Geography Revision Notes
Mr. Kelly
Topic: Population
November 2012
Lesson Objectives
Title: Population Dynamics
 Today
1.
2.
3.
we are going to learn;
History of human population
growth
Reasons why population growth
changes
Population definitions
Thoughts on the video
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What does he predict will happen to future
population growth?
Why does he think this will happen?
What can be done to change this?
Why is the highest population growth in the
poorest countries?
What impacts does having a larger population
have on the world?
Population distribution and density

Population distribution is how people are
spread across any given area.

There are many factors that affect population
distribution such as physical and human
factors such as climate, access to jobs, good
natural resources and flat low lying land.
Population Density

Population density is the number of people
per square kilometre (km²). Examples
1.
2.
3.
Europe 51 people per km²
Australia 2 people per km²
Singapore 7,148 people per km²
High Population Density
Website about Japanhttp://www.international.ucla.edu/eas/japan/geography/density1.htm
Low Population Density
Note!
Be able to locate countries on a map which
have a high and low population density
 Be able to explain why these areas have a low
or high population density
 Be able to discuss the problems of low and
high population density

Important Population Definitions







Birth rate- The average number of births per 1,000 people
Death rate- The average number of deaths per 1,000 people
Life expectancy- The average age you are expected to live in
the country you were born in
Infant mortality- Is the average number of children per 1,000
born alive but die before the age of one.
Natural Increase- When the birth rate is more than the death
rate
Natural decrease- When the death rate is more than the birth
rate
Optimal population- When there is a good population level
for the natural resources and land of an area
Important definitions
1.
Dependents are those who rely upon others
of working age, e.g. children and old people
2.
Economically active are those people who
work to receive money, normally people who
pay taxes and are between 18-70
Census
Demographic information about a country is
collected normally every 5 or10 years by using
a census.
 A census is a national record that collects
information about everyone in the country
during the time of the census. Examples of
information collected are; age, gender,
education, illnesses and commuter habits.

Key point about population
How to calculate the natural population growth
rate of a country.
 Subtract the death rate from the birth rate and
this will give you the population growth rate per
1,000.
 E.g. Malta
 Birth rate= 10.3
 Death rate= 8.3
 Therefore population growth is 2.0 per 1000
people.

Demographic Transition Model
Now we will examine the key stages of the
Demographic Transition Model (DTM)
 http://www.ngflcymru.org.uk/vtc/demographic_trans/eng/Intro
duction/default.htm

Demographic Transition Model (DTM)

This shows how changes in birth and death
rates can affect population growth

These five stages are linked to economic
growth which means normally you can
determine the population of a country
depending on the economic growth of that
country.
Important things to consider
What does the DTM not take into account?
 Migration

Immigration- People moving INTO a country
 Emigration- People moving OUT of a country


Time

LEDC’s are developing faster so the time period
between each stage may be shorter
Important!

Remember if you are talking about a country
be able to say what stage of the DTM it is in.
Test

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What stage of the DTM are the following
countries in and why?
UAE
USA
Kenya
Brazil
Japan
Homework
1.
Answer questions 3,4+5 on P. 16 of “The
New Wider World workbook”.
2.
Answer question 1c on P. 133 of “New Key
Geography”
Census
Demographic information about a country is
collected normally every 5 or10 years by using
a census.
 A census is a national record that collects
information about everyone in the country
during the time of the census. Examples of
information collected are; age, gender,
education, illnesses and commuter habits.

Important definitions
1.
2.
3.
4.
Life Expectancy is the average number of
years a person can expect to live
Infant mortality is the average number of
children per 1,000 born alive, who die before
the age of one year
Dependents are those who rely upon others
of working age
Economically active are those people who
work to receive money
Population Pyramids
Continued….

1.
2.
3.
4.
Population Pyramids show;
The population of a country or region
divided into five year age groups.
The percentage of the total population in
each of these age groups
The percentage of males and females in each
age group
Changes in birth and death rate for each age
group
5.
6.
7.
Life expectancy and infant mortality
The proportion of elderly and young people
who are dependent on those of a working
age- “The economically active group”
The effects of people migrating into and out
of a country
Recap!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Population density
Population distribution
Factors that affect population distribution
(positive and negative)
Areas which are sparsely population and
areas which are densely populated
Population growth throughout history
Population change
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.

Demographic transition model
Understanding and explaining the
demographic transition model
Population definitions
Census
What population pyramids show
Please go back over your work or ask me at
the end of class if you are still unsure of any
of these points!
Examples of Population Pyramids
Guess the country
Homework
Draw diagram A p. 8
 Answer questions 1-9 on p. 16

Important points to consider

1.
2.
Taken from the US Census Bureau!
Look beyond census numbers in order to
decipher problems in data collection. This
involves knowing the history of a country and
examining the extent to which past events
have affected the population structure.
The effects of war in 1963 on males ages 2024, might be apparent in a 2013 population,
among males ages 70-74, for example.

In many Persian Gulf States, for example, a
large proportion of the labour force consists
of
international
migrants,
who
are
predominantly male. Because of this particular
feature in Persian Gulf countries, the base
population age-sex structures for these
countries necessarily include a large maledominant working-age population.
A good geographer would see
this graph and be able to
analyse this by breaking down
the key points of this graph.
ALWAYS look for possible
reasons and back up why you
think this is so
Examples of Population Pyramids
Changing Population

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sc4HxPxNr
Z0
Changing Population Structures
Too many young people





Need more schools
Need more food resources
for growing population
Better health care for the
youth
Need more recreational
facilities, parks, cinemas,
sports facilities
Better shopping facilities
Too many old people




Better health care needed
for elderly
Need more retirement
homes
Need to ensure there is
enough economically active
people to look after the
dependents.
Need more social services
for the old people.
Population
Overpopulation
 Under population
 Optimum population

Overpopulation
If the number of people living in an area is
greater than the resources available to
support that population, it is overpopulated.
E.g. Nigeria in Africa
 Picture

Problems of overpopulation
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Not enough housing
Increased water and air pollution
Shortage of food and water
High crime rates
Not enough health care and education
Increased traffic
Under population

If the number of people living in an area is less
than is needed to make full use of the
resources available then that area can be
described as under populated.
E.g. Australia has many resources but it is not
using them fully.
Problems of under population
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Low birth rate
Not enough workers to support the growing
economy
Need to invite people from other countries to help
develop the economy. E.g. Australia taking in skilled
people from Ireland
Less exports as products are not made due to lack
of work force
Not enough economically active people to support
the dependents.
Homework
1.
2.
Describe some of the impacts of an
increasing world population and draw
diagram E page 11.
Explain how population pyramids can help to
plan to the future
Optimum Population

This is where there is an adequate supply of
resources to meet the needs of the
population. E.g Germany.
China’s one child policy
The Chinese government realised in the
1970’s that it was facing a serious issue of over
population.
 In 1979 to try to combat this they introduced
population control measures.
 The main policy introduced was the one child
policy which limited one child per family.

Main points of policy
1.
2.
3.
4.
Couples had to seek permission before
marrying and had to seek permission again
before having a child
Those who followed the policy were given
free education, priority housing and family
benefits
Those who did not follow the policy were
not given any benefits and were fined heavily.
Women who became pregnant a second time
were forced to have an abortion.
Successes of the policy
By the late 1990’s China estimated that its
population is 230 million less because of the
‘one child policy’. The birth rate decreased
dramatically from 31 births per 1000 to 19
births per 1000.
 This has helped to address the severe issues
of overpopulation as mentioned previously.

Modern changes in the policy

However, as mentioned in previous classes
every action has a consequence and as
geographers it is your job to both notice and
comment on these consequences.
Consequences of the one child policy
The desire for a boy is part of Chinese culture
so as a result of the one child policy boys
were preferred over girls.
 The male population increased as a result of
more
boys,
the
female
population
consequently decreased as girls were often
abandoned, killed or sold to baby-traffickers.
 Think about this action on the present day
population!



1.
2.
3.
Today there is a clear imbalance between the genders
as there are more males than females in the 20-35
age group.
To help address this the Chinese government
changed the policy.
Allowing all families in rural areas to have two
children
Offering women a wider choice in methods of
contraception
Allowing the option of voluntary family planning in
300 trial districts.
IGCSE Question

For a country that you have studied, describe
policies used by the government to reduce
rates of population growth.
China’s ageing population
An ageing population means that the
population is getting older with more and
more old people. What would this look like in
a population pyramid?
 This is because the life expectancy of China is
increasing.
 Life expectancy was 40 years old in 1950 it is
now over 80 years old
 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/theworld-factbook/rankorder/2102rank.html

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
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
As the population is getting older this means there will be a
large amount of elderly dependents.
This has problems because;
Need money for pensions as there is none set aside
strain on working population/higher taxation;
need for more money to be spent on care homes/health,
more doctors, nurses and medicines needed for old people
care/facilities for elderly, etc.;
not enough workers for key positions;
difficult to defend country;
need to attract foreign workers;
services for young under utilised/uneconomical, etc.
Old age dependency ratio
This is the measure of the number of retired
people per 100 people in the economically
active group.
 Eg. 20 old people per 100 working people is
good
 40 old people per 100 working people is bad
as this means that the working people have to
take care of more elderly people.

Russia’s birth incentives
Russia’s population is in decline, each year the
population is falling by about 700,000.
 This is threatening economic growth as there
will soon not be enough people who are
economically active
to
support
the
dependents of the country.
 To address this, Russian President Vladimir
Putin offered birth incentives.

Russia’s birth incentive policies
1.
2.
3.
4.
Women with large families had the title “hero
mother” and were given medals and
expensive gifts.
Monthly child support payments were
doubled for the first child
Having a second baby received a bonus
payment.
The state will give women who give up work
to have a baby 40% of what they used to
earn.
Homework
1.
2.
3.
4.
Complete population pyramid worksheet
China’s one child policy has been highly debated,
discuss some of the present day problems that
China would experience if this policy wasn’t
introduced.
Is money the only way to increase population? Think
of why money might not be successful in
encouraging women to have children.
Why is it important to have a balanced population
of
gender
and
age?
(Min half page answer)
Summary
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Population distribution 
Population density 
Factors that affect population density and distribution 
Population growth throughout history and the future population trends

Natural increase 
Birth rate 
Death rate 
Infant mortality 
Life expectancy 
Dependents 
Economically active 
The demographic transition model and each of the 5 stages 
Continued
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
Population pyramids 
Changing population structures 
Population trends 
Problems of old/young population 
Problems of under/over population 
China’s one child policy 
China’s ageing population 
Old age dependency ratio 
Russia’s birth incentives 
IGCSE Questions

Revise population questions from past exam
papers.

Be aware that questions change every year but
you know the basic information you just have
to adopt it to be a good geographer and
answer the question to the best of your ability
using all the information I taught you.