Impact of literacy on population

Population and the level of literacy have been an issue for the recent past. It has been a worldwide challenge with different perspectives and approaches. We now have a big population that is literate and some that is not.

Such a scenario becomes a confusing one because the expectations are not the reality. We have different beliefs as the rate of literacy keeps growing. We have various aspects to address so that we get good understanding of the impact of literacy on population.

Understanding of literacy and population perspective

However, there has been a tough debate about the level of literacy and the population growth and decline. You will notice that the people who are known to be most literate have fewer children which is the opposite of the expectation. People expect that those who are literate should have many children than those who are illiterate.

On the contrary, people expect the illiterate ones to have many children because they do not have the family planning. However, it is not the case because they also get fewer children. In some cases, we have the literate ones getting many children. Some of the issues that come along include.

Early marriages

Early marriages come along especially with the illiterate group. Those people seeking knowledge tend to stay in schools for some longer time hence lacking the time to initiate marriage relationships. Most of those people who are not in schools choose to get married earlier.

Therefore, they begin to get children at an early stage and some get several children. By doing this they spearhead the population growth rate. Unfortunately, poverty also strikes at some point and some even choose to stop getting children after getting two or three children hence stagnating the population growth.

Late marriages

Another issue that comes along with literacy is the late marriages. Some people tend to attend school for a longer period hence getting married late. It is also common to have the literate people especially women choosing not to get married or miss marriage partners of their age.

It is becoming a common norm for people to attend school and upgrade their education which takes some years. By the time they graduate they can only give birth to a few children and then get to the menopause stage. The result is the stagnation of the population growth.

Siring fewer children

The educated people tend to have fewer children than those that are illiterate. Having undergone studies about family planning and how to limit the number of children, they tend to give birth to few children as they will look illiterate if they get more children.

They also assess the economy versus their income as they also aspire to live better lives with their families. Having fun demands that they get a few children. Even when they have adequate resources to sustain their families, they choose to get a few children.

Female literacy

Female literacy has been another contributing factor towards the issue of slow population growth. Women have access to the sources of information and can practice the various recommendations. They are also capable of getting any kind of support they want in form of education.

The feeling that having many children is a thing of the old fashion is now deep rooted in women. A good number have proper information about what to do at each stage of their lives. Women who are illiterate on the other hand are learning from the others.

We also have a good number of women who still get many children. In the past years, women were dependent on their husbands. There has been a shift in this dimension as the literate women can now look for their resources.

Some of these women choose not to get married. They get a single child or two and choose to concentrate in taking care of them. It is clear that these women will not have other children as they care about how they will take care of them.

Health literacy

Another confusing factor is the health literacy. Reproduction health is one that is affecting many women and men in the current population. It has in a way affected the growth in population as there are new and developing health condition.

Unfortunately, some of the things that come along with the reproductive health are myths. Some that relate to matters of child birth problems tend to discourage women from giving birth.

It is also not strange that a big population does not know the measures to take so that they have a healthy reproductive system. Some people have developed conditions that do not favor birth of children.

Infant child survival

Another serious problem that comes with illiteracy is the infant child survival. It is not strange that most children die immediately they are born. Some also do not stay for a long time before they develop conditions and die.

Illiteracy in this case is a contributor to low population. Such parents do not know what they need to do to children immediately they are born and the precautions to take so that the children do not die. Illiterate people may fail to take these measures resulting to the death of children.

Unemployment

Unemployment is the leader in all factors when it comes to population. We have people who are literate but they cannot apply the knowledge they have for the betterment of their lives. There is the group if illiterate people who cannot get good employment.

Unemployed men seem not to care about marriage or having children. Women are also likely to meet illiterate partners who will let them have as many children as possible even without concerns of their future life.

Unemployment is an outcome of illiteracy which affects the population growth directly. It either brings about serious population growth or limits it completely.

Literacy lifestyle

Literate people have their lifestyle. One of the aspects about the literacy is about getting a few children. They want to live a life without limits and do everything they like. It cannot happen when they have many children to take care of.

Illiterate people also have their lifestyle where they view children as the biggest achievement. They can give birth to many children according to what their traditional societies believe.

Health and population

Health problems have become very common these days. Several conditions are arising for both men and women. Some of the things are easy to learn depending on which group it concerns.

Some precautionary measures also become difficult to learn and implement with the various groups. It becomes essential to learn the health factors to observe so that people take the necessary precautions to manage their health.

Conclusion

Literacy has a very big role to play in matters of population growth. However, the impact is so heavy both on the negative side and the positive side. We have highlighted various aspects related to literacy that have an impact on the population growth and also decline.