Population

Question 1

What is a case study of a youthful population?

Answer 1

Niger

Question 2

What is the population of Niger?

Answer 2

21.5 million

Question 3

How much of Niger is below 18?

Answer 3

58.2% below the age of 18.

Question 4

What is the fertility rate in Niger?

Answer 4

fertility rate of approximately 7 children per woman,

Question 5

What is the adult literacy rate in NIger?

Answer 5

14 per cent for women and 42 per cent for men.

Question 6

What is the maternal mortality rate in Niger?

Answer 6

1 in 187 women dying during pregnancy,

childbirth or after delivery.

Question 7

How many children live under the poverty line in Niger?

Answer 7

About 48% of children live under the monetary poverty line

Question 8

What are the 2 ways that populations change

Answer 8

Migration and natural increase

Question 9

What is the crude birth rate

Answer 9

The number of live births per 1,000 of a population per year – also known as ‘birth rate’

Question 10

What is the crude death rate

Answer 10

The number of deaths per 1,000 of a population per year – also known as ‘death rate’.

Question 11

Infant mortality rate

Answer 11

The number of children who die

before their first birthday per 1,000 live births per year

Question 12

What is the Life expectancy

Answer 12

The average number of years a person born in a particular year in a location is expected to live for

Question 13

What is the net migration change

Answer 13

The difference between the total number or average rate of immigrants and emigrants in an area or country over a given period of time. More immigrants than emigrants will give a positive net migration and more emigrants than immigrants gives negative net migration.

Question 14

What is the DTM

Answer 14

The demographic transition model (DTM) was
developed by American demographer Warren
Thompson in 1929 and was based on recorded
changes in birth rates and death rates in industrialised
countries since the start of the Industrial Revolution

Question 15

What problems does having a youthful population cause

Answer 15

• Increasing demands for improving maternal and child healthcare and education
• Providing food, water, energy and shelter for growing population
• Governments need to keep up with demand for schooling
• Lack of attendance in schools (especially in rural areas) leads to low levels of literacy and poorly educated workforce

Question 16

What benefits does having a youthful population cause

Answer 16

• Young people of today are the country’s human resources of tomorrow
• Can foster growth and development if there are favourable political and economic conditions
• Can provide a cheap workforce and a growing market for foreign investors

Question 17

What benefits does having an ageing population cause

Answer 17

Some pensioners are healthy and affluent:
– growth in leisure/tourism industry
– growth in private health and residential care businesses
– companies able to target growing markets
Fewer people of working age so there should be less
unemployment in the population.
Some elderly still ‘work’:
– looking after grandchildren, enabling parents to work
– volunteering in their local community

Question 18

What problems does having an ageing population cause?

Answer 18

Welfare and healthcare costs escalating as the elderly are more likely to need support
Pensions will cost increasingly more in the future (the ‘pensions time bomb’):
– costs have to be borne by a smaller economically active population
– workers may have to pay higher taxes
Smaller proportion of the population are ‘economically active’ – this may affect economic growth and the overall standard of living; may be skills shortages

Question 19

What is an example of a country with an ageing population

Answer 19

Japan

Question 20

How much of the population is over 65?

Answer 20

24%

Question 21

What is the median age in Japan

Answer 21

46.7

Question 22

What will the median age be in Japan in 2050?

Answer 22

53.2

Question 23

What are the reasons for Japan’s ageing population?

Answer 23

Excellent healthcare, sanitation and high living standards
• 10.2% of GDP spent on healthcare in 2013
• Low fat diets, lower obesity and heart disease problems
• Air is cleaner because fewer fossil fuels are used as they opt for nuclear and Hydroelectric power
• Contraception is accessible and widely used consequently decreasing fertility rates
• Price of going to school is expensive, expensive costs meaning couples have less children
• Marriage - Japanese people tend not to have children unless they are married however, marriages have been decreasing. 62% of women and 72% of men have never been married.
• Role of women in society:
• Women receive a more equal status as men therefore they are more focused
on their careers and have fewer children

Question 24

What are some positive impacts of an ageing population?

Answer 24

Due to globalisation the secondary sector is still very successful, more revenue is brought in to support the economy.
• Less pressure on schools
• Increased demand for leisure activities from elderly; creating jobs
• New robot technology to assist the elderly. Worth $1 billion to the economy
• The grey pound brings a lot of revenue to the economy especially in areas like leisure and tourism

Question 25

What are the negative impacts of an ageing population?

Answer 25

If fertility rates stay low Japan would need to attract approximately 650,000 immigrants a year
• 25% of budget is spent on pensions and social security for the elderly
• Economic growth is hindered because there is a demographic debt
• 40% of all public spending spent on elderly
• Pressure on care services and medical services as
more workers are needed to support the elderly
• 3.8 million elderly will live alone with no family support
• Due to this Japan has a high rate of pensioners who are committing crimes and going to prison so that they are not alone- They then have to adapt prisons to cope with this.
• Rising number of dementia
• There will be less tax paid to cover pension
schemes
• Major industries in japan may have to outsource in order to replace their workforce.
• A lack of workers to keep the economy afloat.

Question 26

What are some government responses to combat the ageing population in Japan?

Answer 26

• Consumption tax doubled from 5 to 10% to fund the increasing pension costs
• “New Angel Plan” introduced in 2000, designed to increase birth-rate by providing free child care and improving working hours for mothers
• Encouraged immigration of skilled foreign workers to increase the
workforce (2.2 million of Japans population are immigrants)
• Prime minister Abe tried to implement ‘womenomics’. This is pressuring companies to give incentives to hire more women and give more leadership roles to women.
• The government have also raised the retirement age to 70 (women).