Unit 8: Challenges of Population Growth and Migration
While having high fertility rates and significant population growth can be a challenge, especially for poorer developing countries, having large numbers of elderly citizens can also pose problems, such as not having enough working age people to support social security systems. Nineteen countries have more than 20% of their populations over 65 years of age (all but one in Europe, where 26 of the 27 countries with oldest populations can be found). Match the letter in the histogram to the countries to find the world's nine oldest populations.
Japan - I Finland, Greece, Portugal - E, F, G Italy - H Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Malta - A, B, C, D
What regions hold what percentage of the world's population? Europe, North America, and Oceania combined hold _________________ of the world's population, whereas Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean hold ______________ of the world's population.
Less than 20% / more than 80%
What were some negative consequences of the original green revolution (select all that apply, there are one to four possible correct answers)?
Loss of local food diversity Many vulnerable farmers became dependent on expensive and environmentally contaminating pesticides and synthetic fertilizers People around the world eat the same few things Local knowledge that was built over thousands of years of agricultural history was almost lost
In general:
Many LDCs have enacted policies to reduce population growth, while many MDCs have enacted policies to increase population growth
Which of the following statements is true concerning urbanization?
More Developed Countries (MDCs) are more urbanized than Less Developed Countries (LDCs)
As noted in the introduction to this lesson, how many refugees AND internally displaced people does Ukraine have, given the war that began in 2022?
More than 12 million
When looking at Niger's population pyramid, which of the following are correct statements (select all that apply, there are one to four possible correct answers)?
More than 35% of Niger's population are under 10 years of age Less than 5% of Niger's population is over over the age of 65 Niger has a youthful population
When looking at the population pyramid for The Netherlands, which of the following are correct statements (select all that apply, there are one to four possible correct answers)?
More than 50% of the Dutch population is of working age (15-64 years of age) Just over 18% of the population is older than 65 years of age About 11% of the population is under ten years of age
One needs only to consider the COVID-19 crisis that began in 2020 to recognize that health factors, such as the quality of health care systems and the prevalence of disease, can have a significant impact on demographics. Clearly, from the map above, Africa as well as South and Southeast Asia face major health challenges. Match the country below to the subdimension under "Health" where that country ranks as the worst in the world for that subdimension. Does anything surprise you? Do you know the location of each of these countries?
Nauru - Non-infectious diseases Lesotho - Infectious diseases United States - Substance Abuse Somalia - Health Systems
Which of the following is true about population and population growth (select all that apply, there are one to four possible correct answers)?
Nearly one-fifth of the world's population lives in China Nearly 60% of the world's population lives in Asian countries European populations make up about 10% of the world's population Fertility rates in the least developed countries are declining but still very high Patterns of population growth differ significantly between more- and less-developed regions of the world
How is a country's population size (P) determined?
P= (+) births (-) deaths (+) in-migration (-) out-migration
The role of women has been seen as central to population control because women's empowerment tends to lead to smaller but healthier families. Clearly, even with a number of countries having missing data, the map above shows that women in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia face the most disparities and/or persecution. Match the country below to the main subdimension under "Gender Inequality and Integrity" where that country ranks as the worst in the world for that subdimension.
Papua New Guinea - "Female Political Empowerment" China - "Female/Male Health and Survival" Afghanistan - "Female/Male Economic Participation and Opportunity" Equatorial Guinea - "Female Physical Integrity" Chad - "Female/Male Educational Attainment"
Which of the following is an example that shows that genetically modified crops can have good and bad effects?
Pest-killing corn has lowered pesticide use in parts of the world by 90% but has also resulted in some bugs like root worms developing resistance to the bacterial toxin inserted into the corn's DNA
Those pointing out that we need to focus on the structural dimensions of social change, argue that:
Population growth, in particular high fertility, is a consequence rather than a cause of slow economic development
Which of the following are common themes connecting all models of thought on the question of how to address population growth (select all that apply, there are one to four possible correct answers)?
Poverty reduction Improving the status of women Increasing sustainability of food production Improvement in water quality
The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration (select all that apply, there are one to four possible correct answers):
Seeks to promote national and international policies with respect to migration that follow the rule of law and promote sustainable development and human rights
What is a key challenge of aging populations?
Smaller cohorts of young people coming into the labor force to support elderly populations
In late June 2022, the worst case of migrant deaths due to smuggling into the US occurred when more than 50 migrants were abandoned in the back of a sweltering tractor-trailer in which U.S. state?
Texas
Which of the following are correct statements about fertility rates (select all that apply, there are one to four possible correct answers)?
The fertility rate in high-income countries is below replacement and stands at about 1.67 per woman The fertility rate for the world as a whole is about 2.47 births per woman The fertility rate is a strong indicator of overall population growt The total fertility rate measures the average number of births per woman of childbearing age The fertility rate in middle-income countries is estimated at about 2.35 births per woman The fertility rate in low-income countries has declined from just under 6.68 for 1970-1975 to 4.52 births per woman in the period from 2015-2020
Key "general tendencies" of international population movements in an age of globalization include (select all that apply, there are one to four possible correct answers):
The increasing politicization of migration The involvement of an increasing number of countries, both as sending and receiving states The "feminization" of migration, as women are an increasing part of workforces Ongoing changes in where people go and where they come from
Critics of the demographic transition model argue that:
The model applies the record of population change and development in Europe and North America as the universal standard
What is the relationship between expected population growth over the next two decades and climate change?
The vast majority of people (75%) are going to be born in regions hardest hit by climate change
What has the Human Genome Project found that tells us that variations in health outcomes based on race and ethnicity are linked to something other than DNA (select all that apply, there are one to four possible correct answers)?
There's more variation within a like group than between single individuals of different groups DNA shows that all humans are 99.9% the same
The longitudinal chart above shows that "Population Growth" patterns have been quite challenging in Lebanon and Syria because of the devastating civil war in Syria, with well over a million refugees being driven into tiny Lebanon, and some eventually returning home to Syria. More broadly, this variable helps us understand where a country stands in its "demographic transition." Countries with the highest population growth generally are in the earlier stages of the demographic transition, whereas countries with the lowest population growth or declining populations generally are in the latter stages. Using the RCII, match each country below to its population growth rate.
United States - .69 Japan - -.39 China - .19 Russia - -.22 India - .67 Nigeria - 2.53 Germany -.11
Match the term to its definition.
Urbanization: Grown in the size of cities, with an increasing percentage of the overall population Emigration: International migration out of a country Immigration: International migration into a country Refugee: A person who is outside their country of origin because of well-founded fears of being persecuted Internally Displace Persons: People displaced within their own countries
The Cornucopian perspective rests on the following ideas (select all that apply, there are one to four possible correct answers):
Use of natural resources is best managed through market forces Population growth is positive as it increases economic productivity and capacity for economic progress Technological innovation can overcome problems of population growth
According to the UN Population Division's 2020 analyses, what is the medium variant projection for the world's population by 2100?
10.9 billion people by 2100
Which country has been known for its "one child policy"?
China
Which countries will continue to hold the largest share of the world's population?
Countries in Asia
The demographic transition model suggests that as societies industrialize and urbanize:
Death rates will fall, and when values shift from large to small families, fertility rates will decline
If we all lived as densely as people in Manhattan, every human could fit inside ___________.
Norway
In his 1798 publication, Thomas Malthus argued that (select all that apply, there are one to four possible correct answers):
The "positive checks" of famine, war, and epidemics would bring populations back under control The human desire to reproduce would lead to starvation, poverty, and human misery
As discussed in the video, many of the immigrants coming into the United States are from:
The Northern Triangle of Central America (Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador), the world's deadliest countries outside war zones
Which country accepts the largest total number of immigrants worldwide?
The United States
In the 2021 fiscal year, a record number of 1.73 million migrant encounters were recorded in the United States. What is the expectation for the 2022 numbers?
They are expected to top 2 million
The majority of the world's refugees and internally displaced people are:
Women and children
What is replacement fertility (in births per woman)?
Approximately 2.1 births per woman
What are some of the reasons why the world's population drastically increased over the past 70 years (select all that apply, there are one to four possible correct answers)?
Improved food production and distribution Reduced mortality rates Major public health advances
Which writer first proposed a negative relationship between human population growth and the supply of food and other resources?
Thomas Malthus
How many refugees AND internally displaced people does Syria have?
13.2 million
What percentage of global calories come from animals raised for food?
20%
What percentage of crops grown goes into feeding livestock?
33%
How many unaccompanied minors entered the U.S. during the 2014 crisis?
60,000-80,000
In 2019, the number of people living as refugees or internally displaced people worldwide was estimated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at:
79.5 million
As noted in the introduction to this lesson, the world's population in mid-2022 is ______________.
8 billion people
What percentage of global agricultural lands do animals raised for food take up?
80%
What do we call the graphical representation of the proportions of persons in different age groups in a population?
A population pyramid
What are some of the uneven effects brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic felt by people of color in London (select all that apply, there are one to four possible correct answer)?
A significant gap in health outcomes between White, Asian, and Black communities admitted to hospital with complications from COVID-19 Those of Asian and Black ethnicity were younger and fitter and were dying from COVID-19 When looking at survival at 30 days, patients of Black and Asian ethnicity had an increased risk of death
Africa has 26 of the top 27 countries with the highest birth rate. What is the one country in the top 27 that is NOT from Africa?
Afghanistan
"Urbanization," a key dynamic in the movement of people worldwide, has been sparked by such factors as technological change, industrialization, and rural environmental decline. It is seen as an important factor in the demographic transition. Order the countries in the chart above from least urbanized (25.75%) to the most urbanized (91.7%).
Afghanistan India China Ireland United States Japan
As can be seen in the bar chart above, Syria leads the world with almost 6.7 million refugees. Five other countries after Syria had 800,000 or more refugees in 2021 (the data in the 2022 RCII). Place these five in order from most refugees to least refugees. Do you know why these countries have so many refugees? Note, in 2022, Russia's invasion of Ukraine created more than 5 million refugees and 7 million internally displaced people, which will be reflected in the 2023 RCII.
Afghanistan South Sudan Myanmar DRC Somalia
By the end of the 21st century, which of the following regions will see their share decrease while still holding the largest share of the world's population?
Asia
In which region are the world's three largest cities found?
Asia
Where do migrants going through the Darian Gap come from?
Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Cuba, Haiti, and other places around the world
When did the world's population reach one billion people?
At the beginning of the 19th century
What are some things that can be seen on the passage through the Darien Gap (select all that apply, there are one to four possible correct answers)?
Bandits that steal money and food, and sexually assault women Children crying of hunger because there is no food Rivers overflowing, making it impossible to pass (the area has some of the highest rainfall totals in the world) Smugglers hired to get people into Panama demanding payment Skeletons of people who got injured while making the treacherous journey Young men carrying backpacks filled with bricks of cocaine
Why is it important today to think about the relationship between population growth and food supply even though the rate at which the global population is increasing has slowed?
Because of the additional problem of carbon emissions and climate change
Which of the following are correct statements about the world's population (select all that apply, there are one to four possible correct answers)?
By 2050, India is projected to be the most populous country in the world By 2050, India's population is projected to reach 1.6 billion people China's population is projected to peak by 2030 at 1.5 billion and decline to about 1.4 billion by 2050
According to the UN's 2020 projections, the two countries with the largest populations will continue to see growth, but where ___________ is projected to peak in size at 1.5 billion in 2030, _____________ is projected to soon overtake it, reaching an estimated 1.6 billion by 2050.
China / India
What do we call the "study of population change and characteristics"?
Demography
What are the most effective ways to lower birth rates?
Empowering women and increasing women's access to education
Across the globe, urbanization has been caused by (select all that apply, there are one to four possible correct answers)?
Environmental decline, such as the overgrazing of land Industrialization, "pulling" people into cities Technological developments, "pushing" people off the farm
Once they have crossed the Darien Gap, what do migrants find (select all that apply, there are one to four possible correct answers)?
For some, long waits because they come from countries where the U.S. is concerned about terrorism Minimal food and other assistance Panamanian border security personnel and procedures, often supported by U.S. personnel because Panama lacks capacity Stalled journeys in squalid camps because Covid-19 has put up a major roadblock
U.S. support for international family planning programs:
Has shifted with changing administrations, with Republicans barring fertility control programs that include legal access to abortion, and Democrats supporting such programs
Population projections are not predictions but rather represent a calculation of future population size based on a set of assumptions or variants, including expected fertility rate. Which of the following variants project that the world's total population will surpass 9 billion people by 2100? (select all that apply, there are one to four possible correct answers)
Instant Replacement Variant High Fertility Variant Constant Fertility Variant Medium Fertility Variant
"Brain Drain" (select all that apply, there are one to four possible correct answers):
Is sometimes not entirely negative, as those who emigrate can sometimes return home with new skills or capital Is the loss of highly skilled persons, mostly from developing countries, as they migrate to, most often, developed countries
What do we mean by the term "replacement fertility"?
It is the rate at which one generation of parents is replacing itself in the next generation
Which of the following statements is correct?
It took the UK 95 years to halve birth rates while Brazil did it in 26 and Iran in 10
