Population Dynamics

Question 1

What is the current global population how many people were added to the global total in 2008?

Answer 1

The global population is around 6.6 billion people and 65 million were added in 2008.

Question 2

Why has population continued to increase? (5)

Answer 2

Mainly due to a decline in death and infant mortality rates due to:

1) Development of modern medicines, and better healthcare means people are better looked after and kept alive longer.
2) Introduction of vaccination and immunisation programmes that help people to live longer e.g. smallpox
3) Improved access to cleaner drinking water and better sewage disposal.
4) Improved hygiene and better housing.
5) Better diets, e.g. promoting eating 5 a day.

Question 3

Why are birth rates high in some countries? (3)

Answer 3

1) In some countries large percentage of the population work in agriculture, so children are seen as an economic benefit.
2) Women may not have a choice as their religion is against birth control.
3) It may be the culture to marry very young so women are more likely to have more children.

Question 4

Named example of why a developed country’s population will decline?
Give three factors.

Give three reasons why birth rates are declining.

Answer 4

Russia

1) Falling life expectancy cause by industrial disease and alcoholism.
2) Outward migration of younger fertile men and women.
3) A low fertility rate of 1.2 children per woman.

Birth rates are declining because:

1) Women have access to birth control methods.
2) Women may choose to have few children as they are seen as an economic benefit.
3) Also more educated women choose to have a career before having children.

Question 5

Named example of why a developing country’s population will grow quickly?
Give three reasons.

Answer 5

Yemen

1) Women marry very young and have a large number of children, fertility rate is 6.7.
2) Increased life expectancy partly due to improved child vaccinations.
3) High birth rate as the Islamic religion is against birth control.

Question 6

What model is used to represent the change in birth and death rate and total population in a country as it develops?

Answer 6

The Demographic transition model (DTM)

Question 7

What is stage one of the DTM?

Example?

Answer 7

Stage 1: High Fluctuating, Remote tribal communities

• High birth rate due to no birth control and high infant mortality.
• High death rate due to disease and famine

Question 8

What is stage two of the DTM?

Example?

Answer 8

Stage 2: Early expanding, Yemen

• High birth rate
• Falling death rates due to improved healthcare and nutrition.

Question 9

What is stage three of the DTM?

Example?

Answer 9

Stage 3: Late expanding, China

• Falling birth rates due to birth control and desire for smaller families.
• Falling death rates

Question 10

What is stage four of the DTM?

Example?

Answer 10

Stage 4: Low Fluctuating, Japan

Low birth and death rates due to working women delaying starting families for their careers.

Question 11

What is stage five of the DTM?

Example?

Answer 11

Stage 5: Decline, Germany

Death rate higher than birth rate due to an ageing population.

Question 12

What can population pyramids be used to show?
What does the height of the pyramid show?
What does a wide base pyramid show? And the converse?
What does a broad shape at the top of a pyramid show?

Answer 12

Population pyramids are used to show features of a population such as age and gender.
The height of the pyramids shows the age people live to.
A wide base pyramid shows there is a large number of children in a population. A narrow base pyramid shows a small number of children.
A broad shape at the top of the pyramid shows a high proportion of people living longer.

Question 13

What is a dependency ratio?
What can be used to calculate the dependency ratio?
What equation is used to calculate the dependency ratio?

Answer 13

A dependency ratio is a relationship between those who are and those who are not working in and area or country.
Population pyramids can be used to work out the dependency ratio.
Dependency ratio = (%under 15) + (%over65) / %between 15 and 64 x 100

Question 14

What is a youthful population?

What are the disadvantages of a youthful population? (6)

Answer 14

A youthful population is a country where a very high percentage of people are under the age of 15.
Disadvantages:
1) Pressure on housing - not enough housing, people are forced to live on slums often around big cities e.g. New Delhi
2) Pressure on food supplies - famine, food distribution difficulties. Natural disasters such as drought, accentuate this problem.
3) Pressure on schooling - illiterate population, India’s literacy rate is 60%.
4) Pressure on health services - lots of expensive education and healthcare provision needed for children and babies.
5) Rapidly growing population need employment.
6) More difficult for women to work as they have to spend time looking after children, so are not earning income.

Question 15

What are the advantages of a youthful population? (5)

Answer 15

1) Provides steady supply of workers, can encourage economies to grow.
2) Children provide support and security for the elderly.
3) Children are a valuable source of income for a family as they can work on the land from a young age.
4) As children get older they may be able to earn money in other way than working the land which will bring in more money for the family.
5) As children get older they can help care for younger children in the family.

Question 16

What is an ageing population?

Answer 16

This is when a country has a large number of people over the age of 65 in their country.

Question 17

What are the advantages of an ageing population? (4)

Answer 17

1) The tourist industry in countries like the UK has benefited from more retired people going on a number of holidays a year.
2) More elderly people in MEDC’s have money to spend which helps the local economy.
3) More elderly people are able to support their grown-up children as they raise their young families.
4) Elderly people undertake many worthwhile tasks, many of them voluntary.

Question 18

What are the disadvantages of an ageing population? (6)

Answer 18

1) Old people cost a lot to support, taxes may rise to provide extra healthcare required.
2) Shortage of retirement homes and hospital care for elderly people.
3) Increased need of specially built homes, e.g. non-slip floors, hand rails and emergency buttons.
4) Increasing cost of pensions, more people requiring pensions and less people working to provide them, so higher taxes will need to be raised to fund them.
5) Labour shortages - recruiting overseas, e.g. nurses and doctors.
6) Provision of leisure activities for the elderly.

Question 19

What are the solutions to the health care problems in an ageing population? (2)
What are the solution to problems with pensions? (3)

Answer 19

Healthcare:
1) Provide more healthcare e.g. retirement homes, hospital beds, more undertaker, etc.
2) Skilled health care workers, e.g. nurses, doctors, etc.
Pensions:
1) Increase tax - not popular
2) Raise retirement age - not popular
3) Abolish state pensions - not popular

Question 20

Why do some countries wish to control their population? (2)

Answer 20

1) To gain an optimum population where the resources and population equally balance, which is sustainable.
2) To prevent overpopulation.

Question 21

Named example anti-natalist policy.
When was it introduced?
What was the policy? (2)
Why was it introduced? (2)

Answer 21

China’s one child policy.
When: Introduced in 1970’s
What:
1) Couples were not allowed to have more than one child couples with one child were given benefits, e.g. improved childcare and housing.
2) Unauthorised pregnancies pressured to have abortions.
Why:
1) High growth rate of the population
2) Pressure on land and food supplies due to large population.

Question 22

What were the effects of China’s one child policy? (5)

Answer 22

1) Birth rate fell from 34 per 1000 in 1970 to 13 per 1000 in 2008.
2) Annual population growth rate fell from 2.4% to 0.6%
3) Total population grown form 996 million in 1980 to 1,320 million today.
4) Chinese tradition to prefer sons, so sex selective abortions occurred.
5) Shortage of women at marrying age.

Question 23

Named example of a pro-natalist policy.
What was the policy? (2)
Why was it introduced? (2)
What were the effects of the policy? (1)

Answer 23

Estonia
What:
1) Introduced mother’s salary, where women are paid to have children - 15 months fully paid maternity leave.
Why:
1) Falling population due to fertility rate falling from 2.2 in 1988 to 1.4 in 1998.
2) People planning to have fewer children due to increased poverty, single lifestyles and young people migrating overseas.
Effects:
1) By 2006 fertility rate rose to 1.5 (still below replacement level)

Question 24

Named migration policy case study.
What was the policy?
How many people form the Caribbean came to the UK in the 1950’s and 1960’s?
Give one positive and one negative of the policy.

Answer 24

UK
Open door policy - post war immigrants came to UK from colonies of the Caribbean due to an act of parliament giving all commonwealth citizens free entry into the UK.
250,000 people came to the UK from the Caribbean in the 1950’s and 1960’s.
Positive:
Met shortage of unskilled and semi-skilled labour, helped with the reconstruction of the country after the war.
Negative:
Public money spent on meeting needs of the immigrants, e.g. housing etc led to recession in the 1970’s which lead to increased unemployment.

Question 25

What is a points based system of managing migration?
What are the tiers and how may are their?
What is the impact of this type of policy?

Answer 25

A points based system is where if people wish tom come and work to settle down in a country they need to gain a certain amount of points.
Their are five tiers which migrants are classified into, tier one has highly skilled workers such as scientists down to tier five who are temporary workers, e.g. musicians working in a concert.
Impact:
Highly skilled workers, such as scientists are more likely to be allowed into the country where there is a skill shortage.

Question 26

Outline five advantages and three disadvantages of migration for the country migrants are moving to?

Answer 26

Advantages:
1) Meets shortages of unskilled and semi-skilled workers.
2) Increases diversity and culture
3) Immigrants contribute to the economy by paying tax
4) Immigrants take mainly low paid jobs that native people don’t want.
5) Less than 5% of immigrants claim any sort of state benefit.
Disadvantages:
1) Public money spent on immigrants, e.g. housing and healthcare.
2) Immigrants can add to the number of unemployed during recession.
3) Increased hostility towards immigrants.

Question 27

Outline three advantages and two disadvantages to the country where migrants are migrating from?

Answer 27

Advantages:
1) Immigrants send money home to their families.
2) Less pressure on jobs and resources in places like e.g. Poland.
3) immigrants bring skills back to their countries.
Disadvantages;
1) Loss of working population
2) Decline in birth rate as most migrants are young men.

Question 28

Explain the possible tensions that arise as a result of migration? (3)

Answer 28

1) UK immigration lead to hostility towards migrants.
2) Ethnic groups set up their own communities within the country they moved to.
3) People believe the migrants have come to the country to take their jobs and claim benefits.