These are the Demographics of Central America
Our blog is about the region Central America. This region consists of seven different countries, which are Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. Central America is located between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean sea, the land borders of this region are marked by the countries Mexico and Colombia.
(Source:GAO;
When we take a deeper look into the demographics of this specific region, it stands out that the fertility rate in Central America is quite high. The data is shown in the table below. A fertility rate above 2.1 means that the upcoming populations are growing over time. Furthermore, the difference in average age between Central America and Europa is striking. The median age in Central America is much lower. In addition, some other interesting characteristics of the population’s demographics in Central America are shown in the table below. To give perspective on the numbers, European and global data are also given.
Table 1.0: Demographic characteristics of Central America, Europe and the World).
Besides the data given in the table, it is also informative to look at the population pyramids of these regions. The figures below, the demographic pyramid is shown of the population of Central America, compared Europe and the world. As you can see, the pyramid of Central America has a wider base than the others and is more tapered.
The population of Central America faces various health risks. There is the threat of infectious diseases such as HIV, Tuberculosis, dengue rabies and the Zika virus. On the other hand, these countries also have to deal with non-communicable diseases. The following causes of death are common in Central America: Diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, neoplasm, maternal and neonatal issues, self-harm and violence. The combination of this two-sidedness of diseases makes it difficult to improve public health in Central America. Through our blog, we hope to provide an insight on this topic, and to learn more about the complexity of this problem.
