FORM 2 GEOGRAPHY: POPULATION HAND OUT

POPULATION

How does the population grow so fast? 10,000 years ago, there were about 5 million of

us humans on Earth. By 18,000 CE, there were about 1 billion. And today, over 8 billion!

Read the story of Bo and Ella below to get a clear picture of how the population grew so

fast.

The population of a place can either increase or decrease. This leads to population

change in a given year. The factors that influence this are: birth and death rates

(natural), and migration (immigration and emigration).

● The birth rate is the number of live births per 1000 people. It falls when women

have fewer babies.

● The death rate is the number of deaths per 1000 people. It falls when people are

living longer.

● Immigration is when people come into the country to settle whilst emigration is

when people go out of the country to settle in another country.

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● We calculate population change using this formula: Population change in a given

year = number of births - number of deaths) + (number of immigrants -

number of emigrants).

● Population growth can also be influenced by the fertility rate and life expectancy.

The fertility rate simply means the average number children per woman.

● Life expectancy means how many years a new baby can expect to live, on

average. Some might live to 40, 70, or 90+.

● Life expectancy used to be shorter because of: poor hygiene, sewage and waste

being discharged into water rivers, where people got their water. Infections spread

easily (Remember the cholera outbreak in Soho, London?).

● These days, because of better hygiene, proper sewage systems, clean water

supply, better healthcare and improvements in vaccines, life expectancy has

improved and more babies live longer to have children of their own.
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POPULATION PYRAMIDS

Governments need to know how many people are in a country and how old they

are as this helps to plan ahead. For instance, how to plan for the elderly. A

population pyramid shows a country’s population divided into different age

groups or cohorts by gender (males and females). The pyramid below illustrates

the population of the UK in 2019.

As seen from the pyramid above, the number of boys under 10 made up 6.4 % of

the population in 2019. The number of girls under 10 made up 6%. This implies

that children under 10 made up 12.4%. (6.4 + 6 = 12.4). A very small % of the

population was aged over 100! So small that it rounds off to 0%.
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GLOBAL POPULATION DISTRIBUTION

So where is everyone? Why are some places densely populated and others

sparsely populated? The map below shows the population density of the world in

colours. The darker the colour, the higher the density.

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THE IMPACT OF A GROWING POPULATION ON PLANET EARTH

As the population of the earth keeps rising, so will our demand for natural

resources. The images below help as understand how this is so.

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Human beings make use of natural resources in diverse ways as seen above but it is not

all good news.

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ADDITIONAL READINGS
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YOUR TURN!

1. 2.1 children per woman is the replacement fertility rate. Explain why: a. it is

called replacement b it is not 2.0.

2. Compare Japan and Ethiopia in C and D above, for 2019.

a. In which country is a new born baby expected to live longer - and

how many years longer?

b. What was the average number of children per woman: i in Ethiopia?

ii in Japan?

c. Which country is more developed? Give evidence to support your

answer.

3. Describe one challenge predicted for 2050 for:

a Japan b Ethiopia
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1. Graph A shows how the populations of four countries changed over the period

1950-2019.

a. By 2019, which of the four countries had: i the largest population? ii the

smallest population?

b. i in which country did the population rise fastest? ii State one problem that

a fast-rising population may cause for a country. (think about what people

need.)

c. In which country was the population in decline by 2019?

d. The population of Germany was declining by 2010. (The fertility rate was

1.4.) Then it began to rise again, partly because Germany took in refugees

from Syria and other countries. i Define refugee ii Germany makes and

exports far more goods than any other European country. Suggest a reason

why Germany is anxious to avoid population decline.

e. The fertility rate for Nigeria is 5.4 children per woman. Explain the link

between this fertility rate and the population growth in Nigeria.