Abstract

PIP: The data sheet compiled by the Population Reference Bureau and reprinted here provides a picture of many of the principal population characteristics of Latin America and the Caribbean. The reduced rate of average population increase, to 2.3% annually, compares favorably with the peak level that reached nearly 3% in 1960. Mortality rates have continued to decline in the intervening period, and fertility has decreased even more, resulting in a notable drop in overall rates of population growth for the region as a whole. Yet, total population has jumped from about 208 million in 1960 to an estimated 390 million in 1983. Statistics for the 2 regions obscure important differences in the patterns of growth among countries. Among Spanish speaking countries, the ones in "Temperate South America" represent a distinct type. Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay are all growing at less than 1.6% annually. These 3 countries have completed the demographic transition. 2 more Spanish speaking political units in the Caribbean, Cuba and Puerto Rico, also fall into this category. Most of the English speaking islands in the Caribbean, plus Martinique and Guadaloupe, have also passed through demographic transition. The growth pattern of nearly all the countries in this category has baeen influenced by outmigration. A 2nd population category in Latin America and the Caribbean is composed of countries that had high rates of growth in 1960 but have reduced growth significantly in the past 2 decades as a result of modernizing influences and family planning programs. This category includes several of Latin America's most populous countries, i.e., Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and Venezuela, plus several smaller countries like Panama, Costa Rica, and Paraguay. A number of Caribbean countries also fall into this category. This 2nd group is the one to watch for assessing the future relationship of population to development. A 3rd category of countries in the region includes several nations that are growing at over 3% annually. The principal reason for their high growth levels in a sustained high rate of fertility. The prospects for many of these countries are not promising. Changes in the pattern of births and deaths have occurred mainly as a result of modernizing influences and the adoption of family planning. Of the two, modernization seems to be more important. Several countries encourage family planning as a means of reducing population growth rates. A number of countries with public family programs justify them as a human right or as a means of improving the health of mothers and children and not as a way to reduce growth rates. Argentina and Uruguay continue their strong pronatalist policies, and Chile and Bolivia have moved from policies favoring family planning to a reverse position. Other population data presented covers internal and international migration, urbanization, and population growth and development.