to us and I am breathing the effects of overpopulation right now. It hurts me, with my already sensitive lungs.
Demographics relate to my life right now in different ways, but what about later? Speaking of later...

2. How do issues related to demographics impact your life and future?

There are many things that demography can impact, for example...

1. Population Increase
Today's population is increasing rapidly, and that is causing the world have more people than ever before.

The more population, the more consumption. The Earth already has just enough resources for 7 billion people to live, but since demographers are predicting that about 2 million more people will be added to the world, the natural resources may be depleted. Trees will be cut down to make more space and more resources, but then Earth will become more of a barren wasteland. Petrol and diesel will become scarce and the pollution on the planet may get so much worse. Not only that, it might harm the ozone layer protecting us from getting burned by the sun. If the predictions turn out to be true, then they Earth may be destroyed if we all continue on like this. But since we can see this coming, we can change our ways and be more caring to the environment, and also the population will increase, but then it should slow down a bit. The world will finally have a more steady population. 

Before, there weren't very good medical facilities, therefore, there were very high birth rates, but lower survival rates. People had many children, just in case some died, they would still have kids to spare. But now, medical facilities are getting better and better, so more and more children survived, causing the population to grow. Also, the death rate slowed down a bit, allowing more elders to live longer, causing the world to have more elders than before. And as more countries go from developing to developed, the more kids will survive. So, the population will go up, but then finally slow down in about 100 years because people won't need to worry about having more kids. Natural resources may be a problem, but this information may help too. 

2. Wars and natural disasters

Wars can hugely impact my future, because for one reason, they can damage a country very badly. Wars can take a country from developed to developing. It can cause food shortages, money problems and kill many people. Many people would have died from war, and few would be left. War could cause another country to take over, and change the lives of inhabitants. If I was living in a place that was at war with another country, my and my family's lives would all be at danger, and schools might not be teaching anymore. If another country takes over, my money and house could be taken away with me not being able to leave the country because the air would not be safe. Another thing is natural disasters. It can do the same as a war, but also could be something that takes the world down. They can damage multiple places at a time, and can harm all, rich and poor. If a natural disaster or war takes over a place that was deemed "safe" for me, then where else would be "safe"? 

Demographics relate to my life in ways I wouldn't have realised before. My coming to Singapore, how in the future everything might be different and how lucky I am to live in a developed country again.