A Level Geography - Population

Natural change, (increase/decrease) rate

Natural change, (increase/decrease) rate

The change in population, growth or decline, resulting from the difference between births and deaths. NI occurs when births exceed deaths

What is the world average natural change rate?

1.03%

Named example of a country with natural decrease

Germany -0.2%

Named example of country with high rates of natural increase

Niger 3.6%

UK natural change rate

0.5%

Birth rate

The number of live births in a single year per 1,000 people in the total population of a country or region

What is the world average birth rate?

18/1000

Which country has the highest birth rate?

Niger, 47.5/1000

Named example of country with low birth rate

Germany, 8.6/1000

What is the UK birth rate?

12/1000

Death rate

The number of deaths recorded in a single year per 1,000 people in the total population of a country or region

What is the world average death rate?

8/1000

Which country has the highest death rate?

Lesotho, 15/1000

Which country has the lowest death rate?

Qatar, 1.6/1000, (immigration of youth)

Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

The average number of live births to women who have completed their families. (Replacement level of fertility is around 2.1)

What is the world average Total Fertility Rate (TFR)?

2.4, (was 5 in 1963)

Which country has the lowest Total Fertility Rate (TFR)?

Singapore, 0.8

Which country has the highest Total Fertility Rate (TFR)?

Niger, 7 ,(poverty, insecurity, conflict, cultural attitudes)

What is the UK's Total Fertility Rate (TFR)?

1.9

Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)

The number of children dying in their first year per 1,000 live births

What is the world average Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)?

30/1000

Which country has the lowest Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)?

Japan, 1.9/1000

Which country has the highest Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)?

Afghanistan, 104/1000, (poor, war torn, less investment in sanitation and healthcare)

What is the UK's Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)?

4.1/1000

Life Expectancy

The average number of years from birth that a person can expect to live, or the average age of people at death

What is the world average life expectancy?

70 years

Which country has the highest life expectancy?

Monaco, 90 years

Which country has the lowest life expectancy?

Afghanistan, 52, (very poor, disaster prone, war torn)

What is the UK life expectancy?

81 years

Example of country with high net migration

Italy, 3.2/1000

Example of country with low net migration

Ghana, -1.6/1000

Net Migration

The difference between immigration into and emigration from the area during the year.

What does the Demographic Transition Model (DTM) show?

Population change over time

Name a country in stage 2 on the DTM

Niger

Name a country in stage 3 on the DTM

Ghana

Name a country in stage 4 on the DTM

The UK

Name a country in stage 5 on the DTM

Japan

What are vital rates?

Refer to how fast vital statistics change in a population (birth rates, deaths rates, migration)

3. Reasons for inaccurate censuses

1. Expensive to administer
2. Illiteracy
3. Not everyone will fill in the forms

3. Reasons why DRs may increase in the future?

1. Diseases and outbreaks
2. Famine
3. Wars

Population prediction for 2030

8.5 billion (according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation)

Population prediction for 2050

9.7 billion (according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation)

What is the problem with the prediction for population in sub-Saharan Africa?

Current forecast is based on current vital rates (BR and DR), and assumes war, famine and disease can be avoided

Do migration rates change rapidly or slowly?

Rapidly (e.g. war, rise in terrorism, activities of people smugglers)

Do migrants tend to reduce BRs or increase BRs?

Migrants tend to boost BRs (young adult migrants)

Did the BR in the UK increase or decrease between 2001 and 2011? Was this change predicted?

The BR increased, no this change was not predicted

Why is fertility in sub-Saharan Africa falling much more slowly than it did in Asia? (3 Reasons)

1. Many women still desire large families
2. Children provide status and social security
3. Asian governments were much more proactive about encouraging and pointing out the benefits of family planning, (unlike African governments)

What is the impact of a recession on BRs?

Birth Rates will fall

Factors affecting levels of fertility (7 factors)

1. Level of development / basis of economy
2. Levels of infant and child mortality
3. Traditional vs modern attitudes
4. Role of religion
5. Access to, take up of, contraception
6. Years in education, literacy levels, particularly of women.
7. Government policy

Factors affecting levels of mortality (12 factors)

1. Age
2. Gender
3. Level of development
4. Living conditions
5. Access to food
6. Government campaigns
7. Better education
8. Healthcare provision
9. Prevalence of certain diseases
10. Physical environment
11. Conflict/war
12. Lifestyle

How does a fall in BR affect the population pyramid?

It reduces the breadth of the pyramid's base (becomes "regressive")

How does a fall in DR affect the population pyramid?

Leads to an upwards stretching of the pyramid (life expectancy is greater)

Population Structure

The composition of the population in a country/area, (usually age and gender (may include information on ethnicity, marital status, family or household size)

What % of the world population is aged 0-14?

25.33%

What % of the world population is aged 15-24?

15.42%

What % of the world population is aged 25-54?

40.67%

What % of the world population is aged 55-64?

9.09%

What % of the world population is aged 65+?

9.49%

What is the world median age?

31 years old

Dependency

Reliance for survival on support from others

Dependency ratio

Relationship between the economically-active and non economically-active population. ,(the active (independent) population is usually taken as 15-64, young dependent 0-14 and aged dependent 65+)

Formula for the dependency ratio is...

youth (0-14) + aged (65+) divided by working population (15-64) multiplied by 100

Youth dependency ratio

The ratio of the number of people 0-14 to those 15-64, (globally this is 39:100)

Elderly dependency ratio

The ratio of the number of people aged 65 and over to those aged 15-64, (globally this is 14:100)

Potential support ratio

The number of working-age people (15-64) per one elderly person (65+), (globally this is 7:1)

Demographic transition

The shifting balance between fertility an mortality over time and its impact on rates of population change

Carrying capacity

The number of individuals that the environment can sustain

Population momentum

Occurs when a country's fertility rate declines to or below replacement level, yet the population size continues to grow due to the age structure of the population

Social and economic factors contributing to high rates of infectious diseases in LICs (5 points)

1. Poverty
2. Poor access to healthcare
3. Antibiotic resistance
4. Evolving human migration patterns
5. New infectious agents

Natural Increase Rate

The difference between the number of live births and the number of deaths occurring in a year, divided by the mid-year population of that year, multiplied by a factor (usually 1,000). It is equal to the difference between the crude birth and the crude death rate

Sex ratio

The number of males per 100 females in a population (2014 - 107 boys to 100 girls globally)

Criticisms of the Demographic Transition Model (3 points)

1. Too Eurocentric
2. Doesn't account for migration
3. Presumes all countries will pass through all stages

Issues of ageing populations (4 points)

1. Increased pressure on services (healthcare, pensions, government budget)
2. Expensive residential care
3. Labour shortages
4. Lower taxation received by gov.

Issues of youthful population (4 points)

1. Strain on education and health services
2. Strain on food supplies
3. Strain on accommodation
4. Lack of available jobs in the future

Human Development Index (HDI) (4 points)

1. Life expectancy at birth
2. Mean years of schooling for adults aged 25 years
3. Expected years of schooling for children of school entering age
4. GNI per person (PPP)

Factors responsible for decline in global infant mortality (5 points)

1. Improved nutrition
2. Improvements to public health (water and sanitation)
3. Medical advances
4. Improved housing and other environmental conditions
5. Improved maternity conditions

Neonatal period

The first four weeks of a child's life, where risk of death is the greatest

Global average life expectancy in 1900

C. 30 years

Food security

When all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life

3 strands of food security

1. Food availability
2. Food access
3. Food use

Threats of the food crisis (3 points)

1. Poverty
2. Eroding development gains
3. Endangering political stability

Natural causes of food shortages (6 points)

1. Soil exhaustion
2. Drought
3. Flood
4. Tropical cyclones
5. Pests
6. Disease

Economic and Political causes of food shortages (4 points)

1. Low capital investment
2. Rapidly rising populations
3. Poor distribution / transport difficulties
4. Conflict situations

Consequences of malnutrition (3 points)

1. Less resistant to disease
2. Reduces capacity to work (e.g. land may not be properly tended)
3. People don't reach their physical potential

What percentage of food grown and harvested in LICs is not consumed?

50%

Advantages of the Green Revolution (5 points)

1. Greater yields (2 to 4 times higher)
2. Shorter growing season leads to extra crop
3. Farming incomes have increased
4. Local infrastructure upgraded
5. Employment created

Disadvantages of the Green Revolution (7 points)

1. High inputs of fertiliser and pesticide
2. HYVs susceptible to pests and disease (more weed control required)
3. Low income farmers benefitted less
4. Mechanisation has increased rural unemployment
5. Some HYVs have inferior tastes
6. Salinisation has increased
7. HYVs can be low in minerals and vitamins

Factors affecting development

1. War
2. Trade barriers
3. Tropical storms / Flooding / Drought / Volcanic eruptions / Earthquakes

Components of the ecological footprint (6 points)

1. Built-up land
2. Fishing grounds
3. Forest
4. Grazing land
5. Cropland
6. Carbon footprint

Optimum rhythm of growth

The process whereby population growth responds to substantial technological advances

Population policy

All the measures explicitly or implicitly taken by a government aimed at influencing population size, growth, distribution, or composition