Introduction
The present-day global economy setting offers a variety of opportunities for developing states to improve their performance and create healthier economies, thus, gaining the status of developed ones. In turn, differences in population characteristics often serve as indications of a state’s economic performance and the efficacy of its trade regulations. Therefore, by comparing the differences in the population of the U.S. and Nigeria, one will infer crucial aspects of effective economic performance. Although the levels of mortality appear to be significantly higher in Nigeria than in the U.S., the rest of the indicators of the U.S. belonging to countries with a different development index are less pronounced.
Analysis
The analysis of the available information indicates that the differences in the population of Nigeria and the U.S. concerns the key characteristics that are defined by the influence of numerous economical factors. Specifically, the issues such as poverty and the lack of vital healthcare-related resources shape the current characteristics of the U.S. and Nigerian populations to a significant extent, as most researchers claim.
For example, the levels of health and the rate of disease development and management re significantly less optimistic in Nigeria than they are in the U.S., mostly for the reasons outlined above. Furthermore, the emergence of the pandemic combined with the lack of access to basic healthcare options has defined a drastic decline in the health rates across the state. According to Al-Raeei (2021), the current rate of COVID-19 cases in Nigeria constitutes 164.6 million. Although the U.S. has been showing massive problems with the management of the coronavirus recently, the rates of health among the American population has been slightly better. Namely, Taquet et al. (2021) explain that the rates of COVID-19 development in the American population have been at the 30,000,000 mark recently. Although the specified number is also tremendous, especially compared to other developed states, the U.S. population has still been receiving better healthcare services, including both medication options and consultations. As a result, the rates of COVID-19 development have been slightly lower in the U.S. setting. Nevertheless, both states require immediate management of the coronavirus problem since the issue has reached a tremendous scale in both countries. While the absence of awareness has been the main factor in the U.S., and the lack o resources has defined the drastic situation in Nigeria, the population in both countries has been experiencing increased exposure to the virus.
Additionally, the levels of mortality among the members of the Nigerian population have shown to be subjected to a significant recent decline. Specifically, the research by Hassan et al. (2020) shows a trend toward a drop in the population rate in Nigeria recently due to a rise in their mortality rates. Namely, the Nigerian 55% of the population meeting the bare minimum of the standards for life expectancy compared to the 77% shown by the U.S. indicates the doubtless advantages.
The differences in fertility are also quite evident when comparing the U.S. population and that of Nigeria. Specifically, the levels of fertility have proven to be lower in the U.S. since, in Nigeria, the awareness concerning contraception is very low (Ojo et al., 2021). As a result, the rates of childbirth are significantly higher in Nigeria, which, in turn, causes the population rates within the country to increase exponentially, causing a further rise in poverty and an increase in the extent of infant and maternal mortality levels (Ojo et al., 2021). Overall, the lack of appropriate healthcare services that would allow patients to receive the necessary care and obtain information about managing key health concerns, appears to be prevalent in the Nigerian setting, which defines the difference between its population characteristics and those of the U.S.
Finally, the migration patterns within the U.S. and Nigeria need to be discussed as the key factors that affect eh rate of population density and the number of residents in both states. According to Akanle et al. (2021), the levels of migration have proven to be slightly higher in Nigeria despite the recent decline, having reached a crude net of -0.288 per 1000 citizens in 2021. The observed tendency can be explained by the challenging living conditions observed in Nigeria. Indeed, as the previous analysis has indicated, the Nigerian socioeconomic environment cannot be considered ideal for its residents. Moreover, a range of factors represents a significant threat to the Nigerian population from the very moment that they are born, given the current rates of infant mortality (Akanle et al., 2021). For this reason, opportunities for improving the living conditions in Nigeria should be sought.
In turn, the migration rates in the U.S. are also quite high. In fact, the studies indicate that the current migration rates in the U.S. are even higher than those in Nigeria, having reached 2.857 per 1000 citizens in 2021 (Núñez-López et al., 2021). However, it is worth noting that the difference in the migration rates between the two countries is defined not only by emigrants but also by immigrants; specifically, while in Nigeria, the described rate can be explained by people moving from the state, in the U.S. the migration trends appear to be geared toward immigration (Núñez-López et al., 2021). However, given the recent rise in the threat of coronavirus to the U.S. citizens and the increase in the number of COVID-19 patients, as well as death rates caused by the disease, the migration patterns are expected to show even lesser dynamics due to the absence of people willing to migrate to the U.S. (Núñez-López et al., 2021).
Overall, the analysis of the essential demographic characteristics of Nigerian and American citizens has shown that both countries have significantly different levels of population mortality, life expectancy, and other vital factors defining the well-being of the target demographic. Thus, the analysis has proven that the Nigerian population suffers significant issues compared to U.S. citizens, mainly due to the absence of vital resources. Patient education has also proven to be one of the key contributors to problems in the current levels of mortality and other major population characteristics. Therefore, to address the situation and improve the levels of well-being among Nigerian citizens, an awareness campaign should be used.
However, the observed issues do not suggest that the changes in demographics seen in the U.S. on the pacified time slot are entirely positive. For instance, the drop in the population density rates also indicates the presence of a problem within the U.S. community (Núñez-López et al., 2021). Although overpopulation in Nigeria leads to the scarcity of resources, the failure to address the low birth rates in the U.S. affects the issues such as the prevalence of the aging population within the American community compared to younger citizens (Al-Raeei, 2021). Arguably, the described issue concern the problems of immigration and the difference in the socioeconomic conditions observed in both countries, underlying socio-cultural factors are not to be ignored, either. The described issue could be explained by the increasing presence of aging citizens, as well as the lack of a social support system that would assist the specified demographic in addressing their health concerns, reducing the extent of tension to which they have been subjected due to the recent socio-cultural changes, and similar issues.
Overall, the current population factors identified and observed in Nigeria are significantly worse than those in the U.S. Although population density as one of the crucial characteristics of the target areas’ demographics is higher in Nigeria, the specified trend does not prove that Nigeria offers a better environment for the increase in the number of citizens. Instead, it suggests that Nigerian people know very little about contraception and the related ideas, therefore, making zero effort to control the birth rate within the state and address the problems of infant and maternal mortality within the country (Al-Raeei, 2021). However, arguably, the described factor is not the only one contributing to the sad statistics of the Nigerian population.
Conclusion
Despite the fact that the U.S. and Nigeria belong to different economic statuses, the U.S. is classified as a developed country, and Nigeria is referred to as the developing one, both countries have been struggling to manage their demographic-related problems. Specifically, the issue of population health has been one of the major sources of concern recently, mostly due to the coronavirus. While Nigerians have been suffering from the absence of resources, U.S. citizens have been experiencing the effects of low awareness and are in compliance with the set standards for COVID-19 prevention. However, the rest of the demographic characteristics are quite different in the U.S. and Nigeria. Namely, the levels of mortality and birth rate are incomparable due to the differences in the quality of healthcare. Likewise, there is a noticeable gap between emigration rates in both states due to the rise in immigration to the U.S. Overall, the current demographic situation in Nigeria indicates the need for immediate assistance.
References
Akanle, O., Fayehun, O. A., Adejare, G. S., & Orobome, O. A. (2021). International migration, kinship networks and social capital in Southwestern Nigeria. Journal of Borderlands Studies, 36(2), 319-332. Web.
Al-Raeei, M. (2021). The basic reproduction number of the new coronavirus pandemic with mortality for India, the Syrian Arab Republic, the United States, Yemen, China, France, Nigeria and Russia with different rate of cases. Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health, 9, 147-149. Web.
Núñez-López, M., Ramos, L. A., & Velasco-Hernández, J. X. (2021). Migration rate estimation in an epidemic network. Applied Mathematical Modelling, 89, 1949-1964. Web.
Ojo, I. E., Ojo, T. O., & Orji, E. O. (2021). Why do married women procure abortion? Experiences from Ile-Ife, south western Nigeria. African Health Sciences, 21(1), 327-37. Web.
Taquet, M., Luciano, S., Geddes, J. R., & Harrison, P. J. (2021). Bidirectional associations between COVID-19 and psychiatric disorder: Retrospective cohort studies of 62 354 COVID-19 cases in the USA. The Lancet Psychiatry, 8(2), 130-140. Web.