Geography Key terms and other useful bits

Ageing Population

An increase in the proportion of people aged 65 and over within a population.

Ageing Burden

The economic and social costs associated with supporting a growing elderly population.

Anti Natalist Policy

A government policy designed to reduce birth rates and slow population growth.

Birth Rate (Crude Birth Rate)

The number of live births per 1,000 people per year.

Brain Drain

The loss of highly skilled or educated workers through emigration.

Brain Gain

The economic and social benefits gained when a country attracts skilled migrants.

Carrying Capacity

The maximum population an area can support sustainably using available resources.

Climate Refugee

A person forced to leave their home because of environmental changes linked to climate change.

Death Rate (Crude Death Rate)

The number of deaths per 1,000 people per year.

Demographic Dividend

Economic benefits that may occur when a country has a large working age population and relatively few dependents.

Demographic Transition

The process by which a country moves through the stages of the Demographic Transition Model.

Demographic Transition Model (DTM)

A model showing how birth rates, death rates and population growth change as a country develops.

Dependency Ratio

The ratio of dependents to the working age population.

Dependents

People who are generally not economically active and rely on the working age population for support.

Destination Country

The country migrants move to.

Economic Migrant

A person who moves primarily to improve employment or income opportunities.

Economically Active Population

People of working age who are employed or seeking employment.

Emigrant

A person leaving a country to live elsewhere.

Family Planning

Programmes and services that help individuals control the number and spacing of children they have.

Fertility Rate

The average number of children born to a woman during her lifetime.

Forced Migration

Migration that occurs because people are compelled to leave due to conflict, persecution or environmental hazards.

Human Development Index (HDI)

A measure of development based on life expectancy, education and income.

Immigrant

A person moving into a country to live there.

Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)

The number of deaths of infants under one year old per 1,000 live births per year.

Internal Migration

Movement of people within a country.

International Migration

Movement of people from one country to another.

Labour Force

The economically active population available for work.

Life Expectancy

The average number of years a person is expected to live.

Migration

The movement of people from one place to another, either temporarily or permanently.

Natural Decrease

When the death rate is higher than the birth rate.

Natural Increase

The difference between the birth rate and death rate.

Net Migration

The difference between the number of immigrants and emigrants.

Origin Country

The country migrants leave.

Overpopulation

A situation where population size exceeds available resources and services.

Pattern

The arrangement or distribution of population data across space or time.

Population Change

Any increase or decrease in population size resulting from natural increase, natural decrease and migration.

Population Decline

A decrease in the total number of people living in an area.

Population Density

The number of people living per unit area, usually per square kilometre.

Population Distribution

The pattern showing where people live within a country or region.

Population Explosion

A sudden and rapid increase in population size.

Population Growth

An increase in the total number of people living in an area.

Population Momentum

Continued population growth after fertility rates have fallen due to a large proportion of young people.

Population Policy

Government action designed to influence population size, growth rate or structure.

Population Pyramid

A graph showing the age and sex structure of a population.

Population Structure

The composition of a population according to characteristics such as age and sex.

Pro Natalist Policy

A government policy designed to encourage people to have more children.

Pull Factors

Positive features of a destination that attract migrants, such as employment opportunities or better services.

Push Factors

Negative conditions that encourage people to leave an area, such as poverty, conflict or hazards.

Quality of Life

The overall wellbeing of people, including health, happiness and access to opportunities.

Rate

A measure of change over a specific period of time.

Refugee

A person forced to leave their country because of persecution, conflict or violence.

Relationship

A connection or correlation between two variables.

Remittances

Money sent home by migrants to family members in their country of origin.

Replacement Level Fertility

The fertility rate needed for a population to replace itself from one generation to the next, typically around 2.1 children per woman in developed countries.

Sustainable Population

A population size that can be maintained without exhausting resources or damaging the environment.

Underpopulation

A situation where there are too few people to fully utilise available resources or support economic growth.

Urbanisation

An increase in the proportion of people living in towns and cities.

Voluntary Migration

Migration that occurs through personal choice.

Working Age Population

The section of the population generally considered capable of working, usually ages 15 64.

Youthful Population

A population with a high proportion of people under the age of 15.

Stage 1: High Stationary

High birth rates and high death rates result in little population growth.

Stage 2: Early Expanding

Death rates fall rapidly while birth rates remain high, causing rapid population growth.

Stage 3: Late Expanding

Birth rates begin to fall while death rates remain low, slowing population growth.

Stage 4: Low Stationary

Both birth rates and death rates are low and population growth is slow.

Stage 5: Declining

Birth rates fall below death rates, causing natural decrease and potential population decline.

India - UK push factors

-        Large population and limited employment (Rural unemployment also pushes less skilled workers)

-        Political instability and policy e.g Partition of India 1947

-        Communal violence/discrimination e.g riots of 1984 led some Sikhs to migrate

-        Poverty due to low wages, low quality of life and standard of living, as well as terrible living conditions

India - UK pull factors

-        Promise of better jobs and wages in UK. Post war Britain needed labour for industries and public services, offering higher salaries and requiring skills that attracted many Indian migrants

-        Long history of British colonial rule established English as a well-spoken language and familiarized many Indians with British culture and institutions. – post colonial ties made migration easier.

-        Educational institutions attract Indian students e.g British unis are top-quality and are seen as improving career prospects, contributing heavily to recent migration numbers.

-        Better QOL – cleaner environment, rule of law, economic stability

UK impacts India - UK migration

-        British Indians highest employment and education levels of any ethnic group – over half hold a degree and 40% work in managerial or professional occupations. Vital to health and NHS – 1 in 10 doctors in UK is of Indian heritage Highest median household income of any ethnic minority at £45,000

-        Large social + demographic impact – areas of London, the west midlands and others have a large Indian pop, sometimes making up 10-20% of the local residents. About 3% of English population are Indian 2021.

-        Cultural enrichment e.g Chicken Tikka Masala a “Traditional English dish”, and Indian festivals i.e. Diwali are celebrated in the UK in mass – Leicester Diwali attracts more than 40,000 visitors each year, making it one of the largest such celebrations outside India.

-        The arrival of Indian immigrants in mid-20^th cent. Provoked racist backlashes.

India impacts India - UK migration

-        Remittances – money sent back home by migrants. Migrant remittances to India from the UK are worth approximately £3.2 billion annually.

-        With a huge population and not enough jobs for all, the opportunity to work abroad (temporarily or permanently) eases unemployment pressures at home.

-        Brain drain – the loss of skilled human capital. Over decades, many talented Indians (doctors, engineers, academics) left to work or study in the UK at places like Oxbridge, which could be seen as a loss for India’s development.

Migrant impacts India - UK migration

-        Oppos – better housing and access to consumer goods. Around 63% of second-gen British Indians hold uni degrees.

-        Face language barriers, different climate, unfamiliar food and isolation.

-        In many cases, initial migration involved separation i.e. husband works in Britain while Wife + Kids stay in India for a number of years – chain migration – this puts strain and marriages and familial relationships. Leads to many Indian women taking on jobs at home, and actually causing them to have more empowerment, education, career choices and independence.

4 anti-natal policies

• One-Child Policy (China, 1979-2015)
  Families were generally restricted to having one child, with penalties for exceeding the limit.

• Financial Disincentives for Larger Families
  Reducing tax benefits, housing priority, or welfare support for families with many children.

• Improved Access to Employment for Women
  Greater career opportunities can lead to delayed childbearing and smaller family sizes.

• Mass Media Campaigns
  Advertising and education campaigns encouraging smaller family sizes.