Analysis of the demographic indices of the developing countries of Southeast Asia
Rozov, A.A.
Sovetskoe Zdravookhranenie 4: 56-60
1980
ISSN/ISBN: 0038-5239 PMID: 7376004 Document Number: 157286
Southeast Asia, which is less than 6% of the earth's surface, has 25% of its population, and this population is growing rapidly. A process of urbanization is also occurring. The populations are very young; 40-45% are younger than 15 years of age, compared with 34% for the world as a whole. These young people are a problem for health services. The mortality rates went down in the 10-15 years after the collapse of the colonial system when these countries acquired their own public health systems. But they are still quite elevated compared with Western countries. The birthrates have also declined, but again they are much higher than in the developed capitalist countries. Because of this the governments of these countries have embarked on family planning programs. India, for instance, wants to lower the birthrate to 25/1000 by 1984. The infant mortality has dropped rapidly in all of these countries, but still remains very high in some of them (153/1000 live births in Bangladesh, for example). In the cities this mortality is much lower than in the villages. Overall, it is very high compared with the developed capitalist countries. The life expectancy in these countries is about 50 years, with women living slightly longer than men.