LEDC and MEDC Economic and Social Issues

The population in the UK is forever ageing, with people living until a much older age today. One economic effect of this is that pensioners will, in time, outnumber children. This will mean that there will be a generation between certain ages that has a very low population and once this age band becomes part of the working population, there will be significantly less tax revenues for the government. This will indirectly affect the economy. In addition, there may be a large deficit, where the about being paid into the economy is less than the amount being paid out. Because pensioners require healthcare, disability benefits and state pensions, there may be a lot of money going out to the high number of pensioners and because there are much more older dependant people the working population cannot produce enough make sure there is stability. This could also mean there is a great burden on the health service. When people are older, they require much more healthcare, and so the health services in the UK will have more pressure as there are so many older people. There are also many social costs. One is that with more people becoming older, the death rate will be high, but the birth rate remains low as there are so many older people and very few people are young enough to give birth. This will mean the population could decrease. Additionally, when there are more elderly people, the healthcare system cannot cope, there will be a sudden need for more old people's homes and this will put pressure on the NHS. However, there are some positive economic impacts. There will be a growing market for products such as stair lifts and wheel chairs. Also, companies like hotels will have a wider spread of profits throughout the year because pensioners. There may also be an increase in private healthcare profits because many elderly people who are rich can afford to have private healthcare. There is also an increased life expectancy and lower death rates in the country as more people are living and for a long time. Caatinga in north Brazil is a rural area that is home to mostly poor people. The people living in Caatinga are moving to much more industrialized cities like Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro to the south of Brazil. The main reasons people are leaving the rural areas are the lack of employment opportunities, the main source of income in Caatinga is farming jobs and other agricultural jobs. This is then made worse by the frequent droughts in the area and other natural disasters. Another reason people are moving is because of large families that have very little land to share amongst the sons. This is caused by a high birth rate in rural areas like Caatinga. Overgrazing of the land will lead to bad crops being produced and soil that is useless. This then leads to starvation, resulting from either too little output for the people of the area or crop failure. This has then lead to more families selling land off and moving away. The land that they sell off may be to richer farmers that have tractors and other mechanized equipment. This then causes a reduction in the number of jobs available in the area. Farming is also hard work with long hours and little pay. In LEDC's lack of money will mean a lack of farming equipment. Caatinga also experiences many droughts and so the hard physical condition of the area will cause a loss of jobs or food in the area. Caatinga also has a lack of services like schools and hospitals; this will be hard for families to cope with because of young children. Finally, the government are more likely to invest in urban areas rather than rural areas like Caatinga. The reasons that people move to the city and urban areas are because, they seek better jobs that pay much more money, jobs in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are much better paid than in Caatinga. They are housed better and have a better quality of life, they have a better medical treatment and more services like schools and they have enough food. The UK, which is in Western Europe, is an MEDC. The average life expectancy in the UK is 77 years. Burkina Faso is in Central Africa and is an LEDC. The life expectancy there is 48 years. Firstly the infant mortality rate in Burkina Faso is 170 per 1000. This means out of every 1000 babies born, 170 of them are likely to die. This proves that there is a problem in Burkina Faso because in the UK the Infant mortality rate is only 6 per 1000. This clearly shows how the healthcare in Burkina Faso is poor and so they are more likely to die younger. Another factor is the Average calorie intake per day. In Burkina faso it is 2387 calories, whereas in the UK it is 3317 calories. Burkina Faso's figure is lower than what is needed to live. This shows how more people are starving and dieing younger. Similarly, the amount of the population that is malnourished in Burkina Faso is 30%, whereas in the UK it is 2%. This illustrates a growing problem of food in Burkina Faso. The lack of available food will mean more people are dieing and many more young people are struggling to survive. The number of years for the UK's population to double is 433 years, in contrast to Burkina Faso who's population is said to double in 23 years! This will cause large problems with resources and may start off a large phase of famine and disease. This will keep the Life expectancy low. The access to healthcare in Burkina Faso is less than 50% this clearly indicates a problem in health with many people and the majority of the population not being able to have healthcare. This will keep the life expectancy low, compared to the UK which has 100% access to healthcare for everyone. With an average income of only $230 per person, Burkina faso is likely to have problems of poverty and lack of food and clean water. This means most families are likely to die young because no money will eventually be the cause of deaths, against the UK, with an average income of i18,000. These factors clearly show that Burkina faso has a very low life expectancy, many people are dieing as a result of these poor living standards. Whereas the UK has a high life expectancy because the overall quality of life is better.