Population

Question 1

Why is increasing population a cause for concern?

Answer 1

This will result in overpopulation - an economic condition in which there are too many people and too few resources.

The demand for food, water and energy is increasing, and techonology & productivity may not increase rapidly enough to satisfy demand.

Question 2

Define

dependent population

Answer 2

That part of a population that is economically inactive (not in paid employment) and therefore relies on others to produce the goods and services it consumes.

This includes the very young, schoolchildren, students, housewives and old-age pensioners.

Question 3

Define

dependency ratio

Answer 3

A measure that contrasts the number of people in the dependent population of a country with the working population in the same country.

dependency ratio = dependent population / working population

The higher the dependency ratio, the greater the burden on the
working population and on scarce resources to support people who are not economically active. Taxes may be increased to support dependents, and goods may have to be imported to satisfy demand, resulting a trade deficit.

Question 4

Why has the dependency ratio in many countries increased?

Answer 4

• There are high birth rates in less-developed countries
• The school leaving age is being raised in many economies
• There are low death rates and growing numbers of old people in developed economies due to improved health care
  
  • many governments have introduced compulsory pension savings schemes and are raising official retirement ages to reduce the strain on the working population

Question 5

What is an optimum population, and why is it difficult to determine what the optimum population should be?

Answer 5

• the size of population that allows a country to maximise output per head of the population from its existing resources
• however, because technologies and the quantity and quantity of labour skills and other resources can change over time it is difficult to indentify what the optimum population should be at any point
• the concept also fails to take account of any social costs or issues different populations and levels of production may create

Question 6

What 3 factors affect population change?

Define each of the 3 terms.

Answer 6

1. Birth rate - A measure of the number of babies born per period per 1,000 people in a population.
2. Death rate - A measure of the number of people who die per period per 1 000 people in a population
3. Net migration - The difference between the number of immigrants and emigrants to and from a country per period of time.

Question 7

Define

natural rate of population growth

Answer 7

Population resulting solely from the difference between the birth and death rate, i.e. excluding net migration.

Question 8

What 5 factors affect the birth rate?

Answer 8

1. Living standards
2. Contraception
3. Custom and religion
4. Changes in female employment
5. Marriage

Question 9

What 3 factors affect the death rate?

Answer 9

1. Living standards
2. Medical advances and health care
3. Natural disasters and wars

Question 10

What are the effects of:

1. immigration
2. emigration

Answer 10

1. immigration
   
   • increases working population
   • increases demand for housing, schools, health care and other public services
   • increases pressure on resources
   • tensions may occur between ethnic groups
2. emigration
   
   • reduces working population
   • means loss of most skilled and productive labour and entrepreneurs
   • causes fall in output and economic growth

Question 11

What is meant by the age distribution of a population and what is its importance?

Answer 11

The number of people, or percentage of the population, in each age group.

• with falling birth and death rates in many developed contries, the average age of their populations is rising
• the growing number of elderly people in developed countries affects the allocation of resources (more health care, pensions and leisure facilities)
• falling birth rates may mean less resources needed for maternity clinics, nurseries and schools
• in many developing countries, more than one third of their population is under the age of 15 due to high birth rates

Question 12

What is meant by the sex distribution of a population and what natural factors cause it to vary?

Answer 12

The ratios of males to females in a population.

• slightly more males tend to be born than females, but the ratio tends to even out at adulthood
• females tend to live longer than males, so there are more females to males on average in older age groups

Question 13

What is gender imbalance and what are its main causes?

Answer 13

An excess of males or females in a population, usually caused by factors other than nature.

• Wars result in many deaths among young male populations
• Violence towards females creates an excess of males, e.g. honour killings of females
• Sex-selection bias through abortion or even gender-based infanticide as males are often considered more productive and capable of work
• Male-dominated inward economic migration

Question 14

What are the problems of gender imbalance?

Answer 14

• affects future marriage patterns and fertility patterns, resulting in fewer biths in the future and an ageing population
• could cause unrest among young adult males unable to find female partners
• social and economic problems, e.g. prostitution, alcoholism, HIV/AIDS, violence, kidnapping and sale of women for forced marriage or into the sex trade

Question 15

Define

population pyramid

Answer 15

A graph that shows the distribution of males and females in various age groups in a population.

This is a common way of representing the age and sex distribution of populations. The graphs below show the common shape of the population pyramids for MEDCs and LEDCs..

Question 16

What is the importance of the geographic distribution of population?

Answer 16

• almost 90% of the world’s population lives in developing countries, placing significant pressure on scarce resources in these countries
• around half the world’s population lives in urban areas, which helps to increase the production of goods and services, and raises living standards
• however, increasing urbanisation increases consumption of natural resources, pollution and health risks

Question 17

What is meant by the occupational distribution of a population and what is its importance?

Answer 17

The types of jobs that people do, often shown by the percentage of the population imployed in the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors.

• most employed people in developed countries work in services while most employees in the least-developed countries work in agriculture
• NICs tend to have more people working in manufacturing
• female employment and self-employment is growing in many developed countries