Population

Explosion

The worlds population is growing EXPONENTIALLY.

This means that the growth rate has become increasingly rapid.

Population Growth
Exponential growth produces a
line that becomes steeper over
time, taking the shape of a J

Today population growth rates

are slowing down, so the
shape of the graph is levelling
off into an S curve.

The population grows if

the birth rate is higher
than the death rate =
NATURAL INCREASE
BIRTH RATE The number of births
per thousand
per year

The population declines if

the death rate is higher
than the birth rate =
NATURAL DECREASE

DEATH RATE
The number of deaths
per thousand
per year

High birth rate - many children

needed to help with farming. No
family planning.

Stage 1

High death rate disease, famine,

little medical knowledge
Example remote groups e.g.
Amazon Indians

High birth rate - many children

needed to help with farming. No
family planning.
Total rising steadily

Falling death rate improvements

in medical care, water supply and
sanitation

Stage 2

Example Afghanistan

Stage 3

Falling birth rate - improved medical

care and diet. Fewer children dying so
fewer needed.
Total rising steadily

Example Brazil

Slowly falling death rate

improvements in medical care,
water supply and sanitation

Stage 4

Example UK, USA

Low birth rate - family planning,

good health, later marriages

Growth rate
Slowing down

Low death rate good healthcare,

Reliable food and water supply

Stage 5

Birth rate is now below

Death rate so the population
is decreasing in total
Population
declining

Natural
decrease

Example Germany, France,

Japan

Death rate steady

good healthcare, reliable food
and water supply

Population structure is
the % of the population in
each age category.

The population structure

of a country is shown by
a population pyramid.

A population pyramid
shows the proportion of
males and females in
each age group.

A census is a count of the

population. In the UK this
takes place every 10 years.

The population pyramid

of an LEDC is typically
a triangular shape.
- The STRUCTURE of the population shown by this
pyramid has:

Few elderly people

A large number of
children and young
people

- The REASONS for the population STRUCTURE

shown below are:

Low life
expectancy

High birth
rate

High death
rate

High infant
mortality rate

The STRUCTURE of the population shown by this

pyramid has:

More elderly
women than men

Many elderly
people

Few children and

young people

The population
pyramid of an
MEDC has a
more
rectangular
shape

- The REASONS for the population STRUCTURE

shown below are:

Long life
expectancy

Low birth rate

Low death
rate

How does each of these factors affect population growth?

Achieving highly in any career demands a large time

commitment, leaving less opportunity for taking maternity
leave or caring for children. Some women make deliberate
choices regarding not having children or having them later,
and these increase as an economy develops.

People migrate from countryside

to towns for jobs & better
education opportunities. Child
labour of less value

Improved technology
improves yields &
saves labour

Agricultural
change

Urbanisation

Workers freed up to
work in industry
migrated to towns

Factors affecting
population growth

Education improves
standard of living

More women
participate in paid
work

Education
Children
become an
economic
disadvantage.

Fewer children
mean more
opportunities for
each one.

As a country
develops &
education improves,
opportunities for
girls increase.

Emancipation of
women

Working women have

less opportunity for
having children Some career

women choose
not to have
children

Larger
families
become
uncommon

LEDCs

For many countries the rate of population growth

is crippling and presents many problems resulting
in low living standards and poverty.

A population policy is a government

strategy for reducing birth rate.
There are variations in the strength
of population policies between
countries.

Arrange the population policies

opposite into order from
weakest
strongest

A - Free contraceptives
B - No policy e.g. Saudi Arabia
C - Sterilisation may be
compulsory
D - Some family planning &
education
E - Strict policy supported by
punishment e.g. China
F - Money and other rewards
for small families

A sustainable population is one whose growth and development is

at a rate that does not threaten the success of future generations.

Why did China need to introduce this policy?

When was it introduced?
What are the key elements of the policy?
How is it enforced?
What are the problems and benefits of the policy?

What changes have been made to the policy in the 1990s and
2000s?

If you have only one child you get:

Free education for that child
Family allowances
Priority housing
Pension benefits
Women must be 20 before they marry and
men 22. Couple have to ask permission to
have their one child.

If you have two children you get:

No free education
No allowances
No pension benefits
You also have to pay a fine

Shanghai family planning officials will provide counselling and

advice to people who want to have a second child.

Changes to Chinas One Child Policy

in the 1990s and 2000s
Young couples who are both only children are allowed two
children, but government workers must set an example and stick
at one.
With increasing wealth more people are able to break the rules,
pay the fine and take the other consequences of having a second
child.

There are some exemptions for rural communities where more

help is needed on the farms, and ethnic minority groups to
ensure the ethnic group continues.

27 / 7 / 2009

Kerala has achieved a very low birth

rate due to its high priority on education.
Both boys and girls are educated well.

Many girls go on to study at university

With a good education women can
get better jobs with higher wages
and dont need to have a lot of children
to help earn money for the family.
Education leads to better knowledge of
diet and healthcare so fewer children die.
Working women also have less time to
have children and look after them.

High cost of medical care,

free prescriptions,
eye tests etc.

Cost of free bus

passes, TV licences
etc.

Fewer people working

and paying taxes

Hospital beds blocked by

many elderly people

Not enough younger

working people to do
the jobs required

More elderly people with a vote

in elections. The government need
to take account of their needs.

People must work

longer and retire
later

People must pay

higher taxes to cover the
cost of extra pensions

Encourage a
higher birth rate to
increase the counties
population

Immigrant workers needed to

fill the gap in the labour force

Advertising e.g.
The Shetland Isles

Accepting
immigrants

How to
increase a
countries
population

Tax incentives

3 year job protection

for mothers

High family
allowances

Ban
contraceptives

Crches at place
of work

Awards for
super mums
e.g. in France

The problems of an
ageing population are
similar in both the UK
and Sweden, BUT their
strategies to cope with
an ageing population
are very different.

PROBLEMS:
HEALTH AND FITNESS an ageing population leads to an increase in
degenerative diseases such as cancer, heart disease, arthritis and
dementia.
HOUSING - many elderly people have specific housing needs, such as
homes without stairs or wider doorways to accommodate wheelchairs.
INCREASING CARE NEEDS - most elderly people need increasing levels
of care over time. They may eventually move into sheltered
accommodation or nursing homes.
PENSIONS - as more and more people live longer lives, they will claim
their state pensions and other benefits for longer.
FEWER WORKERS - as the UKs population continues to age there will
be a smaller and smaller working population and a larger dependent one.
These problems will eventually affect the countrys economy and its future
development. Less income tax from a smaller working population will reduce
its ability to pay for the increasing demands of healthcare, pensions etc.

Strategies in the UK to cope with an ageing

population
In 2009 the British government launched a strategy called Building
A Society For All Ages. Its intention was to help the UK to adapt to
its ageing population. The strategy covered 6 key areas.
Ideas within the strategy include:

Offer free NHS health checks from 40 70 to encourage people to

maintain and improve their health and fitness.
Provide financial help for grandparents who care for grandchildren.
Review the age at which people retire.
Provide extra winter fuel payments.
Working with developers and architects to build
homes suitable for older people e.g. with doorways
wide enough for wheelchairs.

Strategies in Sweden to cope with an ageing

population
Another way of coping with an ageing population is to encourage
people to have more children. This will eventually change the countrys
population structure, increase the working population, and increase the
countrys ability to pay for pensions etc.

Sweden has adopted this approach, which is called PRO-NATALIST.

The Swedish government has introduced a range of benefits to encourage
couples to have more children.

13 months paid paternity leave for fathers at 80% of

their salary.
Extra money for couples if there is less than a 30 month
gap between children.
Child benefit is paid for each child.
Sick child care - 120 paid days per child per year.
All day childcare and all-day schools for all.

When did migration from eastern Europe begin?

Who migrates?
What type of work do they do?
What benefits do the eastern Europeans bring to the UK?
What problems are created?
What is likely to happen in the future?

Where do the European migrants to the UK come

from?

Problems for the

losing country

Problems for the

receiving country

Loses people of working

age

Migrants often live in low

quality, overcrowded areas

Loses most educated

people

May not be enough jobs for

the local population

Families are split up

Migrants tend not to integrate

leading to racial tension

An elderly population
left behind

Language difficulties
Migrants put a strain
on resources e.g.
schools and health care

Advantages for the

losing country

Reduces pressure
on jobs
Loses people of
child bearing age
so the birth rate
declines

Advantages for the

receiving country

Overcomes job
shortages
Migrants prepared
to do dirty, unskilled
jobs
Cultural benefits e.g.
Indian restaurants and
The Notting Hill Carnival
Could increase the
number of skilled
workers e.g. doctors

Refugee are people who

are forced to leave their
country in fear of their lives
e.g. through war or a natural
disaster.

Most refugees are made to flee their

homes by human or political rather
than by natural causes.

POLITICAL
religious, political
or racial persecution
civil war

NATURAL
environmental disasters
such as floods, drought,
earthquakes and
volcanic eruptions.

Natural cause - Montserrat 1997

Human / political factors - February 2003

Asylum seekers are .

1/3 of immigrants
into the EU claim
to be a asylum
seekers

Some economic
migrants have claimed to
be asylum seekers
believing this would give
them a better chance of
staying in the EU.

...... people who are at risk if they stay in their own country.
They become refugees when they settle in another country.

Today, the wars in Iraq

and Afghanistan in which
EU forces are involved,
provide most asylum
claims.

Afghanistan September 2001 - Human / political factors

Refugees cling to an overcrowded truck as

they arrive at a refugee camp in Pakistan

2 million Iraqis have left

their country, some for
neighbouring countries,
some for the EU

Sweden is
particularly
generous to
asylum seekers.
By 2007, 70,000
Iraqis lived there

Iraqis are the

largest group
currently
seeking refuge
in the EU

The Netherlands,
Germany, Greece,
Belgium and the
UK have given
homes to another
70,000