Core 1: Populations in transition

Population change Explain population trends and patterns in births (Crude Birth Rate), natural increase and
mortality (Crude Death Rate, infant and child mortality rates), fertility and life expectancy in
contrasting regions of the world. Analyse population pyramids. Explain population
momentum and its impact on population projections.
Responses to high and Explain dependency and ageing ratios. Examine the impacts of youthful and ageing
low fertility populations. Evaluate examples of a pro-natalist policy and an anti-natalist policy.
Movement responses — Discuss the causes of migrations, both forced and voluntary. Evaluate internal (national)
migration and international migrations in terms of their geographic (socio-economic, political and
environmental) impacts at their origins and destinations.
Gender and change Examine gender inequalities in culture, status, education, birth ratios, health, employment,
empowerment, life expectancy, family size, migration, legal rights and land tenure.

 Trend: The general course or prevailing tendency – changes over time.

 Pattern: A combination of qualities, acts, tendencies, etc., forming a consistent or characteristic arrangement, e.g.
differences by country, age, gender.
 Diffusion: the spread of ideas/disease/technology over time and space.
 Carrying capacity: the largest population that the resources of a given environment can support.

FERTILITY
 Fertility rate: The number of live births per 1000 women aged 15-49 years per year.
 Total fertility Rate: The average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime. The total fertility
rate normally falls as a country develops.
 Replacement level fertility: The total fertility rate needed for a country to replace and maintain its population. The
replacement rate is about 2.12.
 Crude Birth Rate: The number of births per 1,000 of population within a country per year.
FACTORS CAUSING HIGH BIRTH RATES FACTORS CAUSING LOW BIRTH RATES
 Primary based economy where  Availability and affordability of contraception
children are needed to work on  Education about contraception and family planning
land.  Improvements in healthcare  reduced infant mortality (less need to have
 Women maintained in traditional more children to make up for infant deaths)
role of rearing children and taking  Female emancipation (females are free to get an education and work)
care of house.  High cost per child – expensive pre-natal & antenatal care for women,
 Lack of education about educational costs.
contraception and family planning  Anti-natalist policy (like China)
 The need for children to care for  Delayed marriage, decline in arranged marriages.
elderly residents  Better care for old dependents (less need for children to care for their
 Status symbol of having a large parents in old age).
family or the need to obtain a male  Mechanisation of primary sector and shift to secondary and tertiary sectors.
heir  Abortion more acceptable (changing religious views).
 Pro-natalist policies  Increase in materialism.
 Religious or legal practices (no  Stress levels associated with kids. Importance in people’s lives diminishing.
abortion or discouragement of People’s accomplishment/happiness not based on having a family.
using contraception)  Fertility levels are dropping worldwide, due to chemical pollution, eating
 Marriage at a young age habits.
 Ageing populations in MDC’s.

MORTALITY
 Infant mortality: The number of deaths of infants under 1 year old per 1000 live births per year.
 Child Mortality: The number of deaths of children under 5 years old per 1000 live births per year.
 Life expectancy: The average age someone is expected to live when they are born. Japan has the highest life
expectancy in the world.
Explanation of Some Factors Affecting Death Rates and Life Expectancy:
 Age: The very young and the very old are most vulnerable to disease, malnourishment and natural disasters and
therefore more likely to have a higher incidence of death.
 Sex: In nearly every country, women live longer than men (usually 5-10 years longer). This is not fully
understood, but it is believed to be a combination of biological and lifestyle reasons. Women tend to suffer
cardiovascular disease later in life and men tend to cause more damage to themselves through drinking and
smoking.
 Residence: The location/country that you are born in plays a massive role in your life expectancy. If you are born
into a developed, literate and peaceful country e.g. Japan, your life expectancy is going to be high. However, if
you are born into a poor, drought and famine-ridden country that is at war e.g. Somalia then your life
expectancy is going to be low.
 Occupation: Some jobs are more physically or mentally demanding than others and can therefore affect
people’s health. A job that keeps people active may prolong health, but if it is active and dangerous like mining,
it might shorten life. Some jobs like teaching are said to be stressful and may reduce life expectancy.
 Nourishment: If you have a shortage of food (undernourished) you are more vulnerable to disease. If whole
countries suffer from famine a country's death rate may dramatically increase - again it will normally be the old
and young affected first. Undernourishment is not the only problem; malnourishment can also increase death
rates. This is when people are eating a bad diet that may contain too much salt and/or fat, e.g. obesity epidemic
in Europe & North America.
 Accommodation: The quality of your house can play a big factor in your life expectancy. If you live in an informal
settlement you are more vulnerable to disease, natural disasters and sometimes crime. However, if you live in a
modern structure you will probably enjoy running water, electricity mains and protection from the weather,
therefore helping you remain healthy.
 Literacy: Your ability to read and write can have a massive influence on your health and life expectancy. Not only
does it give you better job prospects, but also allows you to know how to care for yourself i.e. what to eat and
what to do if you are ill.
 Crude Death Rate: The number of death per 1,000 of population within a country per year.

FACTORS CAUSING HIGH DEATH RATES
 War
 Natural disasters like earthquakes,
volcanoes, droughts and floods
 Disease
 Poor medical care
 Shortage of clean water and poor hygiene
 Unhealthy lifestyle
FACTORS CAUSING LOW DEATH RATES
 Improved medical care, immunisation programmes e.g. small pox
 Improved housing, transport & infrastructure.
 Economies of scale for production of medical supplies  lowered
cost.
 More countries developing more quickly (BRICs).
 Clean and reliable water supply
 Improved diet (higher calorific intake and healthier diet)
 Improved sanitation, hygiene, exercise

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Demographic Transition Model: The demographic transition model (DTM) describes the transition of birth & death rates
from high to low levels that occur as a country develops.
STAGE 1: The poorest societies that are usually nomadic hunter-gatherer tribes. They have little or no modern medical
care and are often in conflict with other tribes. They have no family planning. High birth and death rates means there is
no real population growth.
STAGE 2: Probably more sedentary living where there are improvements in the provision of food and water, basic
medical care may also develop. Birth rates remain high, but because of the lowering death rates the population starts to
grow.
STAGE 3: As education improves and mechanisation takes place then birth rates begin to fall. However, because birth
rates are higher than death rates then the population still grows.
STAGE 4: Birth rates and death rates are now both low. Because they are both low, population remains stable.
STAGE 5: Recently added to the DTM, here birth rates fall below death rates so the population begins to decline. This
can happen because of the emancipation of females, cost of childcare, delayed marriage etc. Countries like Japan are in
stage 5.

 Population pyramid: Population pyramids show the structure of a population in terms of sex and age. By analysing
population pyramids you can see trends in birth rates, death rates and life expectancy.

 Population structure: The composition of the population. Although you could divide population be religion,
ethnicity, etc. it is usually just done by age and sex. A population pyramid divides the population by these categories.
 Sex ratio: the number of males per 100 females in a population.
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 Population momentum: The continued growth of a population after fertility rate is equal or actually below the
replacement rate. This is happens if there is a large concentration of people in the reproductive age range.
 Population projection: A prediction of future population changes based on current trends of mortality, fertility and
migration. The UN make population projections for a number of reasons, including:
 To be able to better allocate and distribute resources
 To be able to target family planning and medical care more effectively
 To be to predict population crises e.g. famine, refugee problems
 To advise government and NGOs (Non-governmental organisations (Charities))
 Dependency ratio: the ratio between dependents (old and young) and economically active. The dependency ratio is
calculated using the following formula.

Where dependent population = (% under 15) + (% over 65) and population of working age = % between 15 and 65.
A country's dependency ratio may increase for a number of reasons including:
 Increasing life expectancy
 Falling death rates
 Rising birth rates
 Immigration of dependents
 Emigration of economically active (young childbearing population)

 Ageing population: A rise in the median age of the population usually associated with an increase in the proportion
of old dependents.
Causes of an Ageing Problems of an Ageing Solutions to an Advantages of
Population Population Ageing Population Ageing Population
High life expectancy caused by:  Shortage of economically active  Pro-natalist policies  Elderly people have a
 Good medical care  Reduced taxation income for the  Increased lot of experience and
 Good diet and improved government immigration of can be valuable in
water supply  Cost of providing healthcare and economically active the workplace
 Good sanitation and care homes (elderly tend to get  Increased  Less money spent on
hygiene sick more frequently) retirement age schooling and natal
Low birth rates caused by:  Reduced spending on education,  Private pensions medical care
 Emancipation of women policing, transport network, etc.  Private healthcare  Lower crime rates
 Cost of children  Cost of paying for pensions  Increased taxes of and less money
 Emigration of economically  Service decline (schools, sports economically active needed to be spent
active centres, etc. not used by older on policing
residents)
Case study: Japan
- The islands of Okinawa off Japan’s south coast have the highest life
expectancy and the greatest percentage of centenarians in the world.
- Japan has the highest proportion of old dependents (about 23%) and
the lowest proportion of young dependents (about 13%) in the world. It
has a total fertility rate of only 1.25. This is well below the replacement
rate of 2.1.
- 1 in 5 Japanese are over 60.
- Nearly 2 million Japanese over 80 years.
- UN predictions: by 2045 there will be 3 elderly to 4 economically active.
- Younger workers are a premium – competition to recruit them
- Expanding immigration politically unacceptable  legal immigration
practically impossible.
- Social changes – ageing as themes in films & books.

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- Japan has a long tradition of positive attitudes towards the elderly, family taking care of elderly parents. However,
the number of old people living in care facilities is steadily rising, increased pressure on countries’ economy.
- Solutions: Pension reforms, later retirements, higher contribution from employers.
 Youthful population:
Causes of a Young Problems of a Young Solutions to a Young Population Advantages of Young
Population Population Population
High birth rates caused by:  Cost of childcare  Anti-natalist policy (see below - China)  Lower death rates so
 Lack of family and education  Increased immigration of less money spent on
planning  Increased economically active care homes/hospitals
 No education about dependency ratio  Privatised education (remove cost  Educated and IT
contraception  Increased cost of from government) literate population
 High infant mortality child benefits paid  Privatised healthcare (remove cost (many elderly people
 Primary based by the government from government) are unfamiliar with
economy  Shortage of  Removal of child benefits new technology)
 No care for old workers (in the  Reduced birth rates (family planning,  Abundance of future
dependents from short-term) contraception, etc.) workers
government  Cost of healthcare  Reduced infant mortality rates  Strong military in the
 Immigration of young (midwives, health (people then normally have less future
dependents visitors, etc.) babies)  Large future market
 Tradition and status of  Spending diverted  Greater care of old dependents (less (young people are
large families from defence, children needed to care for elderly) often interested in
transport, etc.  Immigration restrictions (quotas) consumer goods)

Case study: Gambia, West Africa

- High infant & maternal mortality.
- 45% young dependents, 3% elderly. Dependency ratio 92.3%.
High BR caused by:
- 95% Muslim population  religious leaders against contraception
- Cultural tradition  women have little influence on family size.
- Children are economic asset  1 in 3 children aged 10-14 are working.
Problems:
- Poverty linked to high population growth
o Struggle to provide basic housing
o Overcrowding
o Lack of sanitation
o Unemployment & underemployment rates high, wages low.
- Government has insufficient $$ for education & health
o Schools operate two-shift system (not enough schools)
o Teachers working 12 hours a day
o Poor facilities, sanitation. Short supply of schoolbooks.
- Trees chopped down for firewood  desertification  “forest
educators” in rural areas to improve situation.
Solutions:
- Family planning campaign  accepted by religious leaders, subsidised by
WHO.
- NGO Futures deliver contraception & family planning advice
- Change in male attitudes to family size & contraception.

 Pro-natalist policy: A policy that tries to increase birth rates and total fertility rate. You cannot force people to have
children, so you have to offer incentives e.g. free education.
Countries may introduce a pro-natalist policy because:
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  They have an ageing population (increased dependency ratio)
 They have a shortage of economically active (low births rates and total fertility rates)
Incentives may include:
 Money
 Extended maternity and paternity leave and pay
 Free or subsidised childcare
 Free of subsidised education and healthcare

Case Study: Singapore

- Problem: people are concentrating on their education and careers and
getting married later and therefore have less time to have children.
- Singapore government is hosting speed dating nights, singles holidays,
etc. to try and match make and encourage earlier marriage.
- However, even with financial incentives, having a child is not
something to make money from. In the UK is has been estimated that
the cost of rearing of one child is 200,000 pounds. Aim of pro-natalist
policies is to encourage couples that want children by making it more
affordable.
- Singapore is a developed country in SE Asia with a population of about
5 million people. Underpopulated and attempting to increase
population growth.
- One of the lowest total fertility rates in the world, standing at 1.1,
which is well below the replacement rate of 2.1.
- 36% of the Singapore population is made up of foreign nationals and in some sectors like industry, 80% of the
workers are foreign.
- To overcome worker shortages, the Singapore government has encouraged immigration, but it is also trying to
increase the population through raising birth rates.
- It has increased maternity leave by 50% to 12 weeks and it will cover the cost of maternity leave (the cost to the
parents’ employers) for the first four babies.
- The Singapore government is also increasing child benefits paid to families. The government will pay money into a
special bank account of up to nearly $1000 for six years.
- The Singapore government has also sponsored dating organisations to encourage people to get married earlier and
start having children.
- If Singapore's policies are not successful it will become increasingly dependent on foreign workers, gradually see an
increase in the dependency ratio and ultimately economic decline.

 Anti- natalist policy: A policy that tries to reduce birth rates. This can be done through better education on family
planning and better provision of contraception or a more rigid forced policy like China's.
A country may introduce an anti-natalist policy if it is:
 Overpopulated (the population is higher than the resources available)
 Has a young population (high birth rates and total fertility rate)

Case Study: China's One Child Policy (anti-natalist policy)

- Largest population in the world, 1.3 billion. 20% of
world population.
- 3rd largest country in the world, but only about 10% of
its area is good for arable farming. Much of the west is
covered in mountains and much of the north is desert.
- History: WWII, China occupied by the Japanese.
Communist government encouraged population
growth to create a large army (Cultural Revolution

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 1960’s). “Great Leap Forward”, industrial revolution 1959-1961. Population growth rate outstripped availability of
resources; 1960’s 20 million people died of famine.
- In 1964, government promoted birth control, but due to population momentum, BR stood at 45 between 1966 and
1971. Campaign: “Late, Sparse, Few”. 1979: One-Child Policy.
- Demographers estimate China’s optimum population was 700 million, aim to meet this figure by 2080.
- Punishments for those who did not follow policy: fines, loss of jobs, removal of education and health rights for
children and for women caught to be pregnant with a second child forced abortion and sterilisation.
- Promoting the use of contraception and encouraging people to get married later.
- Exceptions: families in rural areas were often allowed two children if first was female (needed to work on the land)
and ethnic minority groups were also allowed two children.

Successes:
- The total fertility rate has fallen from nearly 6 to about 1.7
- Population growth rate has fallen from a peak of 2.61% in the late 1960's to about 0.65% today
- Birth rates have fallen from highs of 45 to about 13 today.
- The availability of contraception has increased
- Up to 400 million births have been prevented since 1979
- China's population should peak in the first half of the 2030's (however, it might be as much as 1.45 billion)
Failures:
- There have been criticisms about human rights, not only over freedom of choice, but forced abortions and
sterilisations.
- Female infanticide has taken place, where the boys have been favoured.
- There is now a sex imbalance in China (117:100).
- Many children have been abandoned for adoption.
- There is an ageing population and an increased dependency ratio
- There has been shortage of workers in some areas.
- The so called 'little emperors' syndrome where only children are spoilt
- The policy has been open to corruption. Many people have paid bribes to have extra children.
- The population is still 1.3 billion and growing.

Migration
 Forced migration: When people have to migrate, normally because their life is in danger e.g. war or natural disaster.
 Refugees: Someone who has been forced to leave their home and their country. People can be forced to become
refugees for many reasons including:
 War
 Natural disasters (floods, earthquakes, volcanoes)
 Famine and drought
 Political unrest e.g. Syria, Egypt and Libya
 Persecution (ethnic, religious)
 Crime and extortion
 Asylum Seeker: A person who, from fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, social group, or political
opinion, has crossed an international frontier into a country in which he or she hopes to be granted refugee status.
 Remittances: Money sent home from family members or friends living an earning money in a different location,
normally a foreign country.

Causes of Forced Migration Causes of Voluntary Migration

 Natural disasters like flooding, earthquakes or  Retirement
volcanoes  Education (to attend a school or university)
 Outbreaks of disease  Work
 War  Medical care (medical care is often cheaper in LEDCs)
 Political persecution  More relaxed lifestyle in foreign country (many people
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 Drought and famine move from UK to Australia for this reason)

ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
SOURCE  A reduction in unemployment as more jobs  Brain drain - losing your most educated and
COUNTRY become available skilled workers.
(LOSING)  Remittances are sent home from migrants  A shortage of workers, especially during
living abroad periods of harvest
 Migrants may return home with new skills  An increase in the dependency ratio as
 Increased political ties with migrants’ host economically active migrate
country  Separation of families. This may include
 Reduced pressure on education and children losing one or both of their parents
healthcare system  Creates dependency on remittances
 Reduction in births rates and total fertility rate
as many migrants are in the reproductive age
range
HOST COUNTRY  Brain gain - Receiving educated and skilled  There may be an increase in racial tensions
(RECEIVING) workers. between newly arrived migrants and local
 As well as trained migrants there will be as population
source of cheap migrants (low paid) to fill  The increased population will cause greater
manual jobs. pollution and overcrowding
 There will be increased cultural diversity as  There may be a rise in unemployment when
migrants arrive with their own culture of food, migrants accept lower paid positions, making
dance, language, etc. more of the local population unemployed.
 Growth of local market with increase of  There will be an increase pressure on services.
population This may include schools and hospitals, but
 If migrants are legal, then an increase in tax also electricity and water supply.
revenues for the government  Growth of black market and informal economy
if migrants are illegally present

Case study: Transmigration in Indonesia (Forced migration)

Most of Indonesia’s 200 million people live on Java, Bali,
Lombok and Madura, which make up the densely-populated
core area. Java has 60% of the country’s population in 7% of
its area and it is here that the capital, Jakarta, is found. The
four main islands all have fertile, volcanic soils that are ideal
for intensive, subsistence, and rice cultivation.
Transmigration i.e. the forced movement of people by the
government from the densely populated core to the
outlying islands, was first started one hundred years ago, in
colonial times, by the Dutch authorities and has continued
throughout the century. Its main aims have been:
• to encourage a more balanced distribution of population
within the country.
• to reduce population pressure in the core by moving people to the peripheral islands.
• to improve living standards for the migrants
Between 1900 and the country’s independence in 1949 over half a million people were moved. Despite various
governments since then setting quite high targets only a further two million people have been moved.
The scheme offers:
• free transport to the new area.
• free land allocation of two hectares.

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• free housing in the new area.
• free equipment, fertilisers etc. and enough food to keep the family going until the first harvest.
There have been several issues associated with transmigration in recent years:
• It is very costly and over £200 million has been loaned by the World Bank so far to help with the scheme. Many people
feel that its limited success does not justify this spending. Its impact on Indonesia’s population problems has been
minimal. In the 1980s, Java’s population increased by 18% in spite of out-movements. In 1995 the country’s population
was growing by 3.2 million per year! This is more than the entire number of people who had moved out from the core in
the whole of the transmigration movement. Also, up to 20% of the migrants have since returned home because of
problems in the new areas.
• Many people are alarmed at the effects on the environment. Over 120 million hectares of Tropical Rainforest have
been felled to create land for the new settlers. Soil erosion and soil exhaustion also occurred once the delicate balance
of the Tropical Rainforest ecosystem has been disturbed.
• There have been conflicts between the immigrants and the local residents because:
(i) Traditional farmers are worried that the incomers will take over their area and destroy their way of life. They also
complain that the new settlers are given more financial help than they receive.
(ii) Local shifting cultivators have had to move as the newcomers are using their land.
However, transmigration has brought some advantages.
• Improved infrastructure on the peripheral islands, e.g. better roads, more schools and health facilities, although in
many areas they are still not adequate for the numbers of people who actually live there.
• People from the core who had no land or jobs now have a future in their new homes.
• Some spontaneous migration to the outer islands has been stimulated. In the future, transmigration policy will
probably focus on providing rural infrastructure to attract people and encourage migration and less on large scale
organised schemes. It may be better for the country to try to solve the problems linked with its rapid population growth
by more family planning programmes, intensifying agricultural production, developing the country’s plentiful oil and gas
reserves and industries, rather than by organised transmigration.

 Voluntary migration:
Case study – Central America (including Mexico) to US Migration
The US and Mexico share a land border of roughly 2000km. Because of a series of push and pull factors, migrants from
Mexico and Central America (El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala) try and make the journey across the border. It is
estimated that over 1 million migrants each year attempt to cross. Many make it, but others are also caught, in 1995
about 850,000 were caught and deported.
P
‍ USH FACTORS FROM MEXICO ‍PULL FACTORS TO US
 Poor medical facilities – 1,800 people per doctor  Excellent medical facilities - 400 per doctor
 Low paid jobs - (GNP = $3,750)  Well paid jobs - GNP = $24,750)
 Adult literacy rates 55% - poor education prospects  Adult literacy rates 99% - good education prospects
 Life expectancy 72 years  Life expectancy 76 years
 40% Unemployed  Lower crime rates
 42,000 violent drugs deaths since 2006  Many jobs available for low paid workers such as Mexicans
‍Impacts on US (positive and negative)
 Illegal migration costs the USA millions of dollars for border patrols and prisons
 Mexicans are seen as a drain on the USA economy
 Migrant workers keep wages low which affects Americans
 They cause problems in cities due cultural and racial issues
 Mexican migrants benefit the US economy by working for low wages
 Mexican culture has enriched the US border states with food, language and music
 The incidents of tuberculosis has been increasing greatly due to the increased migration
‍Impacts on Mexico (positive and negative)
 The Mexican countryside has a shortage of economically active people
 Many men emigrate leaving a majority of women who have trouble finding marriage partners
 Young people tend to migrate leaving the old and the very young
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  Legal and illegal immigrants together send some $6 billion a year back to Mexico
 Certain villages such as Santa Ines have lost 2/3 of its inhabitants

Lee's migration model: a simple model that shows how people migrate because of a combination of push and pull
factors. The model also suggests that there are factors that encourage people to stay in their location and possibly
factors in their desired destination that discourages them from moving there.
Factors discouraging people from leaving host country: friends and family, security of native culture, a job, a house.
Factors discouraging people moving to host country: language problems, illegal
status, no job, worries over housing
Pull Factors: Something that attracts you to a new location.
 Prospect of a better job
 Lower crime rates and peace
 Prospect of better education for them or their children
 Availability of food and water
 Greater political freedoms
 Greater gender equality
Intervening obstacles: Problems or difficulties that you might experience before you migrate or while you are migrating.
 No passport or visa
 Shortage of money
 Fear of being a victim of crime while migrating e.g. Central Americans travelling through Mexico.
 Arrest for illegal entry into countries
Some migrants may also return home very quickly because of factors including:
Unable to find a job, missing friends and families, deportation, unable to save money, unable to adapt to local culture.

Gravity Model/Distance Decay Effect (interaction refers to the amount of migration)

The essential feature of the gravity model is its
suggestion that migrants tend to move over short
distances, with the number of migrants decreasing as
the distance over which the migration takes place
increases. This idea is known as the distance decay
effect. The number of people moving between place A
and place B is equal to the population of A multiplied by
the population of B divided by the square of the
distance between them. Friction of distance acts as a
break.

Stepwise Migration Model

This is a behavioural model developed from E.G.
Ravenstein’s laws (1885) that population movements
occur in stages. According to this idea, major settlements, such as capital cities, tend to attract migrants from smaller
cities, which in turn attract migrants from smaller towns and villages. Migration occurs therefore in steps.

Zelinsky Model of Mobility Transition claims that the type of migration that occurs within a country depends on how
developed it is or what type of society it is. A connection is drawn from migration to the stages of within the
Demographic Transition Model (DTM).

Zelinsky Phases
Phase 1: “Premodern traditional society”
- Before the onset of the urbanisation, little migration. Natural increase rates are about zero.
Phase 2: “Early transitional society”
- Modernisation  massive movement from countryside to cities

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- rapid rate of natural increase
Phase 3:“Late transitional society”
- Critical rung of mobility transition. Urban-rural migration > rural-urban.
- Rural-to-urban migration continues but at waning absolute or relative rates.
- Complex migratory and circulatory movements within the urban network, from city to city or within a single
metropolitan region.
- Increased, non-economic migration and circulation begins to emerge.
Phase 4: “Advanced society”
- Movement from countryside to city continues but is further reduced in absolute and relative terms
- Vigorous movement of migrants from city to city and within individual urban agglomerations, especially within a
highly elaborated lattice of major and minor metropolises.
- Slight to moderate rate of natural increase or none at all.

 Internal migration
Case Study: Rural-Urban Migration in China
The urban population is China is swelling by 15 to 20 million people each year – the biggest peacetime migration of
people in the world. Migrants move to exchange a life of subsistence agriculture for better-paid jobs in the cities such as
construction or factory work.
For decades China has restricted migration through the household registration system known as hukou. This system ties
Chinese to their place of birth to receive education, medical care and other services. Many migrants end up trapped in a
halfway existence where it is administratively difficult for them to settle down in a city but economically impossible to
remain in their village. China’s “floating population” (rural people working outside their home village) totals around 132
million people. The government’s position has been that maintaining a huge temporary migrant population is better
than overwhelming cities with a permanent influx of people. Many cities have relaxed their hukou rules making it easier
for rural people to move in and settle down.

ADVANTAGES
Cities (e.g.  New workers that can fill low paid jobs like
Beijing) factory and construction work
 The government has better control over the
population if they live in urban areas. They
may join the formal economy and pay taxes
 It is easier for the government to provide
services like schools and hospital
 Migrants may become better educated and
reduce birth rates and population growth.
Rural areas  Reduces unemployment rate
(e.g. Hainan  Reduces overcrowding in schools and
Province) hospitals
 Remittances may be sent back to families
 Reduced pressure on limited electricity and
water supply
DISADVANTAGES
 Increased congestion
 Causes urban sprawl as informal housing is built
 Increased pollution, especially water and air
because of traffic and waste
 Pressure on schools and hospitals
 Higher unemployment
 Pressure on electricity and water supply
 Possible crime and certainly growth in informal
economy as people don't have jobs
 Increases dependency ratio, because young and
old are often left behind.
 There may be a shortage of workers, especially
during the harvest season.
 Families may become separated as young adults
migrate.

 Gender inequalities:
Education
- MDG 2 & 3: Universal primary education and the promotion of gender equality, hope to be achieved by 2015.
- Little difference between levels of female education in Americas, Europe, Oceania; but parts of South Asia, Middle
East & Central Africa – women still receive significantly poorer education than men.
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- 75% of the world's illiterate population are females (UNIFEM).
Why is Female Education Important? What Problems can a lack of Education Cause?
 Emancipation - gives females greater freedom to get an  Dependence on husbands or fathers - therefore
education and therefore a job. maintaining male dominance
 Greater independence - females can care for  Illiteracy (makes many simple task like written
themselves and therefore don't have to rely on their instructions and even voting very hard)
husbands/father's money and rules.  High birth rates and fertility rates as women are kept in
 If females have jobs they can then contribute to the traditional role and don't understand the importance of
economy (make products, pay taxes, etc.) family planning.
 Reduced fertility rates and birth rates (females will  Lack of confidence - females will feel that they can't
probably delay marriage and child birth and know how express opinions and remain in the same traditional
to use contraception). female role of cook, cleaner and reproducer.
 Confidence. Females will feel equal and be treated  It will be harder for find females to find well-paid
more equally giving them more self confidence and employment. Any work will probably be poorly paid e.g.
empowering them domestic work.
 Equality. If females have the same educated they will  Female health will remain poor as they do not know
be treated more fairly by families and communities. how to care for themselves, administer medicine, know
They should see an improvement in diet, health, etc. the importance of hygiene, sanitation, etc.

Health
- FGM: Female genital mutilation (female circumcision) includes any procedure that alters, harms or removes any part
of the female genitalia. It has no medical benefit but an estimated 100-140 million women are living with its
consequences.
- Carried out on young girls (between infancy and the age of 15) within communities with no medical care - there are
usually no painkillers and equipment is normally unsterilized and may include pieces of glass or razor blades.
- Complications include: severe pain, shock, haemorrhage (bleeding), tetanus or sepsis (bacterial infection), urine
retention, open sores in the genital region and injury to nearby genital tissue.
- Long-term consequences include:
o recurrent bladder and urinary tract infections
o cysts
o infertility
o an increased risk of childbirth complications and newborn deaths
o need for later surgeries.
- FGM is more of a cultural practice rather than a religious one - ensures that brides-to-be are virgins and will
maintain marital fidelity. Believed to ensure cleanliness and modesty.
- Infringement on females’ human rights. Organisations such as WHO campaigning to stop the practice. 2008 – WHO
passed a resolution on the elimination of FGM.
- WHO efforts to eliminate female genital mutilation focus on:
 advocacy: developing publications and advocacy tools for international, regional and local efforts to end FGM
within a generation;
 research: generating knowledge about the causes and consequences of the practice, how to eliminate it, and
how to care for those who have experienced FGM;
 guidance for health systems: developing training materials and guidelines for health professionals to help them
treat and counsel women who have undergone procedures.

Migration
- Traditionally, majority of migrants male. However in recent years, females almost equal males in terms of numbers,
and exceeded them in some regions.
- Traditionally few female migrants because:
 Role of women: stay at home and look after children. Marry and have children young.
 One member of family – male – migrate and send remittances home.
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  Women have had poorer education, not known about opportunities presented by migration, not qualified
enough to get a job.
 Many migrant jobs have been manual and deemed unsuitable for females.
 Many societies have deemed it inappropriate for females to travel alone.
- More women becoming emancipated, growth in tertiary jobs that are potentially more suitable for female migrants.
- A few areas in the world where male migrants still significantly outnumber females, namely Africa – biggest
education divide between F/M, traditional beliefs about female roles.

Work
- Glass ceiling: An imaginary pay scale or promotion that women find hard to go pass because of a bias towards male
employees.
- Positive discrimination: When certain groups are favoured for employment and promotion when two people have
the same skills or qualifications. Positive discrimination is sometimes employed when groups have been unfairly
discriminated against in the past e.g. black people in South Africa during the Apartheid.
- Workplace quotas: When employers are expected to have a representative mix of workers e.g. half men, half
women, some disabled people, some able-bodied people, etc.
- Stereotypes: Still a pay divide between men & women in most countries around the world. Shortage of women in
senior managerial positions. Due to:
 Females leaving work to have a baby before achieving top positions
 Females being slightly behind men in terms of entering universities and the workplace (in many countries
women have only recently been emancipated in order to do this).
- Many countries introduced race & sex discrimination laws to end these practices.

Culture and Status

- Dowries: Property or money that a brides (sometimes grooms) family has to pay to the groom or the grooms family.
- Bride burning: The killing of women because the bride’s family cannot make dowry payments or a method of a
husband killing a wife he no longer wants.
- Honour killing: The killing of someone (nearly always a female) to protect the honour of a family or community.
Females are often killed because they have been accused of having a relationship with a man or even because they
have been raped. Honour killings are illegal, but happen in the thousands and are often not investigated by the
police.
- Arranged marriage or forced marriage: When a spouse is chosen for a female. These arrangements are often
marriages of convenience to create family ties. Sometimes women are forced into marriage to pay a family debt or
to offload an unwanted daughter. Women are sometimes abducted and taken to another country for this to happen.
- Marriage customs: dowry paid by bride’s family to groom. Bride leaves home to live with husband’s family, takes
husband’s last name  families favour sons over daughters  female infanticide in China.
- In many societies, domestic violence is accepted, not treated seriously by police.

Legal Rights and Tenure

- Inheritance: Property passed onto someone in the time of someone’s death. Property and possessions are usually
passed on within families. In Bangladesh, women still only inherit half as much as their brothers. Protests erupted
after government proposed changes to law making male & female inheritance equal.
- Tenure: Tenure relates to the ownership of something. When talking about tenure people often refund to property
or land. On death of husband, women often lose the right to land they once owned with their husband. The UN
trying to protect women’s ownership rights.
- Titles: UK – male heirs are favoured over females in their succession to the throne.

Gender and Life Expectancy

- Worldwide, men have higher mortality greater disability, lower life expectancy than women. However, female
health at disadvantage, stemming from biological differences between sex & gender: women are subject to risks
related to pregnancy and child bearing; the distinct social and cultural roles played by women and men.

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- Gender bias most apparent in developing countries with cultural preference for sons (e.g. China, India). Women
disadvantaged from birth – receive less nutritious food, less medical care – leading to lifelong health problems. Cycle
of poor health, as undernourished pregnant women are more likely to have low birth-weight and undernourished
children.

Gender and Empowerment

- Lack of gender balance in decision-making positions in government. Women underrepresented in national
parliament – average 17% of seats occupied by women. 17% of female ministers. 7 of 150 Heads of State in the
world are women. 11 of 192 Heads of Government.
- Private sector: number of women on boards of directors lower than men. “Glass ceiling” hindered women’s access
to leadership positions. 13 of 500 corporations in the world have a female chief executive officer.

Gender and Birth Ratios / family size

- 57 million more men than women in today’s world.
- Difference greatest amongst younger year groups, diminishes with age due to longer life expectancy of women.
- Difference greatest in China (117:100) and India, where abortion of female foetuses and female infanticide occurs.

Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM)

Measure of the extent to which females and males participate in the decision making process of the country. GEM
includes 3 components:
 Political participation (seats held by women in national parliament)
 Economic participation (% of women amongst legislators, senior officials and managers as well as in the professional
and technical fields.
 Power over economic resources (income earned by females compared to men)
Top countries are mainly Nordic countries (e.g. Norway, Sweden) and mainly MEDCs. Some MEDCs however are
exceptions (e.g. Japan and South Korea) which have low GEM scores. Lower countries are mainly LEDCs and often
Muslim (e.g. Niger, Sierra Leone). However, some LEDCs are much higher, e.g. Tanzania higher than Japan.

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