Population Flashcards
(58 cards)
What has happened to World population
over the years?
o The population rose dramatically in the 20th century
and continues today
o This rapid ‘explosion’ of population is after referred to as ‘exponential growth’, where a larger population keeps on creating an even larger population
o The population of the World is now estimated to be
over 7 billion
What is likely to happen to World population in the future?
o By 2050, it is expected that 62% of all people will live in Africa and South and East Asia.
o LEDCs still tend to have a rising population
o But it has been found that people in MEDCs are tending to have fewer babies
o In fact, despite an increase in life expectancy, some
countries have a falling population – e.g. Sweden
o The UN believe that population will peak at 10 billion in 2200 and will then start to fall.
Birth rate :
the number of babies born per year per 1000 people
Death Rate :
the number of deaths per year per 1000 of the population
Natural Increase :
the number of people added to the population (or lost) per year per 1000 people
Population Growth Rate :
o The number of people added or lost from a population each year. This also includes migration
o It is given as a percentage.
How can the way in which population has changed be modelled?
o The demographic transition model (DTM) was developed for this purpose
o It was created following studies of European countries & places such as the USA & Japan
o but it might not fit countries that are developing rapidly
today.
Stage 1:
High birth and death rates (BR and DR).
Why is BR and DR high in Stage One?
o High BR due to lack of birth control, people marry young, children needed to work
o High DR due to famine, disease, lack of clean water and
poor access to medical care
Stage 2:
High BR, but falling DR.
Why is BR high, whilst DR is falling in Stage Two?
o Same reasons for BR, due to lack of birth control, people marry young, children needed to work
o DR falls due better medicine, cleaner water, better food and sanitation.
Stage 3:
DR rate continues to fall and BR starts to fall.
Why is both BR and DR starting to fall in Stage Three?
o DR continue to fall for same reasons as stage 2, due better medicine, cleaner water, better food and sanitation.
o BR fall because fewer people are needed to work on farms. Birth control available. Women in education and marrying later
Stage 4:
Low DR and low BR
Why is BR and DR low in Stage Four?
o BR is now low due to birth control. Also, cost of children is high in MEDCs; many chose
to have less.
Stage 5:
DR low, but up slightly and BR remains low.
Why is BR low and DR low, but slightly up in Stage Five?
o DR increases a little due to ageing population
o BR falls due to lifestyle- cost of children etc.
What are the main factors that change the birth and death rates?
o Education and emancipation of women: women stay in education longer as a country develops – they marry later and have children later. Educated women know about birth control, so can limit the size of their families e.g. Kerala o Urbanisation (the increase of the population living in urban areas): Fewer people needed on farms so people migrate from rural to urban areas. Fewer children are needed in cities. o Farming: Mechanisation due to better technology = less people needed to work the land
Is the DTM still of use today?
o As has already been mentioned, it was based on developed countries, but LEDCs might not follow exactly the same pattern
o The medical discoveries have already been made that will reduce death rates, so the speed of the movement between the different stages can be reduced
greatly.
What does population ‘structure mean’?
o This is how a country’s population is made up
o It is shown using population pyramids, which plot how many males and females can be found at each age category.
o This a population pyramid; males are plotted to the left of the
central line and females to the right
o The individual bars represent the different age classes –
Why do the shapes of the pyramid differ : Stage One
o High BR and DR.
o Concave profile.
Why do the shapes of the pyramid differ : Stage Two
o BR still high, but DR falling
o Life expectancy increasing
Why do the shapes of the pyramid differ : Stage Three
o Becoming narrower at the base as BR starting to fall
o DR continues to fall.
Why do the shapes of the pyramid differ : Stage Four
o BR low and DR low.
o Narrow base
o Life expectancy increase.
