Population and Economic Development Patterns

Population distribution

the spatial pattern of where people live.

Population Density

the number of people in a given area. This is usually given in people/km2.

Physical factors

natural elements that often determine whether or not a place is habitable. (e.g., extreme climate, high altitudes —> no oxygen, natural resources)

Human factors

Determine where, within those large areas, the population is concentrated. (e.g., employment, technology, transportation, communication, goverment policies, wars)

Hans Rosling

• In 2015, Hans Rosling predicted the pop. Europe & America will not increase, Asia will increase 1 billion and Africa will double their population.

• If child survival rates continue to improve, population growth slows down because before, people were worried that having too few kids meant an easier chance of losing them all. Nowadays, because child survival rates are improving, they do not have to worry about their children dying.

• In 2009, the income will fall in most of the HIC and is a very tough period for LIC. They will be worst hit by the financial downturn while MIC continues to have economic growth and the gap between the richest and those in the middle will shrink quite fast.

MEDC / LEDC / HIC / LIC

• More economically developed countries

• Less economically developed countries

• High-income countries

• Low-income countries

Indicators

gross domestic product (GDP), gross national income, purchasing power parity

Human development inxdex

Measures health, education, standard of living

Paul Ehrlich

• wrote “The Population Bomb"

• “The birth rate must be brought into balance with the death rate or mankind will breed itself into oblivion”

• “The battle to feed all of humanity is over. In the 1970s and 1980s hundreds of millions of people will starve to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now.”

Population momentum

the continued growth of a population even after fertility rates are down to replacement level: Populations continue to grow even after fertility rates decline fertility is only a meaningful statistic for the childbearing population. Therefore, even if fertility rates drop it still takes at least 15 years for the youngest in the population to reach childbearing age, and then another 30 years after that before those people are too old for childbearing. So there is sometimes at least a 45-year delay before lower fertility rates actually turn into lower population growth. In fact, many demographers assume it takes as long as the average life expectancy before changes in fertility rates become actual changes in population growth. 

Crude Birth Rate / Crude Death Rate

CBR: number of births /1000 people per year / CDB: number of deaths /1000 people per year

Total Fertility Rate

Number of births a woman is expected to have

Factors affecting fertility rates

Women’s status, role of children in the labor force, infant mortatality rate

Malthusian thinking

Thomas Malthus —> the cycle of misery, population will reach a certain point and start to decrease. Then, they will regenerate. Base this theory on the state of England in the 18th Cenutry —> many lower class loss their land and had to go to London to beg. —> Link to Potato Famine in Ireland.

Demographic Transition model

a diagram that shows how the population of a country changes over time

DTM Stages

High stationary, early expanding, late expanding, low fluctuations, natural decrease

High Stationary

High brith rate, high death rate, population is stable, malthusian theory is based on this theory, tribes

Early Expanding

Death rates rapidly decrease, birth rates still remain high, highest population growth rate, urbanizing —> Sri Lanka, Bolivia

Late Expanding

Death rate continues to fall, population continues to increase, birth rates start to decline significantly. Low infant mortality rate —> known for urbanization, industrlization —> Mexico, Vietnam, Columbia

Low fluctuating

Stable, high population, brith rates decrease, death rates are low — >Canada, America

Natural decrease

• Where death rates exceeded birth rates because birth rates are becoming too low. 

• Old people are dying, no one is having babies

• Japan, South Korea

Limitations to DTM

• Only based on UK, Wales, Sweden.

• Does not include affects of migration

• some countries have a different DTM, not the general one. 

• No time scale —> some countries take longer or faster to reach a stage. This takes 80, Bagladesh took 20.

Urban sprawl

the uncontrolled expansion of urban areas.

Population Pyramids

a graphical illustration showing the age and gender distribution of a population

High stationary (PP)

Wide base bc high birth rates, narrow top due ot high death rates

Early Expanding (PP)

Wide base, wider middle section thanks to decline in death rates

Late Expanding (PP)

Pyramid starts to take on a more rectangular shape as birth rates decline and life expectancy increases

Low Fluctuations (PP)

Slow population growth rate, the pyramid starts to become more rectangular as birth and death rates stabalize.

Natural Decrease Rate (PP)

Some countries experience population decline, which causes their base to become narrow. This results in a inverted pyramid shape with a larger elderly population.

Dependency ratio

Young dependants (0-15), old dependants, (64 and above)

Environmental refugee

a person who is forced to migrate due to a significant environmental disruption

Demographic Dividend

a period when a country experiences high proportion of working-age people compared to dependents. --> potential for economic growth if there is the change in the population ages structure (less dependents than working class) working age population utilized education, job creation effectively

Why Fewer Dependents Can Mean Better Economic Growth

• With fewer children to support, governments can invest more per child in education, healthcare, and infrastructure.

• Families with fewer dependents often have more disposable income, which can lead to higher savings rates.

• With fewer children to care for, women are more likely to enter the workforce, contributing to economic output and promoting gender equality.

Demographic Dividend —> how to ensure success

• Economic policies —> foreign investments

• Access to high quality education and healthcare

• Decreasing fertility rate

Pro-natalist policy

a governmental strategy that encourages higher fertility rates —> to alleviate the issue of the growing age dependency associated with an ageing population.

Sex-ratio

the proportion of males to females in a given population from local scale (village) to national (country) or global scale.