The region of present-day China has historically been the most populous region in the world; however, its population development has fluctuated throughout history. In 2022, China was overtaken as the most populous country in the world, and current projections suggest its population is heading for a rapid decline in the coming decades. Transitions of power lead to mortality The source suggests that conflict, and the diseases brought with it, were the major obstacles to population growth throughout most of the Common Era, particularly during transitions of power between various dynasties and rulers. It estimates that the total population fell by approximately 30 million people during the 14th century due to the impact of Mongol invasions, which inflicted heavy losses on the northern population through conflict, enslavement, food instability, and the introduction of bubonic plague. Between 1850 and 1870, the total population fell once more, by more than 50 million people, through further conflict, famine and disease; the most notable of these was the Taiping Rebellion, although the Miao an Panthay Rebellions, and the Dungan Revolt, also had large death tolls. The third plague pandemic also originated in Yunnan in 1855, which killed approximately two million people in China. 20th and 21st centuries There were additional conflicts at the turn of the 20th century, which had significant geopolitical consequences for China, but did not result in the same high levels of mortality seen previously. It was not until the overlapping Chinese Civil War (1927-1949) and Second World War (1937-1945) where the death tolls reached approximately 10 and 20 million respectively. Additionally, as China attempted to industrialize during the Great Leap Forward (1958-1962), economic and agricultural mismanagement resulted in the deaths of tens of millions (possibly as many as 55 million) in less than four years, during the Great Chinese Famine. This mortality is not observable on the given dataset, due to the rapidity of China's demographic transition over the entire period; this saw improvements in healthcare, sanitation, and infrastructure result in sweeping changes across the population. The early 2020s marked some significant milestones in China's demographics, where it was overtaken by India as the world's most populous country, and its population also went into decline. Current projections suggest that China is heading for a "demographic disaster", as its rapidly aging population is placing significant burdens on China's economy, government, and society. In stark contrast to the restrictive "one-child policy" of the past, the government has introduced a series of pro-fertility incentives for couples to have larger families, although the impact of these policies are yet to materialize. If these current projections come true, then China's population may be around half its current size by the end of the century.
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Purpose: The multi-country Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE) is run by the World Health Organization's Multi-Country Studies unit in the Innovation, Information, Evidence and Research Cluster. SAGE is part of the unit's Longitudinal Study Programme which is compiling longitudinal data on the health and well-being of adult populations, and the ageing process, through primary data collection and secondary data analysis. SAGE baseline data (Wave 0, 2002/3) was collected as part of WHO's World Health Survey http://www.who.int/healthinfo/survey/en/index.html (WHS). SAGE Wave 1 (2007/10) provides a comprehensive data set on the health and well-being of adults in six low and middle-income countries: China, Ghana, India, Mexico, Russian Federation and South Africa. Objectives: To obtain reliable, valid and comparable health, health-related and well-being data over a range of key domains for adult and older adult populations in nationally representative samples To examine patterns and dynamics of age-related changes in health and well-being using longitudinal follow-up of a cohort as they age, and to investigate socio-economic consequences of these health changes To supplement and cross-validate self-reported measures of health and the anchoring vignette approach to improving comparability of self-reported measures, through measured performance tests for selected health domains To collect health examination and biomarker data that improves reliability of morbidity and risk factor data and to objectively monitor the effect of interventions
Additional Objectives: To generate large cohorts of older adult populations and comparison cohorts of younger populations for following-up intermediate outcomes, monitoring trends, examining transitions and life events, and addressing relationships between determinants and health, well-being and health-related outcomes To develop a mechanism to link survey data to demographic surveillance site data To build linkages with other national and multi-country ageing studies To improve the methodologies to enhance the reliability and validity of health outcomes and determinants data To provide a public-access information base to engage all stakeholders, including national policy makers and health systems planners, in planning and decision-making processes about the health and well-being of older adults
Methods: SAGE's first full round of data collection included both follow-up and new respondents in most participating countries. The goal of the sampling design was to obtain a nationally representative cohort of persons aged 50 years and older, with a smaller cohort of persons aged 18 to 49 for comparison purposes. In the older households, all persons aged 50+ years (for example, spouses and siblings) were invited to participate. Proxy respondents were identified for respondents who were unable to respond for themselves. Standardized SAGE survey instruments were used in all countries consisting of five main parts: 1) household questionnaire; 2) individual questionnaire; 3) proxy questionnaire; 4) verbal autopsy questionnaire; and, 5) appendices including showcards. A VAQ was completed for deaths in the household over the last 24 months. The procedures for including country-specific adaptations to the standardized questionnaire and translations into local languages from English follow those developed by and used for the World Health Survey.
Content Household questionnaire 0000 Coversheet 0100 Sampling Information 0200 Geocoding and GPS Information 0300 Recontact Information 0350 Contact Record 0400 Household Roster 0450 Kish Tables and Household Consent 0500 Housing 0600 Household and Family Support Networks and Transfers 0700 Assets and Household Income 0800 Household Expenditures 0900 Interviewer Observations
Individual questionnaire 1000 Socio-Demographic Characteristics 1500 Work History and Benefits 2000 Health State Descriptions and Vignettes 2500 Anthropometrics, Performance Tests and Biomarkers 3000 Risk Factors and Preventive Health Behaviours 4000 Chronic Conditions and Health Services Coverage 5000 Health Care Utilization 6000 Social Cohesion 7000 Subjective Well-Being and Quality of Life (WHOQoL-8 and Day Reconstruction Method) 8000 Impact of Caregiving 9000 Interviewer Assessment
National coverage
households and individuals
The household section of the survey covered all households in 19 of the 28 states in India which covers 96% of the population. Institutionalised populations are excluded. The individual section covered all persons aged 18 years and older residing within individual households.
Sample survey data [ssd]
World Health Survey Sampling India has 28 states and seven union territories. 19 of the 28 states were included in the design representing 96% of the population. India used a stratified multistage cluster sample design. Six states were selected in accordance with their geographic location and level of development. Strata were defined by the 6 states:(Assam, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal), and locality (urban or rural). There are 12 strata in total. The 2000 Census demarcation was used as the sampling frame. Two stage and three stage sampling was adopted in rural and urban areas, respectively. In rural areas PSUs(villages) were selected probability proportional to size. The measure of size being the 2001 Census population in the village. SSUs (households) were selected using systematic sampling. TSUs (individuals) were selected using Kish tables. In urban areas, PSUs(city wards) were selected probability proportional to size. SSUs(census enumeration blocks), two were randomly selected from each PSU. TSU (households) were selected using systematic sampling. QSU (individuals) were selected as in rural areas. A sample of 379 EAs was selected as the primary sampling units(PSU).
SAGE Sampling The SAGE sample was pre-determined as all PSUs and households selected for the WHS/SAGE Wave 0 survey were included. Exceptions are three PSUs in Assam which were replaced as they were inaccessible due to flooding. And a further six PSUs were omitted for which the household roster information was not available. In each selected EA, a listing of the households was conducted to classify each household into the following mutually exclusive categories: 1)Households with a WHS/SAGE Wave 0 respondent aged 50-plus: all members aged 50-plus including the WHS/SAGE Wave 0 respondent were eligible for the individual interview. 2)Households with a WHS/SAGE Wave 0 respondent aged 47-49: all members aged 50-plus including the WHS/SAGE Wave 0 respondent aged 47-49 was eligible for the individual interview. 3)Households with a WHS/SAGE Wave 0 female respondent aged 18-46: all females members aged 18-49 including the WHS/SAGE Wave 0 female respondent aged 18-46 were eligible for the individual interview. 4)Households with a WHS/SAGE Wave 0 male respondent aged 18-46: three households were selected using systematic sampling and one male aged 18-49 was eligible for the individual interview. In the households not selected, all members aged 50-plus were eligible for the individual interview.
Stages of selection Strata: State, Locality=12 PSU: EAs=375 surveyed SSU: Households=10424 surveyed TSU: Individual=12198 surveyed
Face-to-face [f2f] PAPI
The questionnaires were based on the WHS Model Questionnaire with some modification and many new additions. A household questionnaire was administered to all households eligible for the study. A Verbal Autopsy questionnaire was administered to households that had a death in the last 24 months. An Individual questionniare was administered to eligible respondents identified from the household roster. A Proxy questionnaire was administered to individual respondents who had cognitive limitations. A Womans Questionnaire was administered to all females aged 18-49 years identified from the household roster. The questionnaires were developed in English and were piloted as part of the SAGE pretest in 2005. All documents were translated into Hindi, Assamese, Kanada and Marathi. SAGE generic questionnaires are available as external resources.
Data editing took place at a number of stages including: (1) office editing and coding (2) during data entry (3) structural checking of the CSPro files (4) range and consistency secondary edits in Stata
Household Response rate=88% Cooperation rate=92%
Individual: Response rate=68% Cooperation rate=92%
Literacy in India has been increasing as more and more people receive a better education, but it is still far from all-encompassing. In 2023, the degree of literacy in India was about 77 percent, with the majority of literate Indians being men. It is estimated that the global literacy rate for people aged 15 and above is about 86 percent. How to read a literacy rateIn order to identify potential for intellectual and educational progress, the literacy rate of a country covers the level of education and skills acquired by a country’s inhabitants. Literacy is an important indicator of a country’s economic progress and the standard of living – it shows how many people have access to education. However, the standards to measure literacy cannot be universally applied. Measures to identify and define illiterate and literate inhabitants vary from country to country: In some, illiteracy is equated with no schooling at all, for example. Writings on the wallGlobally speaking, more men are able to read and write than women, and this disparity is also reflected in the literacy rate in India – with scarcity of schools and education in rural areas being one factor, and poverty another. Especially in rural areas, women and girls are often not given proper access to formal education, and even if they are, many drop out. Today, India is already being surpassed in this area by other emerging economies, like Brazil, China, and even by most other countries in the Asia-Pacific region. To catch up, India now has to offer more educational programs to its rural population, not only on how to read and write, but also on traditional gender roles and rights.
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The region of present-day China has historically been the most populous region in the world; however, its population development has fluctuated throughout history. In 2022, China was overtaken as the most populous country in the world, and current projections suggest its population is heading for a rapid decline in the coming decades. Transitions of power lead to mortality The source suggests that conflict, and the diseases brought with it, were the major obstacles to population growth throughout most of the Common Era, particularly during transitions of power between various dynasties and rulers. It estimates that the total population fell by approximately 30 million people during the 14th century due to the impact of Mongol invasions, which inflicted heavy losses on the northern population through conflict, enslavement, food instability, and the introduction of bubonic plague. Between 1850 and 1870, the total population fell once more, by more than 50 million people, through further conflict, famine and disease; the most notable of these was the Taiping Rebellion, although the Miao an Panthay Rebellions, and the Dungan Revolt, also had large death tolls. The third plague pandemic also originated in Yunnan in 1855, which killed approximately two million people in China. 20th and 21st centuries There were additional conflicts at the turn of the 20th century, which had significant geopolitical consequences for China, but did not result in the same high levels of mortality seen previously. It was not until the overlapping Chinese Civil War (1927-1949) and Second World War (1937-1945) where the death tolls reached approximately 10 and 20 million respectively. Additionally, as China attempted to industrialize during the Great Leap Forward (1958-1962), economic and agricultural mismanagement resulted in the deaths of tens of millions (possibly as many as 55 million) in less than four years, during the Great Chinese Famine. This mortality is not observable on the given dataset, due to the rapidity of China's demographic transition over the entire period; this saw improvements in healthcare, sanitation, and infrastructure result in sweeping changes across the population. The early 2020s marked some significant milestones in China's demographics, where it was overtaken by India as the world's most populous country, and its population also went into decline. Current projections suggest that China is heading for a "demographic disaster", as its rapidly aging population is placing significant burdens on China's economy, government, and society. In stark contrast to the restrictive "one-child policy" of the past, the government has introduced a series of pro-fertility incentives for couples to have larger families, although the impact of these policies are yet to materialize. If these current projections come true, then China's population may be around half its current size by the end of the century.