population

environmental problems- consequences of a high rate of population growth

with a larger population, not only are more resources used by people, more waste, such as used paper, empty bottles and sewage are produced in less developed countries, waste disposal services and other public services are lacking. this has led to water and land pollution -lack of proper waste disposal -land and water pollution results in the spread of diseases for example, diseases such as chlorea are spread through contaminated water

causes of a low rate of population growth- low birth rate- better medical and healthcare

with better medical and health care, people are able to enjoy longer and healthier lives. for example when vaccinations are easily available to the public, diseases can be easily prevented from spreading in the country. in singapore, all children are given vaccinations to protect them from illnesses such as smallpox and measles

population distribution

WAY IN WHICH PEOPLE ARE SPREAD OUT OVER AN AREA OF LAND most of the worlds population live in only 10% of the earths land surface

rate of natural increase

how fast the population grows depends on the rate of natural increase. this can be calculated by birth rate - death rate. if there are more births than deaths, the birth rate is higher than the death rate, the country experiences an increase in population. this causes the rate of natural increase to be positive. if there are more deaths than births, the death rate is higher than the birth rate and the country experiences a decrease in population and therefore the rate of natural increase is negative. if the birth rate and death rate are equal, we say that the growth rate is zero. this means that the number of people who died are replaced one for one by the number of babies born, and the population size remains the same

higher demand for jobs - consequences of a high rate of population growth

in a country with rapid population growth, there will be a lot of people competing for a limited number of jobs. - this leads to unemployment causing crime rate to increase -less investment >political instability >transport infrastructure estimated that about 30 million jobs have to be created in the world every year if every new person reaching working age is to have a job

causes of low rate of population growth- low death rate- higher standards of hygiene

in countries with higher standards of hygiene, there is clean food, water and air. people are less prone to contracting diseases such as cholera, which is associated with unhygienic living conditions

population density (do not confuse with population distribution

POPULATION DENSITY GIVES US AN IDEA OF THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE LIVING IN A PARTICULAR AREA. PEOPLE PER SQUARE KILOMETER OF LAND POPULATION DENSITY = TOTAL NUMBER OF PEOPLE / TOTAL AREA OF LAND population density varies from place to place and only gives us a clue about the actual number of people living in the country. this is because people are not evenly distributed and some regions are more crowded than others. cities generally have high population densities (high number of people per square km), while countrysides and areas such as deserts and forests usually have low population densities (fewer people living per square km)

early marriage- high birth rate- consequences of a high rate of population growth

couples who marry early tend to have larger families than those who marry at a later age this is because the number of years women who marry early have for childbearing is higher therefore in countries where people marry young, such as in certain parts of india, the birth rates tend to be high

lack of family planning- high birth rate- consequences of a high rate of population growth

family planning refers mainly to how many children a couple plans to have in many LDC, people are less educated and know little about family planning methods. they may also end up having many children due to deep rooted traditional beliefs and values or religious beliefs for example some hindu rituals require sons to perform religious rituals for parents. therefore couples may continue to have children until they succeed in having a son

causes of a low rate of population growth- low birth rate- better medical and health care

in developed countries people generally enjoy higher levels of income and can afford to buy , which improves health. sufficient food and water. food shortages are also rare in these countries.

education on family planning- actions to control a high rate of population growth

in many countries couples are taught many different ways of controlling the size of their families eg in india and bangladesh, women from family planning agencies have been sent to rural areas to educate the people and give advice on family planning this is to raise awareness about the need to control family size

life expectancy

life expectancy refers to the average number of years a person living in a particular area is expected to live

better medical and health care- low death rate- causes of a high rate of population growth

medical care refers to the availability of hospitals, clinics, doctors, medical equipment, medicine and medical knowledge health care refers to immunisation, nutritional knowledge, the availability of community hospitals and other measures aimed at improving the quality of life. better medical and health care have enabled many babies to survive beyond their first year, meaning infant immortality rate is low when the elderly receive better medical care, they are able to live longer, meaning life expectancy has increased

need for farm labour- high birth rate- consequences of a high rate of population growth

note- only FARM labour, not all labour people in many less developed countries depend on farming to earn a living farm work requires much labour and large families are therefore preferred as there will be more hands to work on the land. (they want more children to help in the farming)

infant immortality rate

number of deaths among infants under one year of birth every 1000 live births per year

better hygiene- low death rate- causes of a high rate of population growth

people are less prone to falling sick and contracting diseases if their living conditions are clean and hygienic in many countries, the death rate has greatly decreased when there is a supply of clean water, when the environment is clear of disease carrying pests and insects clean water and environment leads to less sicknesses and diseases that lead to death and better sanitation

factors influencing population distribution- physical distribution

people tend to live in areas with fertile soil, which attract large populations, and where the climate is not extreme. river deltas usually have large population as the soil is very fertile due to sediments deposited in the river. -nile delta in egypt - ganges river delta between india and bangladesh. there are also fewer people living in the mountains or places and in areas with harsh climates. places with climates that are too hot or too cold or too dry are neither favorable for the cultivation of crops nor suitable for humans to settle in

definition of population growth

population growth refers to a change in population size. this change can be positive or negative. there are also instances where there are no change in population growth, which is otherwise known as zero population growth

population explosion

rapid increase in population

higher demand for housing- consequences of a high rate of population growth

rapid increase in population would also result in competition for housing, especially in a less developed country, which do not have sufficient housing for its rapidly growing population eg. india, people living in temporary shelters made of cardboard or wooden planks like the dharavi slum in mumbai -such settlements have overcrowded living conditions and do not have electricity, clean water and sanitation which leads to the spread of diseases

incentives and penalties- actions to control a high rate of population growth

rewards in the form of momentary incentives may be given to couples who have fewer children. in contrast, those with more children could be penalized, by for example, paying taxes china uses both incentives and penalties as means to slow down population growth. one child policy implemented in 1979 due to rapid population growth. this allowed each couple in the country to have only one child. incentives in the form of housing and education subsidies were given to couples who pledged to have only one child couples who had more than one child had to pay heavy fines to the government or were forced to have an abortion some exemptions and revisions have been made to the policy to allow certain couples to have more children for example if a couple are each an only child, they would be allowed to have two children this is to prevent an imbalance in the population, because with so few babies born, there may be less young people to care for the elderly in the future

preference for sons- high birth rate- consequences of a high rate of population growth

some societies such as in rural parts of china or india, place a lot of importance on having sons sons are seen as being capable of carrying on the family name or surname when they marry while daughters are not. additionally, sons are able to continue working on the farm when the parents grow old, unlike daughters, who will move away from the family when they marry. thus couples will continue to have children until they succeed in having sons

factors affecting population distribution- level of technology

technology in this instance refers to the knowledge, skills and tools that people use to meet their requirements. with improvements in technology, environments that were previously unsuitable for living can be converted into suitable living environments. - las vegas is a city located in a desert region. advances in technology have enabled water to be transported to various places through pipes and canals.

high rate of population growth

the fastest population growth in the world today is experienced by less developed countries- countries with low levels of economic wealth and poor living conditions. some examples of these countries are africa, south america and some parts of asia, for example india whose population rose from 360 million in 1950 to over 1 billion in 2004

reasons the world's population us growing rapidly

the number of births generally exceeds the number of deaths better medical and health care improved hygiene increased food supply due to advances in technology -irrigation -genetically modified seeds these have enabled people to live longer

death rate

the number of deaths per 1000 people per year

birth rate

the number of live births per 1000 people per year

higher demand for education - consequences of a high rate of population growth

with more babies born every year, there is a need to ensure that there are sufficient schools and teachers to educate the young less developed countries may lack the funds to build more schools and as a result not everyone will be able to attend school and obtain a good education.- insufficient knowledge -without education, it is difficult to get out of the cycle of poverty

higher demand for resources- consequences of a high rate of population growth

with more people, the demand for resources such as food and water also increases. many less developed countries suffer from shortage of food because not enough food is being produced to feed the rapidly growing population. -malnutrition and starvation eg haiti, eating mud cookies