Population

Population

1. Reasons for the world’s population distribution

   • climate
     • People prefer to live where there is rain throughout the year – no extremes. Few people live where the climate is hot and wet e.g. Amazon rainforest – this is unhealthy
   • soil
     • Few people live where the climate is hot and wet e.g. Amazon rainforest – this is unhealthy. The river also provides water all year round for crops
   • relief
     • People prefer to live in flat, lowland areas – the Himalayas are sparsely populated due to the mountains – this makes building difficult, soils are thin and it is colder as you gain height
   • resources
     • People tend to settle in places where there are plenty of resources available. Coal in north-east USA attracted people. Scenery is a natural resource – this attracts tourists e.g. California
   • communications
     • People are attracted to areas where there are many roads, railways, airports and ports as these attract industry providing employment opportunities. Remote areas deter people e.g. Ontario Canada
   • Technological Development
     • Countries that have a high level of technology and well-educated people will be densely populated e.g Japan. Countries with natural resources also need the technology to be able to exploit their resources e.g. Democratic Republic of the Congo
   • Economic Activities
     • Areas with high industry or services will have greater population densities e.g. south-east Australia. Large numbers of people can be employed in a small area – unlike farming where a great deal of land is required.

2. push and pull factors

   • push factors: Increased population not enough land to farm. natural disasters. Poor services inc. lack of sewage disposal, electricity and water
   • pull factors: Better education and health care. job opportunities. Better variety of housing. More and better services – shops, entertainment etc.

3. factors affecting Birth rates- developing country

   • Children can take care of their parents in old age
   • Children are economically important – can help to earn money by working on the family’s farm or elsewhere
   • Lack of family planning and contraception
   • Infant mortality rates (number of children that die before the age of 1) are high, so parents will have more children to ensure survival of some
   • In some cultures, the larger the family, the more powerful the man and the higher status they have in their society
   • developed country
     • Women are educated, so choose to have careers. This means they marry later and have fewer babies
     • Contraception and family planning are readily available
     • Children are very expensive to raise

4. factors affecting death rates -developing country

   • Many families live in poor housing with poor sanitation
   • Lack of clean water, leading to many water-borne diseases spreading easily e.g. cholera
   • Many do not have enough food to eat
   • Overcrowding leads to diseases spreading e.g. malaria
   • Few doctors and hospitals
   • developed country
     • Proper sanitation and clean water
     • People have good diets and enough to eat
     • Advanced medical facilities and advice are available

5. advantages in rapid population growth

   • A country becomes more powerful and less vulnerable to attack as they have a large number of people in the armed forces
   • More people to work – increasing production on farms and in factories More workers means wage rates are lower – this attracts international companies
   • disadvantages
     • In rural areas farms are becoming smaller and they need to be farmed more intensively – this makes the soil poorer
     • More trees are being cut down to provide fuel, building materials and to create more land for farming
     • This in turn allows the soil to be blown away or washed away - the land becomes even more infertile, fewer crops grow, the people become poor and hungry and many move to cities
     • In urban areas population is increasing even more rapidly due to the immigrants from the countryside
     • There aren’t enough houses for everyone so people build their own shacks which lack even basic amenities such as toilets and water supply There are not enough jobs for everyone so unemployment is high and crime increases Traffic congestion worsens, schools and hospitals are overcrowded.
   • controlling rapid population
     • Laws limiting family size Provide information on how to reduce births
     • Educate females Provide opportunities for abortion and sterilisation Give incentives to limit family size