Question

Countries (for example: Nigeria and Italy). Find out their:

• Population size 
• Fertility rate 
• Life expectancy 
• Age distribution

How are they different? What might be the reasons behind these differences? For instance, find out how countries with ageing populations are managing this.

Answer 1

Indicator	Nigeria	Italy
Population	About 233 million	About 59 million
Fertility rate	About 4.4 children per woman	About 1.2 children per woman
Life expectancy	About 55 years	About 84 years
Age distribution	Very young population; about 40% are under 15	Ageing population; about 25% are 65+

Differences and Reasons:

• Population: Nigeria has a young and rapidly growing population, while Italy has an older and slowly shrinking population.
• Fertility rate: Nigeria has a higher fertility rate because of larger family sizes, lower female education in some areas, and lower urbanization.
• Low fertility in Italy: Italy has a low fertility rate due to higher education, urbanization, delayed marriage, career priorities, and the high cost of raising children.
• Life expectancy: Italy has a higher life expectancy because of better healthcare, higher living standards, good nutrition, and easier access to medical services.
• Age distribution: Nigeria has a large number of children and young people, while Italy has a large elderly population.

How countries with ageing populations are managing: Italy is raising the retirement age, reforming pensions, encouraging older people to remain in work, increasing immigration to address labour shortages, and improving healthcare and long-term care for elderly people. It is also introducing policies to encourage families to have more children.