Population change

Question 1

How do you work out population density?

Answer 1

area

Question 2

What has happened to the population of the world since 1804?

Answer 2

• 1804: 1 billion
• 1804 - 1922: 2 billion (steady increase)
• 1922 - 2013: the population increased rapidly to 7 billion around 2011 with a rate of population growth of 15 years per billion and 12 years per billion around the 5 - 7 billion marker

Question 3

In 1804 the population was 1 billion. How long did it take to reach 2 billion?

Answer 3

118 years from 1804 to 1922

Question 4

When was the rate of population growth at its highest?

Answer 4

During 1974 to 1987 and 1999 to 2011 - population growth rate was 12 years per billion

Question 5

What is happening to global population growth now? (UK)

Answer 5

• in the UK, birth rates have increased since 2000 which has caused the population to surge past 60 million
• however, the population growth rate is beginning to decrease from 12 - 14 years so it will slow down
• expect a peak globally of over 9 billion

Question 6

What does zero population growth mean?

Answer 6

when natural change and migration change cancel each other out, and there is no change in the total population

Question 7

When do people say a zero population growth may occur?

Answer 7

some say as early as 2020s but more likely to be around 2060s

Question 8

What do forecasters expect the peak global population to be?

Answer 8

around 9 billion

Question 9

Why are population predictions difficult to make?

Answer 9

there are often surprise changes e.g. population growth in LICs decreased to lower than expected in 1990s and we don’t know about diseases, governmental laws and natural disaster etc

Question 10

What does population distribution mean?

Answer 10

where people are located

Question 11

What does population density mean? How is it measured normally?

Answer 11

the number of people per unit of area

i.e. per km2 or per hectare

Question 12

What does densely populated mean?

Answer 12

there are a lot of people living in close proximity to each other per km2 e.g. India

Question 13

What is an example of a densely populated country/place?

Answer 13

Asia and Europe

over 75 persons per km2 (in some places such as UK and India there are up to 300 persons per km2)

Question 14

What are examples of sparsely populated countries/places?

Answer 14

Canada, Greenland, Russia, Australia and parts of Africa (with less than 10 persons per km2)

Question 15

Is the UK densely or sparsely populated - why?

Answer 15

Densely

• good economic situation (with job opportunities)
• secure food/energy/water supply
• democratic government
• temperate climate

Question 16

Describe the pattern of global population distribution?

Answer 16

• areas of highest population distribution are around the borders of continents e.g. South America, Africa
• areas of highest population distribution are Europe i.e. the UK and India and Japan
• areas of lowest population distribution are areas very far north/south such as Canada, Greenland and Australia

Question 17

Describe the pattern of global population density?

Answer 17

• areas of highest population density are Europe and parts of Asia where countries such as the UK and India have densities of over 300 persons per km2
• areas of lowest population density are places such as Russia and Australia with less than 10 persons per km2
• areas in the middle are parts of north and south America with around 25 -75 persons per km2

Question 18

What is birth rate?

Answer 18

the number of births in a country in a year per thousand population

Question 19

What is death rate?

Answer 19

the number of deaths in a country in a year per thousand population

Question 20

What is natural change?

Answer 20

birth rate - death rate

the change in size of a population caused by the relationship between birth and death rates

Question 21

What factors may cause changes to the rate of natural increase?

Answer 21

• baby booms
• disease (epidemics)
• healthcare
• sanitation/hygiene
• war e.g. WWII
• economy
• access to resources e.g. food/water/raw materials

Question 22

What is migration?

Answer 22

the movement of people into and out of an area or country
immigrants = people coming in
emmigrants = people going out

Question 23

What is a country with a great population change and a country with a low population change?

Answer 23

Kuwait + 75.9%

Germany - 3.2%

Question 24

How has the population of the Uk changed between 1990 to 2000?

Answer 24

increased by 0 - 10% which is much less than that of the highest ranking countries

Question 25

What is the overall pattern of population change?

Answer 25

- below the equator there is the largest population gain and to the north, the least - Africa has the most gaining countries whereas North America and Europe has the least gaining or even losing countries

Question 26

What are some of the reasons for a population decline? e.g. Germany

Answer 26

Low birth rate) due to... - not enough day care centres - workplace conditions don't work for working mothers - traditional views of mother staying at home to look after children otherwise looked down on by society - not encouraging - smaller families with a higher standard of living etc Ageing population - less people in workforce and more are older and retired (greater need for more births)

Question 27

What are some environmental factors affecting population?

Answer 27

Encourage: - coal fields - oil fields - selected alluvial lowland Discourage: - desert - major fold mountain - rain forest

Question 28

CASE STUDY: | Describe and explain the population distribution of the UK

Answer 28

Describe) - most sparsely populated areas are Highlands/Islands of Scotland, uplands of North Ireland, Wales and the north of England - 2 areas of high population density: south-east England and the other to the north-west (main concentrations of urban population) Explain) - key factor is historical - all cases of high population distribution except London coincide with coal fields which used to be main energy source for industry - despite deindustrialisation these areas still retain large populations making their living in the tertiary sector

Question 29

CASE STUDY continued: | Describe and explain the population distribution of China with reference to precipitation and relief

Answer 29

Relief: - eastern belt of high population densities roughly coincides with the main lowland areas which probably have the best soils too - high mountains (over 5000m) may explain low population densities elsewhere Precipitation: - eastern belt coincides this time with highest rainfall (over 50cm per year) - the rest of the country with low population densities appears to be an area of low precipitation - given the high mountains, the precipitation is probably in the form of snow so population distribution in China is strongly influenced in a positive way by lower land and adequate rainfall, and in a negative way by mountains and drought Population: - concentrated in eastern half of the country (densities everywhere greater than 25 persons per km2 and in places exceeding 1000 persons) - very sparsely populated belt to the west, where densities are less than 5 persons per km2 - north-west there is another belt where population densities are between 25 and 250 persons per km2 (other factors: coast for major ports at the centre of industry, attracting people e.g. Shanghai)

Question 30

What are natural factors influencing why someone may live in a particular place?

Answer 30

- physical) relief (slopes), rivers, climate (precipitation, temperatures) - biological) soils, vegetation

Question 31

What are human factors influencing why someone may live in a particular place?

Answer 31

- economic) minerals, energy, industry, services - social) type of community (urban or rural) - technological) ability to exploit resources - political) governments may try to change the distribution

Question 32

What are historical factors influencing why someone may live in a particular place?

Answer 32

- the present distribution of population is something that has gradually evolved over many centuries - factors that are no longer significant may have had an impact that still lingers on in the present distribution e.g. defensive settlement built on hill, spring lines replaced by pipes

Question 33

What is carrying capacity?

Answer 33

The maximum number of people that can be supported by the resources and technology of a given area. So this particularly affects population density. The greater the carrying capacity, the higher the population density will be

Question 34

What are the positive and negative factors affecting where someone can live?

Answer 34

Positive: - pleasant climate - good soils - job opportunities - good farming - water supply - flat land - raw materials Negative: - very cold - steep slopes - dense forest - low land - very hot - few jobs - unreliable water supply - few raw materials