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Population – The Geography Study School
The Geography Study School
Geographically on par for your A star
Population
Key terms:
demography – study of population
birth rate – number of live births per 1000 of the population
fertility rate – average number of children per woman
death rate – number of deaths per 1000 of the population
natural growth – birth rate minus death rate
replacement rate- a fertility rate of 2.1 children per woman
migration – a permanent change of residence
net migration – immigration minus emigration
immigrant – a person moving into a country
emigrant – a person leaving a country
population density – number of people per km²
carrying capacity- number of people an area can support based on its resources and technology
Population explosion
Graph from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:World-Population-1800-2100.svg
The population explosion was caused by a rapid decline in death rates due to medical and scientific
advancements during the Industrial Revolution.
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7 Billion: How Did We Get So Big So Fast? | SKUNK BEAR
Factors for a high birth rate:
poor family planning
little access to contraception
children required to work on land
children support their parents in old age
desire to have a son, so parents keep trying
religious beliefs or traditions
Factors for a low birth rate:
emancipation of women, including education and increased career-mindedness
access to contraception
high cost of raising children
anti-natal policies
increased age of marriage
urbanisation
Factors for a high death rate:
low life expectancy and high infant mortality
food scarcity, resulting in starvation
lack of medical infrastructure and doctors, so disease can not be treated properly
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poor hygiene and sanitation allows the easy spreading of disease
sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS
Factors for a low death rate:
long life expectancy and low infant mortality rate
good hygiene and sanitation
abundant food supply, so no starvation
good access to medicine/hospitals
Population pyramids
Population pyramids are used to show the age-sex distribution of a country or area.
LEDC (less economically developed countries) pyramids commonly have:
a narrow apex (suggesting that there are few old dependents)
a broad base (suggesting that there are many young dependents)
a concave slope (suggesting a high death rate)
a rapidly tapering top (suggesting a high death rate and low life expectancy)
Population pyramid from: http://www.indexmundi.com/uganda/age_structure.html
MEDC (more economically developed countries) pyramids commonly have:
a wide apex (many old dependents)
a narrow(-ing) base (low or falling birth rates)
a convex slope and bulging sides (suggests low death rates)
Population pyramid from: http://www.indexmundi.com/united_kingdom/age_structure.html
Ageing population
Demographers talk about an ageing population, if the percentage of people over the age of 65
increases. This is happening in many European countries (most notably Germany and Italy), as well
as in other developed countries eg. Japan.
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Population – The Geography Study School
Professor Hans Rosling on Ageing Europe
Benefits of an ageing population
Increased development of grey industries (industries catering the needs of old people), such as
specialised healthcare and care homes
Elderly may pass skills and expertise on to the younger generation
Elderly may take care of their grand children, allowing parents to work at full capacity, and they
may be active in volunteering or other forms of service
Disadvantages of an ageing population
Financial burden of elderly due to retirement: little contribution to economy (often little income)
and cost of pension budgets places a strain on the working class – even requiring higher taxation
to pay for the pensions
Reduced development of infrastructure for younger people eg. schools, playgrounds
Fewer people to defend the country
Demographic transition model
The demographic transition model (DTM) groups countries based on population trends to give a
perception of development.
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Population – The Geography Study School
Most LEDC’S (less economically developed countries) are in Stage 2 of the demographic transition
model. Transition economies are commonly found in Stage 3, while the majority of MEDC’s (more
economically developed countries) is in Stage 4.
Overpopulation, underpopulation and optimum population
The carrying capacity of an area is defined by the relationship of population to resources and
technology.
Overpopulated areas have too little resources and technologies for the people living there. The
opposite is true for underpopulated areas. Areas with an optimum population have found a healthy
balance between the available resources/technologies and the number of inhabitants.
You can find the respective case studies at:
Case Studies
An overview of all the case studies for the CIE IGCSE Geography Syllabus. Read on to
attain full marks.
The Geography Study School
204
Online games:
http://www.classtools.net/pac/201502_PDD2Ym
http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/quizshow.php?title=Population-Quiz-1&q=1
http://www.classtools.net/widgets/quiz_2/RTHZN.htm
31 thoughts on “Population”
1. Dark Nigga
May 29, 2024 at 4:03 pm
https://igcsegeography.wordpress.com/revision-materials/population/
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Population – The Geography Study School
I am pleasured to learn this from this site.
muito obrigado a todos.
2. tahju hfbjk
May 14, 2024 at 2:00 pm
yah not so helpful stop this
3. emz
September 26, 2022 at 1:10 pm
hello! do you have notes on anti and pro natalist policies? thank you so much ! i love these notes !!
cramming before eoys HAHAHA
Carina T.
September 30, 2022 at 8:38 am
Hi emz, I have a some notes on pro and anti-natalist policies in the case studies section:
https://igcsegeography.wordpress.com/revision-materials/case-studies/. Hope this helps.
Best,
Carina
4. Lovemore Machara
September 16, 2022 at 12:23 pm
thank you so much for the notes
5. louise
May 6, 2022 at 4:01 pm
looks like a lifesaver to this new homeschool mum with a child who doesnt find geography
interesting. thanks so much!
Carina T.
May 11, 2022 at 7:35 pm
Thanks louise!
6. Jesse
March 15, 2022 at 3:41 pm
Coherent and concise notes indeed! Much more nicely summed up than in the text book in my
view.
Carina T.
March 20, 2022 at 9:13 am
Thanks, Jesse! I’m glad you’re finding these notes helpful
7. CARINA T
October 14, 2021 at 4:08 am
THANK YOU CARINA T FOR MAKING THESE RESOURCES
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Population – The Geography Study School
Carina T.
October 16, 2021 at 9:59 am
Thanks!
8. Mariam
October 13, 2021 at 2:07 pm
I really hope youre being thanked enough for putting in the time to make this. Im sitting my exam
in a few days and am finding this super helpful. Thank you again!
Carina T.
October 16, 2021 at 10:00 am
Thank you Mariam. Good luck with your exam!
9. Namhla Kgautlhe
July 1, 2021 at 11:11 pm
Don’t you have any exams questions regarding this topic
Carina T.
August 8, 2021 at 2:45 pm
Hi Namhla,
I have a lot of exam questions & answers in the past papers post in the blog section on this
page.
Another good source of exam questions is this one:
https://papers.xtremepape.rs/CAIE/IGCSE/Geography%20(0460)/
Best wishes,
Carina
10. Peter
June 3, 2021 at 4:32 pm
Do you have notes and case studies for 2021?
Carina T.
June 8, 2021 at 7:23 pm
Hi Peter,
I originally created the notes and case studies for the 2016 examinations, but much of the
content is still relevant today. If you are missing something, or would like me to update a
particular section, let me know 🙂
11. Alexiso
December 22, 2020 at 3:26 pm
What does U.N mean in the population explosion graph??
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Population – The Geography Study School
Carina T.
December 29, 2020 at 3:19 pm
Hi Alexiso,
UN is the abbreviation for the United Nations, and UN high, UN medium and UN low are
different forecasts of population growth as predicted by the UN. Hope this helps 🙂
Best regards,
Carina
Tinotenda
August 9, 2021 at 6:24 am
Thank you soo much ✨.. I really appreciate 👏 🤩i believe with tbe help of these noyes
am going to Ace my exams..
God bless 😇
Carina T.
August 9, 2021 at 7:30 pm
12. manan
Thanks Tinotenda,
Best of luck with your exams ☺
December 20, 2020 at 5:06 pm
u saved me cause I dont understand anything from my teacher neither do other students thank u
amazing notes. very helpful.
13. SIMONN
June 30, 2020 at 8:20 pm
Who else is writing in November?
14. meghane walda
June 21, 2020 at 11:34 am
these are very helpful notes. thank u so much
15. lola
December 9, 2019 at 10:59 am
amazing notes!
16. Shivani Somireddy
November 18, 2019 at 7:05 am
why cant my geo teacher be this clear TT
17. Ishi Yadav
November 17, 2018 at 2:51 am
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Population – The Geography Study School
Wow, this is honestly amazing! Thanks a ton.
18. Fish Lee
August 27, 2018 at 4:31 pm
These notes are amazing and super clear. Thanks a million!
Carina T.
August 28, 2018 at 7:31 am
Thanks a lot. I’m glad my website helpful for you. Let me know if you think there is anything I
should improve.
19. Abhijit V
April 20, 2016 at 12:14 pm
Good notes for population. I like it!
Some advice to other readers: Population is a given and mandatory question that always come. It
is advised that you are thorough with this part of the syllabus.
astonky
April 22, 2016 at 8:01 am
Exactly! All previous papers had 2 questions from any of these three topics: Population,
Migration and Settlement, so it is very useful to study these.
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