Geography: Populations

factors affecting population distribution

• Relief - how high/low the land is

• Climate - the temperature and weather aspects of the land

Population distribution

the spread and pattern of where people live

Population density

the measurement of the number of people in an area (usually measured in people per square km)

Scales

• Global

• National

• Regional

• Local

Factors that influence population density

• Physical - relief, climate, resources

• Human - political, social, economic

M/LEDC

More/Less Economically Developed Country

H/M/LIC

High/Medium/Low Income Country

NIC

Newly Industrialised Country

BRIC

Brazil, Russia, India, China - rising economic powers

MINT

Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, Turkey - countries with potential for rapid economic growth

CIVETS

Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey, South Africa - countries with markets associated with rapid development and growth

Next 11

Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Turkey, South Korea, Vietnam - could become world’s largest economies

CPE

Centrally Planned Economy

RIC

Recently Industrialising Country

Market Economy

An economic system where prices are made with no rules or restricted competition

Core-Periphery theory

Explains regional inequalities by suggesting that core regions accumulate economic wealth and resources, while periphery regions experience a lack of investment and development

Cores are characterised by

major world powers and the countries that contain much of the wealth of the planet.

• Access to health care, education and technology

• Water, food, energy security

• high literacy rates, skill levels and foreign direct investment

• distributes wealth to other regions to promote development

• exports manufactured goods and services to other regions

Peripheries are characterised by

countries that are not reaping the benefits of global wealth and globalisation.

• lesser developed infrastructure, technology, transportation, etc.

• lower literacy, skill and standard of living levels

• high poverty levels

• lack of job opportunities that lead to migration

• resources moving from the periphery to the core to support industrial growth

• water, food, energy insecurity

Semi-periphery

some of the characteristics of core and peripheral countries.

• industrialised

• contribute to manufacturing and exportation of goods

• above average land mass

Friedmann’s Theory

Argued that beneficial effects will spread from the core to the periphery

Backwash

rural populations migrating to core countries - effects the development of peripheries

Migration

the movement of people, involving permanent change of residence

Emigration

when someone leaves a country or place

Immigration

when someones enters a country or place

Asylum seeker

someone forced to migrate and is seeking protection from persecution or human rights violation

Refugee

someone who is forced to migrate but they have a recognised status and already have asylum

Political migration push factors

• corruption

• retaliation

• taxes spent poorly

• collapsed government

• strict laws (against human rights)

• dictatorship

Political migration pull factors

• high government satisfaction

• taxes spent well

• gender equality

• stable democracy

• tolerance for LGBTQ+

Demographic transition

change in population

crude birth rate

the number of live births occurring during the year per 1000 population

crude death rate

the number of deaths occurring during the year per 1000 population

natural increase formula

crude birth rate - crude death rate

fertility rate

the average number of children that would be born alive to a woman during her lifetime

population projection

the prediction of future populations based on present age-gender structure, and with present rates of fertility, mortality and migrations

replacement level fertility

fertility rate that replaces population

population momentum

tendency for population growth growth to continue beyond the time that replacement level fertility has achieved because of a relatively high concentration of people in the child bearing years

demographic transition model

natural change

difference between the birth rate and death rate

natural increase

when the number of births is higher than the number of deaths

natural decrease

when the number of births is lower than the number of deaths

Stage 1 (demographic transition model)

• lots of fluctuating

• low population

• population is increasing very slowly

• high birth/death rates

Stage 2 (demographic transition model)

• population is growing faster

• decreasing death rate

• still a high birth rate, but slowly declining

Stage 3 (demographic transition model)

• population still increasing, but the rate of increase is slowing down

• decreasing birth rate

• low death rate

Stage 4 (demographic transition model)

• high population

• growth starting to plateau (less fast)

• low birth rate

• low death rate

Stage 5 (demographic transition model)

• population growth declining

• birth rate lower than death rate

• no population momentum anymore

• what could be the main driver behind low birth rates

population pyramid

a graph showing the age-sex distribution of a given population

information given by a population pyramid

• age and sex structure of a population

• birth rates

• death rates

• immigration and emigration

• number of dependents (15>n>65)

• life expectancy

population explosion in LEDCs

• less access to contraceptives

• labour opportunities

• growing economy

• religion

population decline in MEDCs

• more access to contraceptives

• independence/liberal

• better education (awareness of safe sex)

• family planning

dependency ratio

age-population ratio of those typically not working. this ratio is used to measure the financial pressure on the actively working population.

higher ratio = bigger burden on working-age people
lower ratio = more people are working who can support the dependent population

total (age) dependency ratio

population (0-14) + population (64+) x 100
working age population (15-64)

child dependency ratio

population (0-14) x 100
working age population (15-64)

old age dependency ratio

population (64+) x 100
working age population (15-64)

productive population

same as working population

ageing population issues

• stress on retirement funds

• stress on healthcare sector (doctors, specialisation)

• high demand for adequate housing, care, transportation, services, etc.

• taxes raised to fulfil demands

ageing population advantages

• growing market for leisure and health products

• high demand for housing in certain “retirement locations”

• a large proportion of ageing people can add experience to work force

how to improve low fertility rates

• raise retirement age

• increase taxes

• abolish state pensions

• support population growth

  • subsidies

  • social help

  • adjust laws

youthful population advantages

• provides a large and cheap workforce

• big working class could be a large base tax

• big working class could be a large market

youthful population disadvantages

• lack of services and facilities for all young people

• strain on food supplies

• strain on accommodation

• lack of job opportunities in the future

megacity

city with a population of 10 million or more.
attracts people because of:
- work opportunities
- closer services/amenities
- transport
- culture
- family

types of forced migration

• conflict-induced displacement

• development-induced displacement

• disaster-induced displacement

pro-natalist

promoting and advertising more child birth through methods such as:

• adverts

• billboards

  • speeches

anti-natalist

being openly against large rates of childbirths

pro natalist policies

• subsidies daycare for children

• paid parental/maternity leave

• tax benefits for families with children

  • child support/family allowance

anti-natalist policies

• encourage use of contraceptives

• one child policy

• access to education

• forced sterilisation or abortion (or banning)

• encourage family planning

gender inequality

major barrier to human development. women/girls are discriminated in health, education, political representation, etc. negative consequences for development of their capabilities and freedom of choice

why is there a gender pay gap

• physical advantages

• social norms from years ago

• maternity leave

• culture

• status/rights of women

• quality/length of education

• migration

• family sizes

• legal rights

gender pay gap reduction challenges

• unpaid work - women are the dominant carers which doesn’t have economical value

• traditional family set up - women are more likely to take maternal leave

• national policies - some national policies encourage women to take more leave than their male partners

• work culture - male attitudes are less favourable to women

human trafficking

illegal transportation and/or exploitation or human parts. It is usually for the purpose of forced labour or sexual exploitation

how to prevent human trafficking

• international treaties/policies

• victim identification

• legal assistance and involvement

  • provision of immediate protection and support

demographic dividend

the economic growth that may result from changes to a country’s age structure. it refers to a bulge in the number of adults in a population. It occurs when fertility rates decline, which is often followed by a decline in infant & child mortality rates and increase in life expectations

benefits of demographic dividends

• labour supply - economy can take in and productively employ more workers

• savings - more disposable income which fuels the economy

• human capital

• economic growth - increase in GDP per capita due to decreasing dependency ratio