Population Flashcards
What are social indicators?
Social indicators measure the quality of life in a country and include:
Health - Number of people per doctor.
Life Expectancy - Average age people are expected to live to at birth.
Education - Percentage of adults who are literate.
Food - Number of calories consumed per person per day.
Death Rate - Number of deaths per 1000 people per year
Birth Rate - Number of babies born per 1000 woman per year.
Infant Morality Rate - Number of babies born per 1000 who die before the age of one.
What are economic indicators?
Economic indicators measure the economic output or wealth of a country and include:
Gross National Product - per person which is the value of goods produced in a country divided by the total population.
Average income per person per year (in USD)
Gross Domestic Product - per person which is the value of goods and services in a country divided by the total population.
What are the problems of using just one indicator?
Problems linked to using one indicator to measure the development of a country are:
Average figures are unreliable if the population has been incorrectly counted.
The wealth of a country does not take into account how the money is used - it could be misspent by a corrupt government.
GNP is an average, therefore the total can be easily skewed by a few very wealthy families.
GDP does not take into consideration the cost of goods in a country as this affects what people can buy with their wages.
Indicators of development are averages so they do not take into account differences between urban and rural areas, or, for example, the differences between poor favela areas and richer inner city areas in Rio de Janerio in Brazil.
One indicator does not give a true picture of development in a country. It is much better to examine both social and economic indicators.
What is population density?
Population density is the number of people living in an area. It is usually measured by the number of people living per square kilometre.
What is population distrobution?
Population distribution is the location of people across the world, i.e. where people live.
What are the physical factors that influence global population distribution?
Climate - people prefer to live in temperate climates where there is enough rainfall and no temperature extremes (not too hot or too cold).
Relief - people favour on flat, low-lying areas as they are easier to build on and grow crops.
Soils - people prefer to live in areas with fertile soils so that crops can be grown to supply food. Where there are poor-quality soils, e.g. on steep slopes, few crops can be grown so less people live there.
Natural Resources - people tend to live in areas where there are minerals such as gold and raw materials like timber to exploit and sell.
Availability of Water - people are likely to live in areas where there is a supply of drinking water.
What are the human factors that influence global population distribution?
Job oppurtunities - jobs in different industries encourage people to move to find work.
Transport and communications - areas which are accessible tend to have higher population densities. Places with good transport links such as roads, railways and airports attract people and industries which turn creates employment opportunities.
Government Aid - Industries locate where there is government funding available. In turn, people move into these areas to work.
Services - Many urban areas are crowded as people move into cities for a variety of amenities and services (education, health, jobs, entertainment.).
Technology - Advances in farming technology allow people to move to areas and farm where it had previously not been possible. Developments in construction allows areas to be accessed and used that previously would not have been accessible.
Migration - People moving from one place to another can change the population distribution in different places.
What are push factors?
Lack of running water.
Lack of basic services such as electricity.
Long distances to schools and hospitals.
Farming is hard without machinery.
Wealthy landowners buy machines and local workers are made unemployed.
Population growth means food shortages and less land to farm.
Natural disasters destroy crops.
What are pull factors?
Schools available for children’s education.
Lots of shops to buy food.
Running water and electricity.
Plenty of entertainment and things to do.
A wide variety of jobs.
Doctors, medicines and hospitals.
The possibility of a better quality of life.
What is the population structure for developed countries like the UK?
Low birth rate.
Low death rate.
Low infant morality rate.
High life expectancy.
What is the population structure for developing countries like India?
High birth rate.
High death rate.
High infant morality rate.
Low life expectancy.
What factors affect birth rates in developed countries like the UK?
In developed countries, birth rates are low for a number of reasons such as:
The overall status of women has improved and they are no longer seen as solely child bearers.
Some women believe that careers are more important than having a family.
People marry later in life so they are unable to have large families.
The cost of raising a family has increased and couples cannot afford many children.
There is now an increased desire for material possessions instead of having children.
Contraception is more readily available and free on the NHS in the UK.
Family planning clinics enable women to seek advice on bearing children.
What factors affect death rates in developed countries like the UK?
In developed countries, death rates are low for a number of reasons:
Advances in modern medicine such as life support machines keep people alive.
Children and elderly people are given vaccinations to prevent disease (measles and flu).
Healthcare is free in the UK and advances in medical science means that more people are kept alive through life-saving operations such as heart surgery.
Improvements in clean piped water and sanitation ensure that other diseases like typhoid and cholera are prevented.
Modern technology such as fertilisers and irrigation channels enhance food production so shortages have been eliminated. Food storage and refrigeration have improved food quality and quantity.
Increased world trade means that developed countries can afford to import a variety of food stuffs from around the world to ensure that a balanced diet is available.
Lower infant morality rates mean that people do not need to have as many children to ensure some survive.
What factors affect birth rate in developing countries like India?
In developing countries, birth rates are high. Birth rates are high for a number of reasons:
Children are needed to work and bring income for the families.
They are also required to look after parents in old age due to a lack of pensions.
More children are born in the absence of contraception and knowledge of how to use it as literacy rates are often low.
Family planning clinics are often unavailable as there is a lack of health care services.
Parents have more children in hopes that some survive as infant morality rates are high.
Certain religions such as Catholicism encourage large families.
In some areas children are viewed as a sign of virility and so people have more babies.
What factors affect death rates in developing countries like India?
In developing countries, death rates are high for a number of reasons such as:
A lack of crops due to drought, famine or natural disasters mean that food supplies are uncertain. As a result, people often suffer from malnutrition and starvation.
Poor sanitation and a lack of clean drinking water means that people are more susceptible to diseases like dysentery.
High levels of endemic diseases like Malaria increase death
rates in developing countries.
Poor health services such as a lack of doctors and medicines mean that people die from treatable illness like diarrhoea.
War increases death rates in developing countries.
