Population and The Environment (Case Study) Population Change in Bangladesh

Question 1

What is the population of Bangladesh?

Answer 1

8th most populous country, 165 million, expected to rise to 202 million by 2050.

Question 2

What is the population increase and fertility rate?

Answer 2

Annual rate of population increase is 1.05%, fertility rate is 2.2, low for an LIC.

Question 3

What is the age distribution and population density?

Answer 3

58% of population under 30, 1238 people per km^2, Dhaka 40,000 people per km^2

Question 4

How much land mass does Bangladesh cover?

Answer 4

Small, covering less than 150,000 km^2, just over half of the Uk.

Question 5

What is the proportion of people living in slums?

Answer 5

70% of people who are living in slums in Dhaka moved there because of environmental pressures such as climate change.

Question 6

What is the proportion of land used for farming?

Answer 6

70% of land in Bangladesh is already used for farming, meaning there is little capacity for agricultural expansion.

Question 7

What is happening to the fertility rate in Bangladesh?

Answer 7

It is declining, 7.0 in 1970, down to 2.3 in 2017.

Question 8

How has the utilisation of contraception changed?

Answer 8

Couples using contraception increased from less than 8% in 1970s to over 60% in 2014. Achieved by government and NGO schemes, such as providing rural communities with health workers.

Question 9

How have infant mortality rates and life expectancy changed in Bangladesh?

Answer 9

32 deaths per 1000 births in 2014, compared with 150 in 1970, this has fallen mainly due to a successful immunisation programme.
Life expectancy at birth is now 73.2 years, compared to only 47.5 years in 1970.

Question 10

What migration is occurring in Bangladesh?

Answer 10

Net migration rate is -3.1 migrants per thousand, economic workers moving in the short term to Arab Gulf states

Question 11

Name the biggest slum in Dhaka

Answer 11

Rural-urban migration has led to large slums on the outskirts of cities. Korail, home to 200,000 residents. Only 1/3 of urban population have access to a piped water supply, with a sewer system only serving 18% of Dhaka.

Question 12

What is evidence that food supply is keeping up with demand in Bangladesh?

Answer 12

Stunted children fell from 55% in 1997 to 36% in 2014. This is largely due to the fact population growth is slowing.

Question 13

Why could the incidence of non-communicable diseases increase, and why might the burden on education be eased?

Answer 13

In 2000, 5% of the population was over 60, by 2050, this could be 19%.
Number of under 15’s stabilising

Question 14

How much remittances does Bangladesh receive?

Answer 14

$1 billion per month in remittances

Question 15

How much of the country is covered by forest?

Answer 15

Only 11% of the country is now covered by forest

Question 16

What is happening to levels of air pollution in the cities?

Answer 16

Increased air pollution in cities. Dhaka, annual mean concentration of PM(fine particulate matter) over 8 times higher than recommended maximum limits. In 2015, more than 120,000 deaths in Bangladesh as a result.

Question 17

What has happened to the population pyramid?

Answer 17

It has narrowed slightly at the base as birth rates have been falling. There are now about 1.6 million fewer people under the age of 10 than there are in the 10-19 age group.

Question 18

What economic benefits could Bangladesh experience?

Answer 18

The dependency ratio is falling, so Bangladesh could experience a demographic dividend. To ensure this occurs there must be investment in the health and education systems so that more people are able to work.