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POPULATION STUDIES PERSONAL NOTES

DATE:

Definitions

 Population is the collection of individuals in a given place such as a village, ward ,

district , town ,city ,megalopolis or conurbation.
 Demography is the scientific study of human population in respect of size,
composition and development.
 Population studies is a broader term involving social , economic ,historical and
political characteristic of peoples that is it is a body of knowledge , concepts and
theories that describes and attempt to explain the dynamics of human population in
their environment be it social , economic, cultural or political.

Why Study Population?

 National Reasons: For planning purposes especially on the provision of services such
as health, education and social amenities.
 Individual /Personal Reasons: Knowledge of the dynamics of the population is made
to assist individuals to see how population phenomena affect their purpose to achieve
a better quality of life for themselves and their children.

Sources of Population Data (Methods used to gather Information)

 Static: A population Census: This is the physical counting of people after a given
period of time say after every 10 years.

Advantages

 It gives actual number of people in a given area.

 Population can be divided into actual number of males and females in a given area or
country.

Disadvantages/Problems /Challenges Faced In Carrying Out of a Census

 It is an expensive exercise which needs a lot of money.

 It is not 100% accurate because people do not divulge true information because of
fear of publications.
 Some places are inaccessible
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Factors Influencing Population Distribution and Density

 Population distribution refers to the people in a given area

 Population density refers to the number of people per unit area number of people per
square kilometre (km²)
 Formula to calculate population density
 Population Density = number of people in an area or country
Total area/total unit area
 Population density varies from place to place due to factors which are classified as
natural, human or economic.

Natural Factors

 Climate: favourable climate attract more human beings.

 Soil: productive soil tends to attract more people.
 Vegetation: areas which have more wood attract more people
 Water
 Altitude: Higher areas have more advantages than low lying areas which are hot and
are prone to tropical diseases such as malaria and cholera.

Human and Economic

 Employment opportunities: areas likely to offer employment tend to attract more

people
 Minerals: attract people for example Zambian copper belt
 Population growth or high birth rate

Population distribution in Zimbabwe

 In Zimbabwe population density can be classified into three

 Low density: These are areas with huge stretches of land where agricultural potential
is low .These areas are also prone to malaria, sleeping sickness or nagana
 Medium Density: concentrated along roads and river banks. Density is between 20-29
people per square kilometre.
 High density: these are areas with over 30 people per square kilometre.
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Movement of People (Migration)

 Migration entails or includes the change of residence as well as activity for one or two
years.

Types of Migration

There are two types of migration

Internal Migration (immigrant)

 Rural –Urban
 Urban—Rural
 Rural – Rural
 Urban – Urban

External Migration (emigrant)

 Country – country
 Region – Region
 Continent –continent

Causes of Migration

Migration is a result of push and pull factors

PULL FACTORS (+) PUSH FACTORS (-)

-employment -Poor social services
-minerals -Low altitude
-facilities -Poor soils, water problems
-entertainment -lack of employment opportunities
-social services for example schools, -natural disasters such as earthquakes
hospitals
-soil, water, relief. -war, drought and famine
-government policy (resettlement) -poor government policy
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Results of Migration

The results /effects can either be positive or negative.

POSITIVE RESULTS NEGATIVE RESULTS

-business opportunities -brain drain
-new ideas are shared -overpopulation/increased pressure on
resources on the receiving area
-labour ( sometimes these people take up -increased social crimes such as theft and
jobs which are looked down upon by burglary, prostitution
locals)
-pressure release on resources on the area -diseases spread easily new diseases are
of departure brought in
-at times standards of living of people -too many people chasing too few a job
are improved unemployment may be created

Population –Age Structure

This is the proportion of people in various age groups, usually groups of 5 years for example
0-4 , 5-9 , 10-14 , 15- 19 , 20-24 , 25-29 , and 30-34

Age – Sex Pyramid

It is a diagram drawn to show proportion of age and sex characteristic of a given area.

It has horizontal bars, an age key and a percentage scale key.

Females are always shown on the right hand side and males on the left hand side.

There three main age sex pyramid

1. Progressive Age –Sex Pyramid

2. Stationary Age Sex Pyramid
3. Retrogressive Age Sex Pyramid

Where you find a pointed top there is high death rate

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Where you find a narrow base there is low birth rate or a drop in fertility.AGE: Age is the
number of years an individual has lived

There are three distinctive age classes

1. Infants and Adolescents (0-14 years)

2. Adults (15-64 years)

3 .Aged (Over 65 years)

POPULATION GROWTH RATE (FERTILITY)

 Growth rate relates to the pace at which population grows per annum.
 Cause of growth is excess of birth over deaths
 Therefore it can either be positive or negative.
 Formula of calculating growth rate
 Growth Rate = births-deaths x100
 1000
 However this formula does not show a true picture of population growth .Therefore
Crude Birth Rate is used.
 Crude Birth Rate deals with population fertility that is it is the number of live births
per thousand populations or as a percentage (%)
 Formula for Crude Birth Rate
 CBR = number of live births per year x 1000
 Total population
 It is also expressed as a percentage or per thousand population

POPULATION MORTALITY (DEATH RATE)

 Population Mortality provides information on people dying in a country and causes of

death.
 Crude Death Rate (CDR) is the pace at which people are dying per year.
 C.D.R = Death in year x 1000
o Total Population in the year
 It is expressed as a percentage
 Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) deals with pace at which infants die before the age of 1
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 IMR = Death of Infants before the age of 1 x 1000

o Live Births during the year
 Life Expectancy deals with the average number of years a person is expected to live
and this varies from country to country.

SEX RATIO

 This deals with number of males per 100 females for example 105
 Formula Sex Ratio = males x 100

Females

DEPENDENCY RATIO

 Age Dependency Ratio is the number of dependents expressed as a ratio to the

workers
 Over 100 means more dependants than workers
 Fewer than 100 means larger workforce than dependants.
 Formula: Age Dependency Ratio = Population (0-14) + Population (65+) x 1000
 Population (15-64)
 However this does not reflect or show the true picture of dependency ratio so we use
the Economic Dependency Ratio
 Formula: Economic Dependency Ratio = Non workers x 100
Workers

DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION MODEL

Stage I (High Stage II ( Early Stage III (Late Stage IV (Low

Stationary Phase) Expansion Stage) Expansion Stage Stationary Phase)
High Birth Rates Population begins to Birth rates drops as Birth rate still has
expand. There is standards of living periods of
high birth rate and improves and also an fluctuations between
low death rate increase in literacy high and low levels
levels (education) according to the
needs in the
population of which
by then will be an
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industrialised nation
High Death Rates Improved health Death rate continues
care to drop as health
facilities improve.
Primitive Mode Of Life Expectancy
Production increases.
Population grows
rapidly as normal or
natural controls are
reduced.
Insurance Births

POPULATION AND RESOURCES

 The number of people living in an area and the amount of resources they need have
led to three situations
 Overpopulation: a situation where you have more people than resources.
 Under population: a situation where you have more resources than the people
 Optimum population: it is an ‘ideal’ situation where there is a balance between people
and the resources.

NB. This population resource equation has led to the aspect of quality of life.

QUALITY OF LIFE

 For people living in rural areas the quality of life is generally poor
 Poor medical facilities /inadequate health care
 People often travel long distances to get to a clinic which most of them do not have
enough drugs and equipment for patients
 The patient-doctor/health worker ratio is very high and this has an effect on efficiency
 Poor Housing /Shelter
 In some cases is inadequate, of poor quality& overcrowding is popular.
 Education
 Even if schools are present the quality of education is often poor and schools are
sometimes staffed with by under qualified and/or untrained teachers.
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 Equipment is also in short supply and so are textbooks.

 Literacy level in rural areas is quite low (ability to read and write)
 Clean and safe water
 Clean and safe water is not readily available and this causes diseases especially
amongst children who often die of diarrhoea and dysentery.
 Dirty and unsafe water is a killer.
 Diet: Food supplies can be problematic especially during drought. Food is usually not
nutritious that is food that cook easily is often prepared and this lead to low nutrition
in children.
 Income levels: Income earned is low and this limit the ability of the people to feed
themselves in fact relatives in urban often supplement their income.
 Other
 Transport and communication is poor
 Clothing is generally poor
 People living in urban areas
 The quality of life is better and relatively higher than that of people living in urban
areas because
 There is access to clean and safe water from taps therefore people are not prone to
diseases such as water borne.
 There is access to health facilities and the doctor to patient ratio is low.
 Schools have better equipment and staff. The literacy level is also high.
 The food supplies are also more reliable than in rural areas and nutritious foods are
available.
 People have higher income thus are capable of fending for themselves and their
children and families.
 Transport and communication is more efficient.