Population - KS3 Geography

Key Concepts

• Population: Refers to the number of individuals living in a particular area.
• Population changes can be demonstrated using the Demographic Transition Model (DTM).
• Management strategies include encouraging or discouraging population growth through policies.

Population Change

• Factors Influencing Population:
  • Births
  • Deaths
  • Migration (includes immigration and emigration)
• Natural Increase: The change in population size due to births and deaths. A positive natural increase is when births exceed deaths.

Demographic Transition Model (DTM)

• Illustrates the relationship between birth rates, death rates, and population changes across different stages of a country's development.
• Stages of the DTM:
  • Stage 1: High birth and death rates, low population.
  • Stage 2: Declining death rates, high birth rates, leading to population growth.
  • Stage 3: Falling birth rates, slower population growth.
  • Stage 4: Low birth and death rates, steady population.
  • Stage 5: Potential population decline due to low birth rates and an ageing population.

Population Pyramids

• Illustrate the structure of a population by age and gender.
• Key features:
  • Wide Base: Indicates a young population with high birth rates.
  • Tall Pyramid: Suggests a higher life expectancy.
  • Narrow Base: Indicates low birth rates.
  • Irregularities: May indicate historical events like wars or migration.

Examples:

• Kenya: Wide base, indicating high birth rates and a young population.
• United Kingdom: Narrow base, relatively even age distribution, indicating low birth and death rates.

Population Management Strategies

• United Kingdom:
  • Uses pro-natal strategies to encourage population growth, such as child benefits and flexible work policies.
• China:
  • Formerly used the one-child policy to control population, now allowing up to three children.
  • The policy had significant social and economic impacts.
• Kerala, India:
  • Focused on improving education and healthcare to manage population growth without enforcing family size limits.
  • High literacy rates and reduced infant mortality due to these policies.

Questions Reviewed

• What is meant by the term natural increase?
• At what stage of the DTM are high birth rates but falling death rates likely?
• What does a wide base on a population pyramid indicate?
• Which country introduced a one-child policy in the 1970s?