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Demographic and Health Development in the Long Run

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Global Handbook of Quality of Life

Part of the book series: International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life ((IHQL))

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Abstract

The chapter deals with the relationship between global demographic change and the improvement in health, a core aspect of wellbeing and quality of life, over the period 1950–2100. The global change in population is closely related to the process of demographic transition with declining levels of fertility and mortality. While low fertility is a precondition for limiting global population growth, it also results in smaller birth cohorts, which contribute to the ageing of the population. The increasing life expectancy, in itself an indicator of improving physical health conditions at all ages and thus of wellbeing, also contributes to ageing. Furthermore, older populations are in general more prone to health risks – attendant with the epidemiological transition in the burden of diseases. The chapter depicts the development of global health using selected indicators of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) as measures. The increase in life expectancy at birth in all regions and at all levels of development shows the improvement and convergence of health conditions at a global scale in its contribution to global wellbeing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Federal Institute for Population Research, Wiesbaden, Germany

    Frank Swiaczny

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  1. Frank Swiaczny
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Correspondence to Frank Swiaczny .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Goethe-Universitat, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Wolfgang Glatzer

  2. University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, United Kingdom

    Laura Camfield

  3. Rhodes University Inst. Social & Economic Research, Grahamstown, South Africa

    Valerie Møller

  4. FLACSO-Mexico & UPAEP, Mexico City, Mexico

    Mariano Rojas

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Swiaczny, F. (2015). Demographic and Health Development in the Long Run. In: Glatzer, W., Camfield, L., Møller, V., Rojas, M. (eds) Global Handbook of Quality of Life. International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9178-6_2

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