Age Structure Diagram
The age structure diagrams of the Congo and Germany are wildly different. Germany's diagram is shows a high population in late reproductive and post reproductive ages. This means that the crude birth rate in Germany is set to fall, alluding to a decline in overall population growth, even with influxes of Immigrants. Congo's age structure diagram, however, shows a vast majority of the population in pre-reproductive and early reproductive ages. This suggests that the Congo will experience rapid population growth in the near future, with the population growth rate unlikely to slow anytime soon.
Demographic Transition Model
On the Demographic Transition Model, Germany and the Congo are at two very different stages. Germany is at Mid-Late Stage 4 of the model, this is characterized by Germany's low death rate, and low birth rate to match, resulting in declining population growth. The low death rate is due to Germany's advanced healthcare system, and the low birth rate is due to the increasing economic burden of children in Germany's developed economy. Congo, however, is on the near opposite end of the diagram, at mid Stage 2. This is characterized by Congo's very high birth rate compared to death rate. The reason for this large gap between births and deaths is the increasing access to modern medicine, which decimates the death rate, while the birth rate has remained largely the same as before, when more children were needed to replace their parents. There is also much less of an economic burden of having children in Congo.
Population Problems
An important issue about Germany's population that was given was the low fertility of German women. An effect that this issue has shown would be the low birth rate of Germany. Some reasons why this is an issue would be that Germany's developed economy greatly raises the cost of raising a child, and as such discourages potential parents from deciding to have children. Another reason would be that in European cultures, families with many children are much less common than in other parts of the world. An effect of this issue would be the continued decline of German population growth, leading to an eventual decline in German population. An important issue with the population of the Congo would be the high infant mortality rate. Due to factors such as disease, war, and malnutrition, the Congo has a much higher infant mortality rate compared to Germany, and because of this high infant mortality rate, parents opt to have more children because the Replacement Fertility Rate is higher, and they want to make sure that they have at least some surviving offspring. However, in recent years, greater access to modern medicine, better farming techniques, and a relaxing in conflicts has cut down the infant mortality rate, as a result, the Congo's population growth has grown substantially, with the birth rate far surpassing the death rate, which will lead to a massive increase in their overall population.