Population Flashcards
Describe methods of gathering data
• Census is a survey carried out every ten years to gather population data.
• Census: Each householder is asked to complete a detailed questionnaire about the number of people living in their home, their age, gender, employment, home and languages spoken.
• Scottish Household Survey is a continuous survey based on a random sample of the population which is cheaper than carrying out a full census Civil registrations of births, marriages and deaths keep an up to date count of the population.
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Sampling Population surveys are conducted to gather social and economic data, and can be conducted at regional, national or international levels.
• Government records: information on migration may be gathered from visa applications or Borders Agency.
• Data from electoral roll and NHS records allows population data to be updated in between census collection.
• In China National Population Sample Surveys have been conducted annually, with 1% of the population being asked to complete the
problems with data collection
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• Language barriers - countries with many official languages
have to translate their census forms and employ enumerators who can speak multiple languages. For example, Nigeria has six major languages and hundreds of unofficial languages requiring more enumerators.
• Literacy levels - many people can’t read and write, and therefore are unable to complete the forms, or might make mistakes unintentionally.
• Size of the population: the sheer size of some populations
make it very difficult to conduct a census, eg in China and India.
• Inaccessibility: The poor infrastructure and difficult terrain, for example in the Amazon Rainforest, may make it difficult for enumerators to distribute census forms.
• Wars/civil wars: Conflict can make it too dangerous for enumerators to enter, or for data to quickly become dated.
• Cost: Undertaking the census is a very expensive process, even for developed world countries. In developing countries, there may be higher priorities for spending, including housing, education and health care.
• Migration: Rapid rural to urban migration, can make it difficult to gather accurate population data as data will become outdated very quickly.
• Homelessness: Many people in developing countries may be living in shanty towns, eg Dhararvi, or are homeless, so have no official address making it difficult to count them.
• Fear of deportation: People who are illegal immigrants are unlikely to complete a census for fear of deportation, leading to inaccurate data.
• Nomadic people: Large numbers of migrants, eg the Tuareg, Fulani or Bedouin, or shifting cultivators in the Amazon can easily be missed or counted twice.
• Ethnic tensions and internal political rivalries may lead to inaccuracies, eg northern Nigeria was reported to have inflated its population figures to secure increased political representation.
impact of high birth rate
A higher birth rate means there will be more children, so significant investment is required in maternity hospitals and immunisation programmes.
• It will be necessary to build more schools and train more teachers to support the growing number of young people.
• The total population will increase significantly putting additional pressure on services and resources like health.
• In many developing countries housing is already overcrowded and a growing population means that this is likely to continue, with many people being forced to live in shanty town housing.
• There will be a larger potential workforce which may attract multinational companies to the country.
• An increase in the active age group, however, could also result in higher levels of unemployment or underemployment.
• Government policies may promote smaller families or encourage emigration to reduce the problems of over- population
impact of low birth rate
• The increase in elderly will lead to an increased cost of pensions to the government and increased tax contributions for the economically-active population.
• The retirement age may need to be increased and more services for older people provided, such as care homes.
• There will be an increased strain/costs on the Health Service to meet the needs of the ageing population for example more hip-replacements or heart medication.
• The economically active group gets smaller and has to support a growing dependent population.
• A declining population may mean a lower unemployment rate in the future, however a decrease in the economically active population may lead to a skills gap.
• Citizens may be encouraged to invest in private healthcare schemes and/or pensions
• There may also be more demands placed on adult children to care for elderly parents
• A falling birth rate may lead to a decline in demand for services for children such as schools.
• Industries which provide products for children - for example toy manufacturers - may suffer
• In the longer term, companies may have difficulty recruiting young workers.
• Italy is a country experiencing population decline. The UN estimates the Italian population could shrink by as much as a third by the next century. Without ‘replacement migration’, the retirement age would have to be raised to 77 to maintain the ratio of four workers to every pensioner
push factors
. Unemployment
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- Lack of services
- Poverty
- Crop failure
- Drought
- War and civil unrest
- Hazards (like an earthquake
pull factors
Potential for finding work
- Better provision of services, eg the NHS
- Greater wealth
- Fertile land
- Ample food supplies
- Better safety and security
- Lack of natural hazards
- Friends and family live there
push and pull factors of poland to the Uk
PUSH FACTORS
• Not enough jobs with very few opportunities for example in 2014 the unemployment rate in Poland was around 14%.
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• Low paying jobs resulting in a low standard of living for example poor quality housing.
• State benefits were very low compared to Scotland and the UK and also the healthcare in Scotland is free at the point of delivery.
• Due to increased mechanisation/privatisation of farms rural unemployment rose sharply.
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CPULL FACTORS
• Due to Poland joining the European Union, this allowed people to move freely with unlimited migration.
• Immigrant Polish workers earned wages five times greater than they could get at home.
• The exchange rate meant that the sterling conversion into zloty was favourable and meant that people could send money back to family members in Poland.
• There were plenty of available jobs in parts of the economy such as in construction and trades such as plumbers and electricians.
• Better provision of services, eg the NHS
• The number of Poles living in the UK meant that communities of friends and family were established - this became a pull
Forced migration
• A refugee is a person living outside their own homeland as a result of war, famine or persecution.
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• Many refugees from Syria moved to other countries to escape the Syrian Civil War. The Syria crisis has accelerated more dramatically than any crisis on earth, and Syrians continue to be the largest forcibly displaced population in the world (6.7 million refugees).
• Many refugees from Sudan moved to Chad to escape the conflict and lived in refugee camps.
Popular
• Many refugees from the Darfur region of Sudan have migrated to the neighbouring country Chad, because of the civil war.
Metho
• Kakuma (Kenya) Kakuma refugee camp, in north western Kenya, is the largest refugee camp in the world.
Problem
• The average length of time that refugees spend in camps is 17 years.
Popula
Impact of Forced Immigration
propitiate
• Refugees often live in cramped and unsanitary conditions, and many have lost family members in the conflict or from disease.
propitiate
• Water is scarce and most people rely on aid agencies for food, shelter and medicine.
Migrated
• A large share of refugees are not in camps and have fled into urban areas, beyond the reach of direct assistance from the UN and other donors.
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Forced
• Roughly 70 per cent of refugees are estimated to be hosted in local communities, resulting in enormous strain on public resources.
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• Aid efforts are often hampered by government of the receiving country and so refugees die of disease, starvation and malnutrition.
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• Competition for scarce resources leads to tensions with the native community.
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• Deforestation - as refugees seek wood for fuel and for shelter.
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• Overgrazing - by the cattle, sheep and goats brought by the refugees.
All of them
• Water pollution - since proper sanitation systems are often not available.
Impact on donor country
- A declining population means less pressure on limited resources like good quality housing and healthcare allowing living standards to improve.
Migration helps reduce the unemployment rates for the donor country.
Birth rate is lowered (typically migrants are male) so further
reducing strain on resources such as education and health. Migrants often send money home to their families meaning people have more money - helps to improve standard of living in the donor country.
The most educated and healthy leave which could hinder development and it tend to be older population that stay behind.
Returning migrants return with knowledge and skills.
There is less money raised in tax revenue for the donor Country.
Families and communities are affected by separation.
There can be gender imbalances, as it is often males who nove.
Impact on receiving countries
The economy of the country often gains, as companies are able to draw upon new pools of skills and talent
The govemment receives tax from migrant workers.
Migrant workers carry out jobs that British people will not do due to low wages and unsociable hours, including fish processing, farm work and cleaning
• Public services can benefit, for example there is a high number of foreign nationals working in the UK’s NHS for example.
• Generally, migrants are perceived as hard workers and many are highly skilled and/or graduates so bring sought after skills, for example in construction.
• It creates a multicultural society eg, shops or aisles in supermarkets selling foods and other products typical of the donor country.
• The language barrier and cultural differences can lead to racial tension with ethnic groups tending not to integrate which can add to the tension.
• Significant immigration may lead to over-crowded, multi occupancy accommodation due to the pressures on housing in certain areas.
• The education system may become strained due to the number of children for whom English is not their first language.
• A high number of migrants can lead to increased unemployment rates.
• If the receiving country is over populated or over crowded inward migration can increase pressure on the country’s natural resources such as food and water.
