Changing population: natural increase, structure and migration

Question 1

What is natural increase in population studies?

Answer 1

Natural increase is the rate at which a population grows or declines when only births and deaths are considered; it equals the crude birth rate minus the crude death rate and is expressed per 1,000 people or as a percentage.

Question 2

How do you calculate natural increase percentage?

Answer 2

Subtract the crude death rate (per 1,000) from the crude birth rate, divide the result by 10 to convert to a percentage (e.g., (30‑10)/10 = 2 % annual growth).

Question 3

Define crude birth rate (CBR).

Answer 3

The crude birth rate is the number of live births occurring among the population of an area during a year, per 1,000 inhabitants.

Question 4

Define crude death rate (CDR).

Answer 4

The crude death rate is the number of deaths occurring among the population of an area during a year, per 1,000 inhabitants.

Question 5

What does the ‘Rule of 70’ estimate?

Answer 5

The Rule of 70 estimates the doubling time of a growing population or economy by dividing 70 by the annual percentage growth rate.

Question 6

What is Total Fertility Rate (TFR)?

Answer 6

TFR is the average number of children a woman would bear during her lifetime if age‑specific fertility rates remain constant.

Question 7

Describe Stage 1 of the Demographic Transition Model (DTM).

Answer 7

Both birth and death rates are high, population growth is negligible, and societies are largely agrarian and pre‑industrial.

Question 8

Describe Stage 2 of the DTM.

Answer 8

Death rates fall sharply due to improved hygiene and medicine while birth rates remain high, causing a population explosion.

Question 9

Describe Stage 3 of the DTM.

Answer 9

Birth rates begin to decline as societies urbanize and women gain access to education and contraception; growth slows.

Question 10

Describe Stage 4 of the DTM.

Answer 10

Birth and death rates are both low and roughly equal; population size stabilises at a high level.

Question 11

What is a proposed Stage 5 of the DTM?

Answer 11

Very low birth rates drop below death rates, leading to natural decrease and ageing populations (e.g., Japan, Italy).

Question 12

Define population momentum.

Answer 12

Population momentum is continued population growth that occurs even after fertility falls to replacement level, due to a large base of young people.

Question 13

What is a population pyramid?

Answer 13

A bar graph that shows the age‑sex structure of a population, with males on the left and females on the right, in 5‑year age cohorts.

Question 14

What does a wide‑based population pyramid indicate?

Answer 14

High fertility and a youthful population typical of rapidly growing (Stage 2) societies.

Question 15

What does an inverted population pyramid indicate?

Answer 15

Low fertility, an ageing population, and potential population decline.

Question 16

Define dependency ratio.

Answer 16

The ratio of dependents (people under 15 and over 64) to the working‑age population (15‑64); a measure of economic burden.

Question 17

Differentiate youth‑dependency and old‑age‑dependency ratios.

Answer 17

Youth dependency is the share of <15 relative to working age; old‑age dependency is the share of ≥65 relative to working age.

Question 18

What is urbanization?

Answer 18

The increasing proportion of a population living in urban areas and the accompanying growth of cities.

Question 19

Give the UN projection for global urbanization by 2050.

Answer 19

The UN projects about 68 % of the world’s population will live in urban areas by 2050.

Question 20

Define internal migration.

Answer 20

Movement of people within a country’s borders, such as rural‑to‑urban migration.

Question 21

Define international migration.

Answer 21

Movement of people across country borders for residence, work, study, asylum, or family reunion.

Question 22

What are push factors in migration?

Answer 22

Conditions that drive people to leave their place of origin, such as unemployment, conflict, or environmental disasters.

Question 23

What are pull factors in migration?

Answer 23

Attractions drawing migrants to a destination, such as jobs, safety, or better services.

Question 24

Define refugee.

Answer 24

A person who has fled their country owing to a well‑founded fear of persecution and is protected under international law.

Question 25

Define asylum seeker.

Answer 25

Someone who has applied for protection as a refugee but whose claim has not yet been decided.

Question 26

What are remittances?

Answer 26

Money that migrants send back to relatives or communities in their country of origin, often a major source of foreign income.

Question 27

Give an example of a remittance‑dependent country.

Answer 27

In Nepal, remittances amounted to over 20 % of GDP in 2022.

Question 28

Explain brain drain.

Answer 28

The emigration of skilled or educated individuals from their home country, potentially reducing human capital there.

Question 29

Explain diaspora.

Answer 29

A scattered population whose origin lies in a separate geographic locale, often maintaining connections with the homeland.

Question 30

What is a megacity?

Answer 30

An urban area with 10 million or more inhabitants.

Question 31

Provide an example of rapid rural‑urban migration.

Answer 31

Since the 1980s, hundreds of millions of Chinese have moved from countryside to cities like Shenzhen.

Question 32

What is population ageing?

Answer 32

An increase in the median age of a population due to declining fertility and rising life expectancy.

Question 33

How can immigration alleviate ageing?

Answer 33

Immigration can add younger workers to the labour force, supporting pensions and services for the elderly.

Question 34

Define total dependency ratio formula.

Answer 34

((population 0‑14) + (population 65+)) ÷ (population 15‑64) × 100.

Question 35

What is a demographic dividend?

Answer 35

Economic growth potential arising from a favourable age structure when the share of working‑age people peaks.

Question 36

Which region experienced a demographic dividend in the late 20th C?

Answer 36

East Asia’s ‘Tiger’ economies harnessed a large, educated workforce to boost growth.

Question 37

What is fertility replacement level?

Answer 37

Roughly 2.1 children per woman in developed countries, slightly higher where infant mortality is greater.

Question 38

Define infant mortality rate (IMR).

Answer 38

Number of deaths of infants under one year per 1,000 live births in a given year.

Question 39

How does improved sanitation affect IMR?

Answer 39

Clean water and sewage systems reduce infectious disease, lowering infant mortality and overall death rates.

Question 40

What is life expectancy at birth?

Answer 40

Average number of years a newborn is expected to live under current mortality conditions.

Question 41

Give current global life expectancy.

Answer 41

About 72–73 years according to recent UN estimates.

Question 42

What is net migration rate?

Answer 42

Difference between immigrants and emigrants per 1,000 inhabitants in a year.

Question 43

What is population density?

Answer 43

Number of people per unit of land area, usually per square kilometre.

Question 44

Describe forced migration.

Answer 44

Involuntary movement due to conflict, persecution, or disasters, producing refugees or internally displaced persons.

Question 45

What major conflict produced over 6 million refugees after 2011?

Answer 45

The Syrian Civil War.

Question 46

What is climate migration?

Answer 46

Population movement driven primarily by the impacts of climate change such as sea‑level rise or extreme weather.

Question 47

Give an example of a pro‑natalist policy.

Answer 47

France offers parental benefits and tax incentives to encourage larger families.

Question 48

Give an example of an anti‑natalist policy.

Answer 48

China’s One‑Child Policy (1979‑2015) restricted most couples to one child.

Question 49

What unintended effect did China’s One‑Child Policy create?

Answer 49

A skewed sex ratio and a rapidly ageing population.

Question 50

Define urban primacy.

Answer 50

A condition where the largest city of a country is disproportionately larger than the next largest, concentrating resources and power.

Question 51

What is a primate city example?

Answer 51

Bangkok dominates Thailand’s urban hierarchy.

Question 52

Explain rural push factors in the context of mechanization.

Answer 52

Farm mechanization reduces labour demand, pushing surplus rural workers toward cities.

Question 53

What is the HDI component related to population health?

Answer 53

Life expectancy at birth serves as the health dimension in the Human Development Index.

Question 54

How does education influence fertility?

Answer 54

Higher female education levels correlate with delayed marriage and lower fertility rates.

Question 55

Define net reproduction rate (NRR).

Answer 55

Average number of daughters a woman would have, taking into account mortality; NRR = 1 indicates replacement.

Question 56

What is carrying capacity in human geography?

Answer 56

Maximum population size an environment can sustain indefinitely without degrading resources.

Question 57

Describe population policy incentives.

Answer 57

Governments may offer cash bonuses, tax breaks, or housing to influence fertility or migration decisions.

Question 58

What is the difference between emigrant and immigrant?

Answer 58

An emigrant leaves a country, while an immigrant enters a new country.

Question 59

Define asylum.

Answer 59

Legal protection granted by a state to a foreign citizen fearing persecution at home.

Question 60

What is an internally displaced person (IDP)?

Answer 60

Someone forced to flee home but who remains within their country’s borders.

Question 61

Explain the term ‘population density gradient’.

Answer 61

Variation in population density between urban cores and surrounding rural areas.

Question 62

What is chain migration?

Answer 62

Process where migrants from a town follow others to a particular destination, creating community links.

Question 63

Define guest worker.

Answer 63

A foreign labourer temporarily residing and working in a host country, often under specific visa programmes.

Question 64

What is a remittance corridor?

Answer 64

A common route and pairing of origin and destination countries between which remittances flow (e.g., Mexico‑USA).

Question 65

How can high youth dependency strain resources?

Answer 65

Governments must fund extensive education and healthcare for children, limiting spending elsewhere.

Question 66

What is suburbanization?

Answer 66

The outward expansion of population and housing from central cities into surrounding suburbs.

Question 67

Define overpopulation.

Answer 67

A condition where the number of people exceeds the carrying capacity of the environment to sustain them at a decent standard of living.

Question 68

What is underpopulation?

Answer 68

A situation where a sparsely populated area lacks enough people to make full use of resources and infrastructure.

Question 69

Explain return migration.

Answer 69

Migrants moving back to their place of origin after a period abroad or in another region.