Changing population Flashcards
What is global distribution?
The pattern of where people have organised themselves
Give examples of how the global population has distributed itself:
5% of that land supports 75% of the population
80% of the population lives in the northern hemisphere
Most people live within 1000 km of the sea
90% of the population live on low ground below 500 m above sea level
What is population density?
Number of people living in a certain area and is measured in people per km squared
Describe the global population density:
Approximately 55% of the world now lives in cities but this figure is projected to reach 65% by 2050 as urbanisation increases
Western Europe, Southeast Asia and the Northeast USA have high-density areas of over 200 people/km2
What are the physical factors that affect global distribution?
Climate and weather
Relief and landforms
Soil types and quality
Vegetation
Natural resources
Natural hazards
Location for trade and cultural exchange
What are the human factors that affect global distribution?
Economic development (past and present e.g cities like Manchester that still have high populations due to historical development)
Political
Cultural diversity
Social Service
Environmental awareness
Historical (e.g windrush or apartheid)
Outline two physical examples that can lead to human settlement
Two favourable factors are river valleys (1) and flat, fertile grassland plains (1) with good water and silt supplies (1). Areas should not be too steep or at high altitudes and have a climate that is not too extreme (1).
What is development?
The change in economic, social and human aspects of a country leading to an improved quality of life. Development is hard to measure accurately as it covers so many features
What are the 4 strands of developement?
Environmental - where natural environments are improved or restored
Political - where governments become stable and effective
Social - standards of living, access to health care, education, clean water, housing and leisure are improved
Economic - income, employment and industry is increased
How can we measure development?
GDP - Gross domestic product is the total value of the economy per year can also be per capita
GNI - Gross national income is the total value of goods and services produced in a country per year
The poverty line - the percentage of people who earn less than $2.15 per day as set by the World Bank in 2022 (up from $1.90 per day in 2015)
HDI - Human Development Index and uses life expectancy, literacy rate, education level and GNI to calculate a country’s score between 0 (least developed) and 1 (most developed)
Life expectancy, Death rates, employment rate, Literacy rate, fertility rate, Infant and child mortality, Doctors per 100,000, happiness index, Gender pay gap, Maternal deaths, dependency ratio, food security
The stages of development can be seen on the Rostow Model
How does the world bank classify economies?
The World Bank categorises economies into income groupings per capita, in U.S. dollars:
Low income countries (LICs) where average earnings are $1,135 or less
Middle income countries (MICs) - these are split into lower middle income of between $1,136 and $4,465 and upper middle income of between $4,466 and $13,845
High income countries (HICs) where average earnings are $13,846 or more
How are High income countries distributed worldwide?
Most HICs are found in the northern hemisphere. However, some anomalies e.g Australia, Uruguay and New Zealand Haiti is the only country in North America that is classified as low income
Most LICs are found between the tropics and concentrated within Africa, along with some parts of Asia
MICs vary by:
Region
Size - physical and population numbers
Income levels
Belize compared to all 5 BRICS countries but all MICs
What are the social Indicators of development?
Quality of life and social well-being
Equal opportunities, access to services such as education and healthcare
Life expectancy, birth control, education
Diversity, traditions and heritage
What are economic indicators of development?
Employment, income and general wealth
Savings, house building, house sales, consumer spending,
International trade
Resources, pollution controls and conservation
What are political indicators of development?
Effective governance, stability and integrity of governing bodies
Ease of trade, property rights, human rights, equality, and income guides
Corruption index
How can we reduce poverty?
Educate children
Provide clean, potable water
Ensure basic hygiene and healthcare
Education of women
Improve child nutrition
Aid and investments
Debt relief
Fairtrade
Industrial development
What is BRICS
Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa
How would you answer chloropleth questions?
Obvious - What high and low stand out
Use data - Use the key and actual stats
Outliers - Places that don’t fit the trend
Specific - Mention specific countries or regions
What is the Demographic Transition Model?
The DTM illustrates the 5 generalised stages of population change that countries pass through as they industrialise
It shows how birth and death rates change over time and its effects on the overall population
The gap between the birth rate and death rate is called natural change (either an increase or decrease in population)
What are the strengths of the DTM?
The strengths of the model include:
It can be applied to different settings
It can help demographers plan for predicted future changes
What are the limitations of the DTM?
The limitations of the model include:
Developed in 1929, when many countries were still under colonial rule. The model assumes all countries will follow the same pathway through the stages
It fails to take into account the effects of globalisation, migration, natural disasters, pandemics, wars and government policies that impact birth rates, e.g. China’s one-child policy
It fails to take into account the decline in fertility rates
It is too Euro-centric. The model is based on data from 3 countries (England, Wales and Sweden) that industrialised between the 18th and 20th centuries
It is difficult to apply to LICs that are currently industrialising in a shorter time frame due to globalisation
Current LICs population change has differences:
Birth rates in stages 1 and 2 are generally higher in LICs
Currently only 1 African country (Niger) has a birth rate of 45 /1000 or more
In 2000, 14 African countries were in this situation
Death rates have fallen quickly for different reasons
Availability and use of modern medicine, particularly vaccinations, has lowered mortality rates significantly
However, AIDS has caused the death rate to rise in some countries, particularly sub-Saharan Africa
Base populations are different
With the overall global growth in population, LICs have a much bigger base population to start with, making the impact of high growth bigger in stage 2 and early stage 3
When India and China entered stage 2, no developed country had a population close to that size
Fall in fertility rates have been steeper for countries in stage 3
Mainly due to the availability, reliability and education of modern contraception
What is natural change?
Natural population change occurs when birth and death rates differ in a place
If birth rates are higher than death rates then there will be a natural increase
If death rates are higher than birth rates there will be a natural decrease
Natural change is calculated as a % by subtracting the crude death rate from the crude birth rate
Natural change:
Birth rate/1000-Death rate/1000 x 10/1000
What is the fertility rate?
The number of live births per 1000 women of child bearing ages (15-49) in a given year
What is the replacement rate?
The no of children per woman needed to keep the population the same size, assuming no migration. Averages around 2.1.
What is the net reproduction rate?
The average number of female children a woman has in her lifetime. If this figure is more than 1 the population is likely to grow
What is the total fertility rate (TFR)?
The average number of children that would be born alive to a woman during her lifetime
Factors affecting the Total Fertility Rate (TFR)
Status of women- assessed by gender related development index measuring inequality of sexes in education, life expectancy + standard of living. Empowerment causes decrease in TFR
Healthcare- Decreases mortality rates so less births needed
Level of education- More educated=less children as have more work based aspirations to improve standard of living
Location- Rural tend to have more kids than urban as greater freedom, fewer educational opportunities and more rigid social pressures. However, some urban have high BR due to lots of young people there
Religion- Most religions are pro-natalist and oppose contraception and sterilisation. Religions less followed in ACs so lower BR
Health- Unhealthy women become pregnant more frequently as they experience more infant mortality and miscarriages
Need for children- Children are needed for work as lbaour in agriculture for family income but now less agriculture lower BR. Also want for male heir drives increase briths
Political- Government attempts to change the population growth for economic and strategic reasons either through incentives to encourage growth or sanctions to reduce growth
Where has the highest and lowest life expectancy?
2021, Japan had the highest life expectancy at close to 85 years and Chad was the lowest at 52.5 years
Globally, the African continent has the lowest average life expectancy at 61.7 years and Oceania the highest at 79.9 years
Countries with a life expectancy of below 60 years are found in Sub-Saharan Africa due to conflict, poverty and the AIDS virus
What can a population pyramid be used to identify?
Young dependents
Old dependents
Economically active (working population)
Dependency ratio
Male to female split
What affect does Migration have on a population pyramid?
Migration can lead to an imbalance in the population structure
e.g UAE has significantly more males than females with 29% of the population are males between the ages of 25 and 39 whereas only 10.5% of the population are women between 25-39. This is the result of the migration of males to the UAE to work in the oil, gas and construction industries
What are the effects of rapid population growth due to migration?
Increased pressure on services such as healthcare and schools
A shortage of housing
Increased traffic congestion
Increased water and air pollution
Shortage of food
Lack of clean water
What are the 3 divisions of a population pyramid and structure?
Population structures and pyramids can be divided into three age-group categories
Young dependents (0-14) rely on their economically active parents to support them
Economically active (15-64) the working population who earn income, pay taxes and contribute to the support of the young and elderly
Elderly dependent (65+) no longer economically active and so rely on support from the state and younger family members
What is the dependency ratio?
Dependency ratio =
Population 0-15 or 65+/
Working population (15-64)
In Niger ratio is 105 meaning for every 100 people of working age, 105 economically inactive young and elderly depend on them
Japan it’s 57 and Mexico is 48
How does the dependecny ratio change as you go through the DTM?
Very high in LICs in stage 2 of the demographic transition model
High in advanced HICs in stage 4 and 5 of the demographic transition model
Lower in MICs in stage 3 of the demographic transition model
What are the limitations of the dependency ratio?
Assumes that people under 15 years and over 65 years (65+) are outside of the labour force
e.g UK has a retirement age of 67 years (and set to increase)
It assumes that everyone aged 15-64 are working
e.g UK has a school leaving age of 18 years
What are the issues Japan are facing with ageing population?
25% are over 65
Lack of workers and resistance to foreign workers with 1/60 being an immigrant but in the UK it’s 1/8
20% of prisoners are 65+ and within 5 years over 50% re offend. UK is 4% 65+
Cost of pensions and healthcare for their elderly
Positive and Negative Impacts of Megacity Growth
Positives:
Improved education
Higher wages
Better employment opportunities
Young, vibrant and fast paced
Cultural diversity
Social cohesion
Increased economic growth
Increased services and infrastructure
Negatives:
Overcrowding, expensive and inadequate housing (squatter settlements)
Degraded water and sanitation
Public and health services overstretched
Employee protection limited or non-existent - informal employment or unemployment
Fast-paced environment, noise and pollution can impact mental health
Increased property prices and urban sprawl
Social challenges - racial animosity, rise in crime rates
Congestion and pollution
What is migration?
Migration is the movement of people across a specified boundary, national or international, to establish a new permanent or semi-permanent place of residence. UN defines permanent as over a year
What are the three types of movement?
Cyclic - these are journeys that begin and end at a place of origin such as commuting
Periodic - longer time is spent away from the place of origin, but movement involves return at some point and includes university attendance, military service and migrant labour
Migration - permanent move away, usually across significant distance either internally (within the same country) or internationally (to another country)
What are push factors and give examples:
Push- Negative conditions at point of origin that encourages/ force people away
Unemployment
Low paid jobs
Natural disasters
Civil war
Persecution
Harsh climate
Poor water supply
What are pull factors and give examples:
Pull- Positive factors at destination encouraging people to go there
Better paid jobs
Higher education
Safer
Join family
More reliable food
Chance to improve
What is Lee’s Migration Model?
A model with Location A with its push and pull factors and Location B with its push and pull factors. Between the two locations are intervening objects e.g money, language barriers. geographical barriers, healthcare and then there’s also intervening places
What is forced migration and what are the types of forced migration?
Forced migration occurs when the individual, household or community have little to no choice but to leave their country or area
Forced migration can be due to environmental and/or human factors
Disaster-induced displacement e.g Californian wildfires
Development-induced displacement and resettlement (DIDR) e.g HS2, hydroelectric dams like the 3 gorges in China where 1.3 milion people were displaced
Conflict-induced displacement e.g Syrian refugees
Political-induced displacement e.g post-vietnam war hundreds of thousands fled persecution from comunist government as up to 300,000 put into ‘re-education camps’
What are the disadvantages of forced migration?
Large numbers of forced migrants place strain on infrastructure, public services and government money particularly true if arrive in an LIC
Finding accommodation is difficult and many are contained within camps, with deteriorating conditions, limited fresh water, food or clothing
Increased animosity between people of different cultures - social tensions can rise, particularly if migrants are seen as ‘taking’ local jobs or bringing in different social customs and habits
There can be a gender imbalance which can lead to over- or under-population
Lower wages as migrants are happy to fill unskilled jobs for less pay
Loss of key workers in the country of origin, leaving the country to struggle to maintain a standard of living
Rise in informal employment
Creation of ghettoes in urban areas - isolation and exclusion from the country’s population and integration can be difficult
What are some positives to forced migration?
Increased cultural diversity
Employment and skills opportunities to meet social and cultural differences
Businesses have a source of cheap labour and higher profits as migrants are happy to work anywhere
Migrants will send remittances back to families at home
Migrants pay tax thereby helping contribute to the economy
It lowers the unemployment rate in the country of origin aiding dependency ratio
What factors influence household size?
Access to healthcare, and contraception
An increase in women’s education and participation in the workforce
Decreased infant and child mortality, reducing the need to have more children
Urbanisation and lack of space for large families
Cultural and societal norms e.g religious and cultural beliefs and children are seen as economic assets to contribute to family income and status
Government policy restricting or encouraging family size (anti-natal policy)
What factors affect the sex ratios internationally?
Biological factors - Typically more males born, but male mortality is typically higher and female life expectancy higher
Cultural and social factors - some societies have a preference for male offspring leading to more abortions of girls
Technological factors- improvements in fertility treatments and selective gender choices
Economic factors - heirs, dowries that cost families lots
What issues does an unbalanced sex ratio have within a population?
Struggles with maintaining birth rate
Can create a declining population with fewer male workers entering the workforce, leading to a shrinking economy and reduced GDP
An unbalanced sex ratio affects crime rates, marital stability, and a woman’s decisions to either focus on a career or start a family
What are the causes of an ageing population?
Higher life expectancy due to good healthcare, sanitation and hygiene and access to clean water and a healthy diet
Low birth rates- Emancipation of women, the cost raising a kid, immigrants that in the short term offsets ageing population but they will get old and 2nd and 3rd generations of immigrants are having less children than their native country e.g India is 4.4 but Indian immigrants is 2.4
What are the challenges of Ageing populations?
Increase costs on residential accommodation, social services, health care, and pensions
Services such as schools, sports centres, etc. decline as they are not used by older residents
Family budgets can increase if looking after an aged relative
Increase in the dependency ratio
A smaller workforce means less taxation so less money for education, transport, social amenities etc.
What are the positives of an ageing population?
Crime rates reduce
The grey pound/economy as have disposable income and companies like SAGA thrive
Increased opportunities for volunteering and community activism as elderly people have experience
Longer working lives and have lots of experience
More family time and can act as a nanny service. In Japan and South africa, there’s the ‘granny culture’ where elderly look after grandchildren to allow parents to work
What is the scale of global trafficking?
International Labour Organisation estimates 49.6 million are tapped in modern slavery and it is an industry worth $150 billion/year.
12% of all of those in forced labour are children, with more than half in commercial sexual exploitation and Asia and Pacific regions have highest number in forced labour.
What are the most common goods identified by U.S department of Labour from forced labour?
The most common goods are:
Cotton
Coffee
Rice
Clothing, footwear and textiles (carpets)
Gold, coal and diamonds
What are policies that help counteract human trafficking?
Governments can raise public awareness and design policies that prevent trafficking including identifying the country of origin where trafficking starts and working with their government to cut the problem at the root.
Governments can also ensure there is up to date registration of all births and registration of migration into an area to prevent trafficking.
90% of countries agreed to the UN 2003 Protocol to Prevent Support and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children
Increases persecution of trafficking in countries that previously had no specific laws against it e.g Eight countries in Africa and the Middle East
How successful has convictions been within reducing human trafficking?
2022, 5,600 human traffickers were convicted worldwide, an increase of around 300 convictions from the year before and 30% lower than pre-Covid-19 which stood at 9548 convictions
Governments and NGOs believe that confiscating proceeds from crime is an effective punishment because it:
Deters and disrupts criminal activity
Cuts off funding
Creates the image that ‘crime doesn’t pay’
Wins public support
What are the benefits to the demographic dividend?
Increase in workforce and women are more likely to go into education and get a job
A economic growth triggers wages and quality of life to increase so more disposable income to purchase goods and services, growing economy more
What is a demographic dividend?
The growth in an economy of a country as a result of a change in the age structure of a country. It typically last 50 years and by the end of the 50 years, countries have transitioned from rural society w/ high BR and DR to an urban industrial society with low BR and DR.
