The world population has grown from 2.6 billion in 1950 to 7.7 billion in 2020. The United Nations (UN) predicts that it will reach 9.7 billion by 2050. This increase in the world’s population brings new challenges and makes existing ones worse, especially in developing countries, which are often densely populated.
The majority of the world’s population lives in developing countries. These countries are very different from developed countries in terms of birth rates, fertility rates, mortality rates and life expectancy. However, international immigration is similar in developed and developing countries.
Life expectancy is an indicator that measures the average number of years lived by a country’s inhabitants.
Immigration is when a person settles in a new country (host country) temporarily or permanently.
A developing country is a poorly industrialized country where the standard of living is often low.
A developed country is an industrialized country whose economy includes a strong presence of advanced industries and where the people enjoy a generally high standard of living.
The birth rate is the number of births per 1000 inhabitants in a year in a given population.
The mortality rate is the number of deaths per 1000 inhabitants in a year in a given population.
Globalization and the development of transport have increased migratory movements. More people from developing countries are leaving their home countries and moving to a new country to improve their living conditions or to reunite with family members.
Globalization is a process that pushes governments to open their national economy to the world market to increase trade between countries, making them interdependent. Trade may include services, goods, capital or the movement of workers.
Some migrants flee their countries due to persecution or natural disasters. In these cases, they can apply for refugee status, provided by the Geneva Convention, to regain the rights they lost.
The Geneva Conventions were adopted in 1949 and form the core of international humanitarian law. These treaties protect the rights of civilians, wounded soldiers and prisoners of war.
A refugee is a person who has been forced to leave their home country to escape a natural disaster, war or some form of persecution that threatens their life and safety.
While some migrants take the steps to legally settle in another country, others use illegal international smuggling networks. Some people use this route when they feel that they will not meet a country’s immigration selection criteria or when they are fleeing danger. Countries put immigration policies in place to recruit skilled workers, with the possible goal of integrating these immigrants into society.
Even though developed countries need more immigrant workers, these workers sometimes have issues getting their training recognized. There is an attempt by governments to standardize professional standards internationally. Intergovernmental agreements have also been established to support this labour mobility. Many immigrants may decide to work in the “shadow economy,” which has consequences for both immigrants and the host country.
The term shadow economy refers to all economic activities that take place outside a country’s official economy. These are often illegal activities, which can take place on the black market, or legal activities carried out illegally, like working on the black market.
A state is a territorial and political community with a government that has recognized borders within which the people live.
Population growth and migration are leading to significant urbanization. Cities around the world are expanding, especially in developing countries. This creates slums, which often lack sewage systems and running water. Developed countries view immigration as a way to make up for their low natural growth. These changes lead to the organization of urban areas, which must adapt to meet the needs of the population.
Natural growth represents the increase in population associated with births. Natural growth is positive when there are more births than deaths and negative when there are more deaths than births.
A slum is an area of substandard and unsanitary housing, often located on the outskirts of large cities, where the poorest people live. The inhabitants rarely have access to basic sanitary infrastructures such as sewers, water and electricity.
Urbanization is when human populations move to the city.