Factors affecting population growth

Population structureA population pyramid is a type of bar graph used to show age and gender structure of a country, city or other area.What can a population pyramid tell us about a population?

• Birth rate• Death rate• Life expectancy• Economic development

Analysing Population Pyramids

Key things to know about population pyramids• The shape of a population pyramid can

tell us a lot about an area's population.• It gives us information about birth and

death rates as well as life expectancy.• A population pyramid tells us how many

dependants there are. There are two groups of dependants; young dependants (aged below 15) and elderly dependants (aged over 65).

• Dependants rely upon the economically active for economic support.

• Many LEDCs have a high number of young dependants, whilst many MEDCs have a growing number of elderly dependants.

UK, 2000

Mozambique, 2000

Population pyramids for countries at different stages of the DTM

Turn to pages 178 and 179 in your text book as we are going to look at some different examples.

Define the following key terms:• Age structure• Gender structure• Infant mortality rate• Child mortalityLook at the hand-out and stick it into your notes.What would stage 5 look like? Use page 179 to help you.

Democratic Republic of the

Congo

I am an average citizen. I am 16 years old. I have had 5 brothers and sisters and

cousins but not all of them are still alive. My

grandparents died at 52 years of age.

Japan

I am an average citizen. I am 44 years old. I have one

child. My grandparents are all still alive and are in their

early eighties.

Mexico

I am an average citizen. I am 25 years old. My

grandparents are in their 70s but are coming to the end of their lives. I have a sister and

I also have 2 children.

Get into pairs…

On your mini white boards you are going to make a list each:

Person 1:Factors that can increase populationPerson 2:Factors that can decrease population

Think in terms of social, economic, environmental & political.

What are the main factors affecting population growth? Here are some clues…

1. Agriculture

• Improvements in technology since the industrial revolution allow more food to be produced whilst reducing the need for labour.

• This frees some workers for industry and more rapid economic growth.

• With technological advances even fewer people are needed in farming and industry. This means that smaller families are more desirable.

2. Urbanisation

• Rural to urban migration is common in poorer countries as cities are believed to have greater opportunities.

• Migrants often seek better educational opportunities for their children as well as healthcare.

• In urban areas children are not needed to work on farms and this means that people have less children.

3. Education

• In developing countries education is viewed by parents as their children’s best chance for an improved standard of living.

• If parents have fewer children they have more money to spend on each child e.g. their education.

• Many parents in LEDC now value have fewer children who are educated.

4. Emancipation of women

• Opportunities for women have increased in education and the wider workforce.

• More women are undertaking high achieving and high earning jobs. Many women are now deciding to pursue a career instead of having children.

• With the increasing costs associated with having children many women are now deciding not to have children.

• Video of USA couple here Read p177 and add more information to your notes.

If you have time….Have a go at questions 3 and 4 on page 177.

Homework

Complete the past exam questions – 1a -1b (11 marks in total).