8.1 Human Population Dynamics

how have technological advances affected the population and carrying capacity?

increasing populations and increased carrying capacity

when was the period of high population growth in MEDCs

19th and 20th century

when did LEDCs have a period of high population growth

1950s onwards

what type of growth has population growth followed so far

exponential

what is crude birth rate (CBR)

the number of births per 1000 individuals of a population per year

what is crude death rate (CDR)

the number of deaths per 1000 individuals of a population per year

rate of natural change

the difference between the birth rate and the death rate

natural increase rate (NIR)

the rate of human growth expressed as a percentage change per year (CBR-CDR)/10

fertility rate

the number of live births per 1000 women aged 15-54 years in a given year

total fertility rate

the average number of children each woman has in her reproductive lifetime

replacement-level fertility

the level at which people in each generation have just enough children to replace themselves in the population

doubling time

the time in years that it takes for a population to double in size

70/NIR

how long does it take for an NIR of 1% to double

70 years

human development index (HDI)

a measure of wellbeing and development in a country

what does HDI combine to get one value about the wellbeing of the country

health (life expectancy), wealth (GNI per capita) and education (adult literacy rate/ mean years of schooling)

how does population impact the environment

more people need more resources (scarcity), more people produce more waste (pollution), people want improved standards of living (resource use)

what factors can affect the level of impact that populations have on the environment

wealth of the population, resource demand, resource use ( varied among development level, urban or rural areas and geography)

Malthusian theory of population

food supply is the main limit to population growth

human population increases geometrically while food supply growth arithmetically, limited by the availability of new land

at some point population would outstrip food supply until a catastrophe like famine disease or war occurred- negative view

overcultivation and soil erosion cause a general decline in food production

limitations of malthusian theory

only the poor would go hungry, not everone

there is no fair or even distribution of the food supply

food is not the only factor controlling population growth

does not account for technological advancement in food production

assumes a closed population- doesn’t account for people who will migrate in search of food and resources or bring new food and resources in

he didn’t predict the changes in farming technique

Boserup’s theory

population growth is exponential

increases in population will increase the demand for food and act as an incentive to improve technology to produce more food- positive view

limitation of Boserup’s theory

assumes a closed population with no migration in face of shortages

no all areas are suitable for technological developments- lack of money, skill etc

assumes that technological development will occur

Factors influencing birth rates (5)

level of education- more education of women encourages higher levels of employment for them meaning that they have less children to focus on careers as well as educating people about family planning and contraception

policies- pro-natalist or anti-natalist eg: one child rule in China

economic prosperity- people in MEDCs may prioritse education and careers over having children and are more likely to be able to afford contraception, child mortality rates are also lower

need for children- eg: in agrarian countries to work on farms, in LEDCs for security in old age

Cultural/ religious beliefs- encourage child birth or prevent contraception

reasons for large families (5)

high infant and child mortality

parents want security in old age and children to care for them

children are an economic asset- can work on farms etc

women are seen as child bearers and aren’t given opportunities for work

unavailability of contraception and lack of education about family planning

what solution to food scarcity would malthus theory suggest

population control, natural checks

what solution to food scarcity would Boserup’s theory suggest?

innovation, intensification of agriculture

example of Malthus’ theory occuring in history

Irish Potato Famine

example of Boserup’s theory occuring in history

Green Revolution

when was Malthus’ theory suggested

1798

when was Boserup’s theory suggested

1965

factors affecting death rate/ mortality (5)

availability of healthcare and sanitation

child/infant mortality rates

politics

natural disasters

aging population

what is a population pyramid

populations at a particular time period, divided into gender and age groups

stage one: expanding population pyramid

• high birth rate

• rapid fall in each upward age group

• high death rate

• low life expectancy

stage two: expanding population pyramid

• high birth rate

• falling death rate

• slightly longer life expectancy

stage 3: stationary population pyramid

• declining birth rate

• low death rate

stage 4: contractionary population pyramid

• low birth rate

• low death rate

• high dependency ration

demographic transition model

the historical shift of birth and death rates from high to low levels in a population

stage one of DTM (demographic transition model)- high stationary

high birth rate

high death rate

stable/ sow increase

stage two of DTM- early expanding

high birth rate

rapidly falling death rate

very rapid increase

stage three of DTM- late expanding

falling birth rate

slowly falling death rate

slower increase

stage four of DTM- low stationary

low birth rate

low death rate

stable/ slow increase

stage five of DTM- declining

very low birth rate

low death rate

slow increase/ decrease

reasons for stage 1 and 2 of DTM (high stationary and early expanding) (5)

children needed for farming means high birth rates

high infant/ child mortality means high birth rate

lack of family planning means high birth rate

disease/ famine means high death rate

poor medical facilities means high death rate

reasons for stage 3 of DTM (late expanding) (4)

improved healthcare and diet

improved family planning

improved education and status of women means lowered birth rate

fewer children needed

reasons for stage 4+5 of DTM (low stationary and declining)

family planning

good healthcare

improved status of women

later marriages

aging population

limitations of the DTM (4)

the fall in death rate is not as steep as suggested- rural to urban migration creates slums which leads to more death

it assumes that birth rates will always fall- ignored factors such as religious attitudes towards contraception and gender biases against women

some countries become industrialized much quicker than shown

the model is Eurocentric in assuming that all countries will become industrialized

methods of reducing birth rates/ family sizes (4)

provide education to children. women and adults

improve healthcare to prevent infant deaths

provide contraception and education on family planning

micro-finance schemes for the poor so they don’t have to rely on their children

policies to reduce growth rates (4)

introducing pension schemes to reduce dependency on children in old age

taxes on having children

increased access to contraception and education on family planning

educating and employing women

policies to increase population growth rates

improved health care and sanitation to reduce death rates

free education and healthcare can increase birth rates

encouraging immigration