Question

Country Profile

Choose a country that you would like to have more information on that is not your native country. Using data gathered from the course textbooks, the South University Online Library, and websites (World Health Organization, United Nations, etc.), create a demographic profile of your country.

On the basis of your research, create a 2- to 3-page report that includes:

• Age, gender, race, socioeconomic class, religions of the country

• Progress toward MDGs

• Major health concerns of the country

• Status of the country in terms of epidemiologic or demographic transition

Answer 1

India is the second most populated country in the world with nearly a fifth of the world's population.Between 1975 and 2010, the population doubled to 1.2 billion, reaching the billion mark in 1998. India is projected to surpass China to become the world's most populous country by 2024.

Age structure
0–14 years	28.6%
15–64 years	63.6%
65 and over	5.3%

Sex ratio
Total	1.079 male(s)/female
At birth	1.11 male(s)/female
Under 15(0-14)	1.13 male(s)/female
15–64 years	1.06 male(s)/female
65 and over	0.89 male(s)/female

Distribution of Race in India:

1. The Negritos-Perhaps they were the first of the racial groups that came to India.They are related to Africa, Australia and their neighbouring islands. The Negritos have black (dark) skin, woolly hair, broad and flat nose and slightly protruded jaws.

2. The Proto-Australoids-Perhaps the people belonging to the Proto-Australoid race came here just after the Negritos. Their sources are Australian aborigines.It is considered that they were the people who, in collaboration with the Mediterranean race, had developed the Indus Valley Civilization.

3. The Mongoloids-The original homeland of this race was Mongolia (China). The Mongoloids came to India through the passes of northern and eastern mountain ranges.Mongoloids have pale or light pale skin, short height, comparatively large head, half open eyes, flat face and broad nose.

4. The Mediterraneans- They came to India from the south-west Asia.

5. The Brachycephalics - Western race with broad head.

6. The Nordics: They are the last of the racial groups that came to India. They came from Taiga and Baltic regions. They were Aryan speaking families with long head, fair complexion, and sharp nose, well-developed and well-built body.

Socioeconomic class:

Modified Kuppuswamy scale (update for 2019)

Education of head of family	Score
Professional degree	7
Graduate or postgraduate	6
Intermediate or post high school diploma	5
High school certificate	4
Middle school certificate	3
Primary school certificate	2
Illiterate	1
Occupation of head of family
Professional (white collar)	10
Semi-professional	6
Clerical, shop-owner/farm	5
Skilled worker	4
Semi-skilled worker	3
Unskilled worker	2
Unemployed	1
Monthly income of family(INR)	1 INR=0.013 USD
		In 2019	Score
		≥52,734	12
		26,355-52,733	10
		19,759-26,354	6
		13,161-19,758	4
		7,887-13,160	3
		2,641-7,886	2
		≤2,640	1
Socioeconomic class	Total score
I	Upper	26-29
II	Upper middle	16-25
III	Lower middle	11-15
IV	Upper lower	5-10
V	Lower	01-04

Religious populations' numbers (2011) Religion Population Percent (%) All 1,210,854,977 100.00 Hindus 966,378,868 79.80 Muslims 172,245,158 14.23 Christians 27,819,588 2.30 Sikhs 20,833,116 1.72 Buddhists 8,442,972 0.70 Jains 4,451,753 0.37 Others 7,937,734 0.66 Not stated 2,867,303

Progress towards MDGs;

India has made notable progress towards reaching the MDGs but achievement across the Goals varies. India has already achieved the target for reducing poverty by half (Goal 1) by official estimates – and is close to doing so by international estimates. India has already achieved gender parity in primary school enrolment (Goal 3) and is likely to reach parity in secondary and tertiary education also by 2015. India is set to achieve reducing hunger by half (Goal 1); to reduce maternal mortality by three quarters (Goal 5); control of the spread of deadly diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis (Goal 6); has increased forest cover and has halved the proportion of population without access to clean drinking water (Goal 7). But India is lagging behind on targets for achieving universal primary school enrolment and completion and achieving universal youth literacy by 2015 (Goal 2); empowering women through wage employment and political participation (Goal 3); reducing child and infant mortality (Goal 4); and improving access to adequate sanitation to eliminate open defecation (Goal 7).

Epidemiological transition

In order to understand India's progress in epidemiological transition, in this paper we assess that country's structural changes in patterns of morbidity and mortality.Overall, India has been experiencing rapid structural changes in disease patterns within the short span of the last three decades. Advances in mortality and morbidity transition to later stages point toward an upheaval in epidemiological transition.Therefore, India's current stage of epidemiological transition can be characterized by low mortality, high morbidity, and by the double burden of communicable diseases and NCDs. These broad mortality and morbidity trends suggest that India represents a major contrast in the process of epidemiological transition particularly in light of conclusions based on studies of developed nations.

India is experiencing rapid health transition, including increased life expectancy at old ages (e_{60 and above}). However, the older population is living in poor health. Comprehensive health interventions are required for prevention and control of chronic diseases

In terms of mortality transition, India lags behind developed nations. The combination of a double burden of disease with high morbidity rates presents challenges for improving the overall health status of the population and necessitates a comprehensive policy and action to prevent and control this burden and promote healthy ageing.