Population Flashcards
Population pyramids
NARROW BASE= shows a small number of of children born(low birth rate)
WIDE BASE=high birth rate
INDENTS =show higher death rates than normal, through war, famine,disease,emigration
BROAD TOP=Shows a high proportion of people living longer
NARROW TOP=shows a low proportion of people living into old age and a high heath rate
Reasons for low birth rates in MEDC’s
1) more woman have successful careers, so don’t want to give it up in order to have a family
2) children are seen as expensive, as they have to be paid for, and many people do not want to give up their lifestyle(holidays etc) in order to afford them
e. g- in Japan, young people are choosing not to settle down
- people are also deciding to settle down later, so as a result are having kids later
3) Neo-natal care(care during/after pregnancy) is very advanced; so more children are surviving
Reasons for high birth rates in LEDC’s
1) in these countries, there is a lack of access to contraceptives, family planning+education on this.
2) In some areas, contraceptives may not be used due to religious beliefs. Having more children may also increase how strong a man is seen to be.
3) Children can help on farms in rural areas or get jobs to add to family income.
4) People may have more children in order to support parents in old age.
Problems associated with a declining population
- There is an increased demand for health and social car.
- It becomes increasingly difficult for the government to provide pensions which are funded by taxes paid by the working population. Governments might encourage immigration, but this can lead to social tensions, especially in times of recession.
- Less need for schools and teachers
- Industries which provide products for children might suffer
- Longer term companies might struggle to recruit young workers, and so a small economically active group has to support the growing dependant population. The government therefore might have to raise the retirement age.
Problems associated with a rapidly increasing population
- More need for schools/teachers. Often this need is not met and so there i not adequate schooling and literacy rates are low.
- Widespread poverty as population outstrips resources (food/clean water)
- Lack of services- housing and jobs for the growing population. This can lead to the development of makeshift shanty towns with no clean water and these are also overcrowded, which in turn leads to the spread of disease
- Not enough jobs available results in high unemployment. Supporting a large population could lead to an increase in national debt, or increased reliance on overseas aid. There might be overseas emigration of the economically active to find work.
On the positive, if they have a healthy workforce, they could utilise this, as they could, on the future, have a large economically active population providing a workforce to help grow the economy.
Reasons to carry out a census
- imports of food
- building houses
- different job sectors
- differences in wealth
- education
- heath care
- transport
Problems with carrying out a census:
Australia
Numerous languages
There are numerous distinct languages and cultural groupings and several languages are spoken
the population is also highly mobile, therefore meaning more census takers are required
Problems with carrying out a census:
Brazil
inaccurate information
in the 2002 the reported number of indigenous indians was much more than the figure which had been estimated 2 years earlier. some statisticians believe the figure was so high because there was no real way to check
Problems with carrying out a census:
China
lanscape
the size of a country makes collecting census data difficult. China stretches over a wide area and takes in huge tracts of desert and mountain ranges (part of the Himalayas. There is also grassland areas which support “herders” which migrate with their animals. Its difficult to collect accurate information
Problems with carrying out a census:
India
the caste system
each person is a member of a caste (group) based around birth, region and occupation, Each cate is a kind of social league table.
People in jobs handling leather, dealing with human waste and cleaners are known as ‘dalits’, and they are low ranking, and they have trouble getting better jobs
the 2001 aimed to combat this, but dailits completing the census could only choose between Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist, so muslim/christian dailits are disadvantaged.
Problems with carrying out a census:
Mexico
language
there are a large number of languages spoken in Mexico.
specialists have identified 12 distinct mexican linguistic families, more than 40 subgroups and more than 90 individual languages.
this makes it difficult to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to take part as many people may not understand the questions
Problems with carrying out a census:
Nigeria
false information
for many developing countries, budgets for health care,eduacation and other government services are allocated according to population.
to get a larger share of the budget, ethnic groups often inflate their numbers by including dead people and animals in the count.
Problems with carrying out a census:
Poland
fear ethnic persecution
national minority activists in Poland argue that no poles would would be afraid to declare their true ethnicity in the census for the fear that they would be discriminated against
Problems with carrying out a census:
Russia
isolation/ inaccuracy
In 2002, 600,000 census takers gathered information across 11 time zones and 8 different regions. sometimes they had to travel by foot/boat to get to the remove villages.
35,000 villages had no more 10 inhabitants
Problems with carrying out a census:
Sudan
impact of a cicil war
in MEDCs it is vitally important for relief agencies to have up to date information for population figures
- mass movements of people fleeing danger makes collecting data hard
- civil servants may be put in danger if they enter anti government ones to collect data
Problems with carrying out a census:
UK
mistakes
2 months after a census, there is a check to see if the count accurate
this is called the census coverage survey
after a check in 2001, the results were analysed and the census office announced they had been an undercount in 15 cities
Manchester, for example, added 26,000 (6.7%) to its number
Reasons for low birth rates in MEDCs
more women have successful careers
- dont want to give it up in order to have a family
- people are settling down/ getting married later
Reasons for low birth rates in MEDCs
children are seen as expensive
- have to be paid for
- many people do not want to give up their lifestyle(holidays etc) in order to afford them
- JAPAN, young people are choosing not to settle down
Reasons for low birth rates in MEDCs
neo-natal care is better
- more children are surviving
- parents are receiving care during/after pregnancy
Reasons for high birth rates in LEDCs
lack of access to contraceptives
-no access to contraceptives/family planning/ education so birth rates are high
Reasons for high birth rates in LEDCs
contraceptives may not be used
- may not be used due to religious beliefs
- having more children may also increase how strong a man is seen to be
Reasons for high birth rates in LEDCs
kids help families
- children can help on farms in rural areas, or get jobs to add to family income
Reasons for high birth rates in LEDCs
kids can support parents
- people may have more children in order to support parents in old age
Problems associated with a declining population
becomes increasingly difficult to provide pensions
it becomes increasingly difficult for governments to provide pensions which are funded by taxes paid by the working population
-governments might encourage immigration, but this can lead to social tensions
Problems associated with a declining population
less need for teachers
- if less kids are born, there will be less children in schools , so teachers and schools will be empty
Problems associated with a declining population
industries which provide products for children might suffer
-companies that make prams, toys ect will suffer as they will be no longer needed if no kids are born
Problems associated with a declining population
longer term companies might struggle to recruit young workers
- small economically active active group has to support growing dependants population
- the government therefore might have to raise the retirement age
Problems associated with a declining population
increased demand for health and social care
- more old people require more care
Problems associated with a rapidly increasing population
more need for schools
- often this need is not met, and therefore there is not adequate schooling, so literacy rates are low
Problems associated with a rapidly increasing population
lack of services
-housing and jobs for the growing population. This can lead to shanty towns with no clean water and are overcrowded, which in turn leads to the spread of disease
Problems associated with a rapidly increasing population
not enough jobs available
- leads to high unemployment
- supporting a large population can lead to an increase in national debt
Problems associated with a rapidly increasing population (large workforce)
POSITIVE
-country can utilise this to help better their economy
Voluntary migration
Effects on Poland
(more jobs for women)
- men are leaving their jobs in Poland to look for wok in the UK
- so many women that are left behind have the chance to pursue careers in jobs that were previously filled by men
- FIRE SERVICE
Voluntary migration
Effects on Poland
(monet can be sent back to Poland)
- men are making more money, so have a surplus of money to send home
- this money is then used in the local area (in shops etc) , so helps to boost the economy
Voluntary migration
Effects on Poland
( food/drink industry will benefit)
- lots of polish shops/ supermarkets are being opened in the UK
- so lots of orders for produce are being placed, and this therefore benefits the economy
Voluntary migration
Effects on the UK
(jobs are being filled)
-Polish people are willing to do the jobs the brits aren’t due to their good work ethic
- see the jobs as easy/ good money
helps the economy
Voluntary migration
Effects on the UK
(taxes)
- since most migrants are working, most are paying taxes to the government
- benefits the economy, as more money is coming in (not as many benefits being payed)
Voluntary migration
Effects on the UK
(multicultural society)
- this is v good
- however, it also creates language barriers, which puts strains on services such as schools and doctors
Forced migration
TURKEY
ADV
- agriculture sector has grown, so has generated more money, which is good for the economy
- boosting the economy as more syrian’s are buying things/ goods
- refugees bring beneficial contributions by bringing new businesses/markets/skills= creates job
DISADV
-creates an ethnic divide
-over populated= puts a strain on services
=can only work in the informal sector= displacing women from work
Forced migration
SYRIA
DISADV
- loss of GDP
- brain drain= intelligent people are leaving as there is no jobs, so they won’t have professionals to rebuild the country when they have the chance
- doctors leaving= puts a strain on healthcare
- government will miss out on taxes if people aren’t in high paying jobs
- literacy rates will drop as educated people leave and enrolment in schools drop by 50%
Forced migration
LEBANON
DISADV
- overcrowding=leads to poor sanitation which leads to diseases
- many people have to live in tents as there are not enough homes
- increases in pop. causes contaminated water= effects animals/crops
- refugees are on environmentally sensitive sites=damages fragile eco-system
Forced migration
JORDAN
DISADV
- significan cost= $62 million= less spent on healthcare/education
- significant strain on healthcare= hospitals can’t cope with the amount of patients
- poor sanitation leads to the spread of diseases
- higher unemployment of Jordanians= syrian’s are taking the jobs
- lack of safe drinking water=causes the spread of disease
- religious tensions= causes conflicts
