POPULATION CHANGE GCSE AQA GEOGRAPHY

UNIT 2A-Population Change

Population Growth & Structure

The world’s population is growing at an exponential rate (faster and faster).

Two things affect the world’s population:

·         Birth rate: The number of live babies born per thousand of the population per year.

o   When this is higher than the death rate, more people are being born than dying. This is natural increase.

·         Death rate: The number of deaths per thousand of the population per year.

o   When this is higher than the birth rate, more people are dying than being born. This is natural decrease.

·         The population size of a country is also affected by migration (the movement of people from one area to another).

The Demographic Transition Model: (SEE PAGE 76 CGP)

Poorer and less developed countries are in the earlier stages of the DTM, whilst richer and more developed countries are at the later stages of the DTM.

The population structure of a country is how many people are in each age group and how many of them there are of each sex. It is shown by population pyramids.

(SEE REASONS PAGE 77 CGP)

Managing Rapid Population Growth

Impacts of Rapid Population Growth

·         SOCIAL

o   Services like healthcare and education can’t cope with the rapid increase in population, so not everybody can have access to them.

o   Children have to work to help support their large families, so they miss out on education.

o   There are not enough houses for everybody so people are forced to live in makeshift houses in overcrowded settlements. à Leads to health problems because the houses are not always connected to sewers or they don’t have access to safe water.

o   There are food shortages if the country can’t grow or import enough food for the population.

·         ECONOMIC

o   There are not enough jobs for the number of people in the country so unemployment increases.

o   Increased poverty because many people are born into families that are already poor.

·         POLITICAL

o   Most of the population is made up of young people so the government focuses upon policies that are important to young people e.g. education and healthcare.

o   Fewer older people so the government doesn’t have to focus upon policies such as pensions.

o   The government has to make policies to bring population growth under control, so the social and economic impacts of rapid population growth don’t get any worse.

There are different strategies to control population growth and keep…