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Why the Dominican Republic is in the Early Expanding Stage of Demographic Transition

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The Dominican Republic is a developing country in the early expanding stage of their demographic transition. This means their Crude Birth Rate (CBR) is constant, their Crude Death Rate (CDR) is decreasing exponentially, and their Rate of Natural Increase (RNI) is growing. All of these values correspond to the number of births per 1000, number of deaths per 1000, and population growth or the (CBR – CDR), is greater than zero indicating growth of population annually, respectively. These values of the Dominican Republic and more are shown below in comparison to the average values of the world.
Indicator Dominican Republic World Average
Population (mid-2013) 10.3 million 7,137 million
Projected Population (mid-2050) 13.1 million 9,727 …show more content…

These are lower than the values of those of the world by .1% for these years, respectively. These values mean that sex education and contraception use were high and have effectively increased since 1995. This is crucial for a developing country because much of the population in other countries like Chad, Nigeria, and Cameroon have HIV/AIDS and thus are prone to more deaths because of it. This is because there is a large dearth in health care. As the percent of the population, 15-49, with HIV/AIDS decreases, the CDR will decrease and hopefully increase the population. The infant mortality rate (IMR) indicates the number of deaths for a person under the age of 1 per 1000 live births. The Dominican Republic’s IMR is 27 or 2.7%. This, in comparison to the world average, is significantly lower. This rate is caused by lack of healthcare, malnutrition and a low number in urban population. The more a population is urbanized, the more access it has to proper food sources and healthcare and as a result, better off to survive. With a lower than average IMR, the Dominican Republic is effectively keeping a low CBR and can expect to see a decrease as more of the population transitions from rural to urban.
Life expectancy at birth is a strong indicator of the quality of life and environment one is born in. If war, famine, and disease overtake a country, the population less likely to live a long and fulfilling life. A life

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