Unit 1: changing populations
Challenges and Opportunities of Changing Population
The Demographic Dividend
Definition of demographic Is the economic growth that may result from changes to a countries age structure, due to shift
dividend from people living short lives and having large families to living long lives and having small
families.
Outline 4 benefits of the 1. Labor supply
demographic dividend a. Economy is able to take in and productively employ more workers
b. Women are more likely to take jobs outside the homes
2. Savings
a. Personal savings can grow and serve as a resource for the fueling economy
3. Human capital
a. Decrease in fertility rates result in healthier women and fewer economic
pressures at home
b. Parents are able to invest more resources per child, leading to better health
and educational outcomes
4. Economic growth
a. An increase in GDP per capita due to the decreasing dependency ratio
What may stop a country ● Reduced fertility by itself does not guarantee prosperity
from benefiting from the ● Magnitude of demographic dividend thus relies on the rate of fertility decline and th
demographic dividend? pace of population growth, productivity to employ extra workforce, and political,
social economic reforms a country adopts
Dependency ratios
● The total dependency ratio tells us the proportion of the population not in the work-force who are
‘dependent’ on those of working-age, it’s a calculation which groups those aged under 15 with
those over 65 years as the ‘dependents’ and classifying those aged 15-64 years as the
working-age population
Term Definition
Young dependent Is the ration of number of young people when they are economically inactive
Old Dependent Ratio of the number of old people when they are economically inactive
Economically Active Working or actively seeking work
● The ratio for an HIC usually lies between 50 and 75. The ratio for an LIC is typically higher. The
higher the ratio, the greater the number of dependents that must be provided for from the taxes
on the workforce.
, ● If a country has an aging population there will be fewer people working as they will most
likely be in retirement
● If there is a high ration of young people who can not work
Challenges a dependent population poses for Challenges a dependent population poses for
HICs MICs and LICs
1. Less people in working force (aging 1. Big young population and need a lot of
population) education, health care
2. Large pension needs, less people paying 2. Too many children- dont have enough
taxes money for quality education (basic
3. Less people support government economy education) less skills for own business for
example, and therefore does not move
economy forward
3. Less people paying taxes because people
in workforce cant provide for
infrastructure (hospitals and schools)
Factors influencing population distribution
Part 1 – Physical Factors
Identify the image from the first column, give it a suitable factor title and then explain how it influences population distribution.
Photo Geographic Factor Title Explanation of relevance
Mountainous area Mountain environments have extreme
climate. These environments have poor soil
which and a lack of flat land for large human
populations to thrive on.
Extreme climate Extreme climate like in deserts where drought
is normal would affect population distribution
because it is not preferable for farming. Crops
and farming food would not be successful at
flourishing in climates like these.
Temperate and Subtropical This type of region avoids extreme cold and
climate heat and have lots of rainfall, which is very
ideal for farming.
, Freshwater Most populated areas are in the closeness of
a river. Rivers allow for transportation of
nutrient-rich sediments, which will be
deposited during floods in their floodplains.
Rivers provide cities with food, water, and
trade.
Industrialized area These types of area will benefit populations
because supplies that humans need for their
Natural resources day to day lives can be manufacture and
transported efficiently.
Part 2 – Human Factors
Identify the image from the first column, give it a suitable factor title and then explain how it influences population distribution.
Photo Geographic Factor Explanation of relevance
Title
Technology In agriculture, development of tech innovations have
innovations been extremely useful for increasing populations. It
gave humans the ability to control water and perfect
germination. Reliable mass food production also was
a vital component to population increase.
Skilled labour
Transportation Transportation was important to increase population
because it meant that humans could travel. Travel to
find better homes that were suited to them, travel to
work and find job opportunities, easily access
schools, hospitals, food stores etc.
migration The movement of people across countries affects the
population. People moving to different countries for
work will improve and maintain economies. The
movement of people to better environments will also
ensure there is a decrease in mortality.
Caused by natural disasters of personal interest
, War War will cause countries to collapse. Economically,
countries in war regions are not supported and can
not support the population still living in war zones.
The quality of life will also be appalling, humans
will loose their homes and will most likely not have
adequate access to health care. Food supply will run
out, and production will slow down or come to an
end.
Example 1- nepal
Nepal is experiencing a demographic shift primarily due to the countries physical features. Nepal is
extremely mountainous and this affects many factors which could stimulate population growth. Mountainous
areas mean that travel and transportation is very limited. This means that people can not move easily in
search for job opportunities, education, shops, hospitals etc.
Example 2- afghanistan
Afghanistan still has a growing population primarily due to the fact that this country is in a conflict zone,
poverty, low health service, poor level of female education on sex ED and contraceptives. This means that a
lot of sex will go unprotected, but even if a women falls pregnant, she has little to none choices to
terminating the pregnancy. The child will also grow up in non-favorable conditions, because he or she will
be introduced into a country which is not well established, and so the cycle continues.
Demographic transition model
Stage 1
● birth rate is high + fluctuating
○ High due to lack of contraception
○ High infant mortality
○ Families have many children
○ Need for children to work
○ Need for children to care for parents
● Death rate = high and fluctuating
○ Due to lack of health care (eg vaccination)
○ Clean water
○ Food
● Total population= very little growth
○ Because death rate cancels out the high birth rate
● Example: DRC, Somalia, Chad
Stage 2
● Birth rate is still high
○ It takes a lot of time for families to get used to not having kids
● Death rate decreases significantly
○ Health care starts to improve
○ Food and water
Challenges and Opportunities of Changing Population
The Demographic Dividend
Definition of demographic Is the economic growth that may result from changes to a countries age structure, due to shift
dividend from people living short lives and having large families to living long lives and having small
families.
Outline 4 benefits of the 1. Labor supply
demographic dividend a. Economy is able to take in and productively employ more workers
b. Women are more likely to take jobs outside the homes
2. Savings
a. Personal savings can grow and serve as a resource for the fueling economy
3. Human capital
a. Decrease in fertility rates result in healthier women and fewer economic
pressures at home
b. Parents are able to invest more resources per child, leading to better health
and educational outcomes
4. Economic growth
a. An increase in GDP per capita due to the decreasing dependency ratio
What may stop a country ● Reduced fertility by itself does not guarantee prosperity
from benefiting from the ● Magnitude of demographic dividend thus relies on the rate of fertility decline and th
demographic dividend? pace of population growth, productivity to employ extra workforce, and political,
social economic reforms a country adopts
Dependency ratios
● The total dependency ratio tells us the proportion of the population not in the work-force who are
‘dependent’ on those of working-age, it’s a calculation which groups those aged under 15 with
those over 65 years as the ‘dependents’ and classifying those aged 15-64 years as the
working-age population
Term Definition
Young dependent Is the ration of number of young people when they are economically inactive
Old Dependent Ratio of the number of old people when they are economically inactive
Economically Active Working or actively seeking work
● The ratio for an HIC usually lies between 50 and 75. The ratio for an LIC is typically higher. The
higher the ratio, the greater the number of dependents that must be provided for from the taxes
on the workforce.
, ● If a country has an aging population there will be fewer people working as they will most
likely be in retirement
● If there is a high ration of young people who can not work
Challenges a dependent population poses for Challenges a dependent population poses for
HICs MICs and LICs
1. Less people in working force (aging 1. Big young population and need a lot of
population) education, health care
2. Large pension needs, less people paying 2. Too many children- dont have enough
taxes money for quality education (basic
3. Less people support government economy education) less skills for own business for
example, and therefore does not move
economy forward
3. Less people paying taxes because people
in workforce cant provide for
infrastructure (hospitals and schools)
Factors influencing population distribution
Part 1 – Physical Factors
Identify the image from the first column, give it a suitable factor title and then explain how it influences population distribution.
Photo Geographic Factor Title Explanation of relevance
Mountainous area Mountain environments have extreme
climate. These environments have poor soil
which and a lack of flat land for large human
populations to thrive on.
Extreme climate Extreme climate like in deserts where drought
is normal would affect population distribution
because it is not preferable for farming. Crops
and farming food would not be successful at
flourishing in climates like these.
Temperate and Subtropical This type of region avoids extreme cold and
climate heat and have lots of rainfall, which is very
ideal for farming.
, Freshwater Most populated areas are in the closeness of
a river. Rivers allow for transportation of
nutrient-rich sediments, which will be
deposited during floods in their floodplains.
Rivers provide cities with food, water, and
trade.
Industrialized area These types of area will benefit populations
because supplies that humans need for their
Natural resources day to day lives can be manufacture and
transported efficiently.
Part 2 – Human Factors
Identify the image from the first column, give it a suitable factor title and then explain how it influences population distribution.
Photo Geographic Factor Explanation of relevance
Title
Technology In agriculture, development of tech innovations have
innovations been extremely useful for increasing populations. It
gave humans the ability to control water and perfect
germination. Reliable mass food production also was
a vital component to population increase.
Skilled labour
Transportation Transportation was important to increase population
because it meant that humans could travel. Travel to
find better homes that were suited to them, travel to
work and find job opportunities, easily access
schools, hospitals, food stores etc.
migration The movement of people across countries affects the
population. People moving to different countries for
work will improve and maintain economies. The
movement of people to better environments will also
ensure there is a decrease in mortality.
Caused by natural disasters of personal interest
, War War will cause countries to collapse. Economically,
countries in war regions are not supported and can
not support the population still living in war zones.
The quality of life will also be appalling, humans
will loose their homes and will most likely not have
adequate access to health care. Food supply will run
out, and production will slow down or come to an
end.
Example 1- nepal
Nepal is experiencing a demographic shift primarily due to the countries physical features. Nepal is
extremely mountainous and this affects many factors which could stimulate population growth. Mountainous
areas mean that travel and transportation is very limited. This means that people can not move easily in
search for job opportunities, education, shops, hospitals etc.
Example 2- afghanistan
Afghanistan still has a growing population primarily due to the fact that this country is in a conflict zone,
poverty, low health service, poor level of female education on sex ED and contraceptives. This means that a
lot of sex will go unprotected, but even if a women falls pregnant, she has little to none choices to
terminating the pregnancy. The child will also grow up in non-favorable conditions, because he or she will
be introduced into a country which is not well established, and so the cycle continues.
Demographic transition model
Stage 1
● birth rate is high + fluctuating
○ High due to lack of contraception
○ High infant mortality
○ Families have many children
○ Need for children to work
○ Need for children to care for parents
● Death rate = high and fluctuating
○ Due to lack of health care (eg vaccination)
○ Clean water
○ Food
● Total population= very little growth
○ Because death rate cancels out the high birth rate
● Example: DRC, Somalia, Chad
Stage 2
● Birth rate is still high
○ It takes a lot of time for families to get used to not having kids
● Death rate decreases significantly
○ Health care starts to improve
○ Food and water
