Population Characteristics of Switzerland and the United States
...haracteristics of urbanized and industrialized countries. This is also affected in part where females are participants of the workforce during their “child-bearing” years. As our table below shows, the TFR (total fertility rate) of Switzerland is 1.4%, and the USA is 2%. The actual replacement level of fertility is 2.1 to 2.3 percent. At the present, the rate of natural increase of Switzerland is at .2%. The United States rate of natural increase is at .6%. These rates for Switzerland have been declining over the years. It is projected in the future that Switzerland will have a negative rate of natural increase if the fertility rate stays the same. However, projections do show that each country will have a gain in fertility rates by 2025. The United States became its own country in 1776 and was recognized as a the new nation following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. The total land area is 9,631,418 square kilometers. The total population of the country is at 293 million. The United States has suffered many wars and disasters but remains as the world’s most powerful nation state. The economy is marked by steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, as well as rapid advances in technology. The labor force is at 146.5 million with a gross national income at $34,280. The age structure of the U.S.’s population are: 0-14 years: 20.8%, 15-64 years: 66.9%, and 65 years+: 12.4%. The age structures of both countries of very similar with the work-able force being very close numerically to each other. The low death rates of both countries; Switzerland at 8/1000 pop. and the U.S. at 9/1000 show also that these are characteristics of the more developed countries; those that have the resources, and funding for cures such as sickness or disease. Because these two countries do have the resources for medicines and research, the infant mortality rate is also low. The rates for Switzerland are 4.9/1000 live births, and the U.S. at 6.9/1000 live births. The reason, perhaps, why Switzerland has a lower infant mortality rate compared to that of the United States is because Switzerland has a lower population and therefore may decrease the spread of infection or disease, and also because the U.S. has a higher population poverty percentage than that of Switzerland. The U.S. has a 12% poverty group, whereas Switzerland has relatively little or none. The life expectancy of both countries are high and are also due to the urbanized countries characteristics where medical attention and care facilities are available on hand and to anyone. The dependency ratio is a measure of dependants that each 100 people in the productive years must support. The percentage of population that the people ages 15-64 years in Switzerland needs to support is 49%. The percentage for the U.S. is 51%. The population pyramid summaries included show that the current age working class for Switzerland exceeds the dependants (Fig. 1 “Population Pyramid 2000 for Switzerland”). As the working class becomes older, the projected population pyramid becomes more evenly spread throughout (Fig 3 “Population Pyramid 2050 for Switzerland”). In the U.S., the same population pyramid is not evenly shaped throughout (Fig. 4 “Population Pyramid for U.S.”), but by 2025 and through 2050 (Figures 5 & 6 “Population Pyramid for U.S.”), the pyramid shows almost equal distribution of all age cohorts. Since these are only projections taken from recent statistics, they do not clearly or accurately describe the years to come. Figures 7 & 8 are similar with the older age cohorts at the top being smaller than those of today. This is most likely because there was not an advancement in medical technology as there is today. The high percent urban characteristics show that the economy is high in both countries, but still have enough rur...