Population

Question 1

State some economic indicators that indicate level of development of a country.

Answer 1

• gross national product (GNP)
• % of working population employed in agriculture or industry
• average income per capita
• consumption of electricity per capita
• % of unemployment
• steel production in tonnes per capita
• trade patterns in terms of import and export figures
• trade patterns in terms of surplus or deficits

Question 2

State some social indicators that indicate level of development of a country.

Answer 2

• birth rates, death rates, infant mortality and life expectancy
• population structures
• average calorie intake per capita
• average number of people per doctor
• literacy rates as an indication of the level of education
• % of population with access to clean water
• % of homeless people
• % of the population attending school

Question 3

Can you use just one indicator to determine development of a country?

Answer 3

No as this can be misleading.

Question 4

What is a population pyramid?

Answer 4

A graph that shows population structure through age and sex distribution.

Question 5

Explain what a population pyramid would look like in a developed country.

Answer 5

• the birth and death rates are fairly low
• fairly high life expectancy
• 60+ is a large proportion of the graph

Question 6

Explain what a population pyramid would look like in a developing country.

Answer 6

• pyramid has a wider base indicating a high birth rate
• steadily narrows up till 65+ then incredibly narrow
• indicates life expectancy is low.

Question 7

State some physical factors that influence population distribution and population density.

Answer 7

• relief
• climate
• resources
• employment opportunities

Question 8

Explain the positive ways in which relief impacts population distribution and population density.

Answer 8

• flat land is good for building settlements
• good supply’s of water from rivers and valleys
• easy access

Question 9

Explain the negative ways in which relief impacts population distribution and population density.

Answer 9

• situations that are fairly inaccessible
• situations that are remote from other good settlement land
• situations that are difficult to build on

Question 10

Explain the positive ways in which climate impacts population distribution and population density.

Answer 10

• climates that are suitable to live and work in
• climates that are suitable for growing crops
• climates that are suitable for development of tourism.

Question 11

Explain the negative ways in which climate impacts population distribution and population density.

Answer 11

• areas where the climate is inhospitable

Question 12

Give examples of natural resources that are sources of wealth.

Answer 12

• good fertile soil for farming
• flat land for arable farming
• mineral resources such as oil, coal, ores and precious and semiprecious minerals such as gold, silver, copper and bauxite.

Question 13

Explain what is meant by birth rates.

Answer 13

This figure indicates the number of people born in any given year, per thousands of the population.

Question 14

Explain what is meant by death rates.

Answer 14

This indicates the number of people who die in any given year, per thousand of the population.

Question 15

Explain what is meant by natural growth rate.

Answer 15

Subtracting the death rates from the birth rate gives a basic indication of the amount by which the population is increasing (or decreasing) each year, per thousand of the population.

Question 16

State some factors which cause high birth rates.

Answer 16

• religious beliefs that prevent use of artificial methods of birth control/ lack of access to birth control
• lack of education
• use of children as labour to increase family income
• large families to support parents in old age
• traditional/ cultural reasons for large families
• possibly insurance against high infant mortality rates.

Question 17

State some factors which lead to low birth rates.

Answer 17

• people marrying and having children later for economic reasons
• widespread availability and use of birth control methods
• women putting their career before having children
• education on birth control being widely available.

Question 18

State some factors which lead to high death rates.

Answer 18

• widespread poverty
• poor diets/ malnutrition
• widespread disease due to poor healthcare/ hygiene/ sanitation
• lack of access to clean water supply
• lack of medical drugs / clinics / doctors
• unhealthy environments (poor housing etc)
• natural disasters.

Question 19

State some of the factors which lead to low death rates.

Answer 19

• economic prosperity
• availability of good healthcare, hospitals, doctors and medicines
• plentiful supply of food and well balanced diets
• good housing/ sanitation/ clean water available
• safe natural environments
• high standard of education/ health education.

Question 20

State some of the other factors that affect population growth rates.

Answer 20

• high/low rates of immigration/ emigration

- the level of economic development in a particular country.

Question 21

What is a demographic transition model?

Answer 21

A graph that shows population change over time.

Question 22

What three things are measured on the Demographic Transition Model?

Answer 22

• birth rate
• death rate
• total population