5.3 - Population Flashcards
Population
the total number of people inhabiting a specific area
Factors affecting population (3)
- Birth rate
- Death rate
- Net migratio
Birth rate
the number of births for every 1000 people in the population
Death rate
The number of people who die in a certain amount of time per 1000
Net migration
Immigrants - emigrants
Natural change formula
birth rate - death rate
Factors leading to a decrease in death rate (name 3)
- The agricultural revolution led to higher yields & healthier, more varied diets
- Improvements to medicine & medical care
- Improvements to technology & transport, leading to a wealthier population which increases life expectancy
- Improved housing & sanitation
Factors leading to high birth rate in LEDCs (name 3)
- Lack of access to family planning & contraception
- An increase in women surviving childbirth
- Families continuing to have large numbers of children to look after their parents in old age & to help support the family
- Culture of having larger families which takes many years to change
- Religious reasons
Factors leading to decreasing birth rate in MEDCs (3)
- Increased access to family planning & contraception
- Changing social norms which include starting families later, having fewer children, or remaining single
- Increased costs of child rearing & university education
Overpopulation
Occurs when there are more people in a country/region than can be supported by its resources & technology
Underpopulation
Occurs when there are more resources available than the population can use effectively
Optimum population
Occurs when there is a balance between the number of people & the resources/technology available
What does overpopulation lead to? (name 4)
- Higher levels of pollution
- Higher crime rates
- Higher unemployment or underemployment
- Higher levels of food & water shortages
- Higher pressure on services such as hospitals & schools
What does underpopulation lead to? (name 4)
- Fewer people paying tax which can lead to higher taxes
- Underused resources, which can lead to wastage
- A shortage of workers
- Lower levels of exports & production which affects the wealth of an area
- Fewer customers for goods & services
Population pyramid
- Population pyramids are used to display the gender & age structure of a given population
* They illustrate the distribution of population across age groups and between male/female
Population pyramid shape of LEDCs and reasons
- Concave sides
- High birth rate
- Low life expectancy
- High death rate but starting to decrease (people dying through every age group)
- High infant mortality rate (significant decrease between 0-5)
- Young dependent population dominates the distribution
Population pyramid shape of MEDCs and reasons
- Convex sides
- Decreasing birth rate
- Increasing life expectancy - indicated by the relatively straight sides reaching the age of 70, followed by a good proportion of people living much longer
- Decreasing death rate - indicated by the relatively straight sides reaching the age of 70
- Low infant mortality - hardly any change between 0-9 years
- Larger working age population - 15 to 69 represents a large proportion of the population
What major population changes can occur?
- Progressively ageing populations as economies develop
- Falling birth rates as economies develop
- Swings in net migration as influenced by war, famine, natural disasters & government policy
What impacts does ageing population have on the country? (name 4)
- Increased pension payments by governments
- Increased need for care homes (public & private)
- Increased pressure on the healthcare service & social care results in higher government spending
- It also results in a smaller labour force & often Governments collect less tax
- Firms suffer worker shortages
- Labour shortages result in increased wage costs for firms
What impacts does falling birth rate have on the country? (name 4)
- School closures due to fewer children
- Future labour shortages
- Governments typically put in place incentives that encourage families to have more children
- Governments may change the migration laws to encourage immigration so that labour shortages are prevented
- Excessive immigration can change the nature & culture of different regions within a country
What can rapid population growth caused by migration lead to? (name 4)
- Increased pressure on services such as healthcare & schools resulting in increased costs for government
- A shortage of housing which generates social issues in society
- Increased traffic congestion which is a negative externality
- Increased water & air pollution which are negative externalities
- Food shortages
