1.1+-+Population+Dynamics

__From the syllabus__

 * Describe and suggest reasons for the rapid increase in the world’s population in recent times, ‘the population explosion’.
 * Define the main components influencing population growth – birth rate, death rate and migration.
 * Describe the relationship between population growth and resources and explain why problems may result in some areas such as over-population and under-population.
 * Identify and suggest reasons for contrasting patterns of population growth in different world areas as influenced by differences in birth rate, death rate and migration. Factors affecting these influences should be considered such as differences in social, economic and other factors, e.g. government policies and their impact upon birth rates, differences in health care, social and other factors influencing death rates, especially the impact of HIV/AIDS. These factors should be illustrated by reference to selected examples.
 * Describe the consequences (benefits and problems) of different patterns of population growth. Consideration should be given to variations in the size and nature of dependent populations and standards of living.
 * Identify and suggest reasons for different types of population structure as shown by age-sex pyramids. Candidates should be able to describe population pyramids and relate them to the different stages of the Demographic Transition Model.
 * Identify the major influences on population density and population distribution. Reference should be made to physical, economic and human factors.
 * Describe and suggest reasons for population migrations. Reference should be made to internal movements such as rural-urban migration as well as to international migrations both voluntary and involuntary.

__Key term list__
**Population Density**- The average number of people per square km in a country or region. ( Death rate can sometimes be referred to as mortality rate) ( Total fertility rate is basically the average number of children per woman).
 * Choropleth Map**- A shaded map according to the amount of variable it contains eg for population density the variable is number of people per square km.
 * Population Distribution**- The way the population is spread out over a particular area.
 * Sparsely Populated**- A relatively small number of people living in an area.
 * Densely Populated**- A relatively large number of people living in an area.
 * LEDC**- Less economically developed country (poor ) eg India.
 * MEDC**- More economically developed country (wealthy) eg Great Britain
 * Census**- An official ten year count of population including information such as age, sex, occupation and ethnic origin.
 * Demography**- The study of human populations e.g birth rates, death rates, life expectancy etc
 * Demographic Transition Model**- This describes the historical shift in birth and death rates and predicts population change ( it has four stages, with a possible fifth today to describe population decline)
 * Crude Birth Rate**- The number of births per 1000 population per year.
 * Crude Death Rate**- The number of deaths per 1000 population per year.
 * Fertility Rate**- The number of live births in a year per 1000 women who are in the reproductive age group 15-44 years
 * Rate of Natural Increase/Decrease**- The difference between birth rate and death rate.
 * Population Explosion**- The rapid rate of population growth that has occurred in the 20 th century
 * Infant Mortality rate**- The number of children who die each year before they are one year old, measured per 1000 live births.
 * Life Expectancy (at birth)**- The average number of years a person is expected to live.
 * Replacement Rate**- The total fertility rate required to stabilise the population (2.1)
 * Anti-natalist Policies**- Seek to reduce natural population increase through the reduction of births eg Family Planning Programmes (China).
 * Pro-natalist Policies-** Seeks to increase natural population growth through an increase in the birth rate eg Financial incentives for large families (France, Germany & Japan)
 * Population Pyramid**- A graph showing the proportion of males and females in each age group of the population. It provides a visual display of the countries population structure.
 * Dependency Ratio**- The ratio of the number of dependent population who are under 14 and over 65 years compared to the economically active who are between 15 and 64 years.
 * Ageing Populations**- Where it is visible on the population pyramid that there are a larger number of people aged 65 plus years, particulary noticable in developed countries.
 * Youthful Populations**- Where the population pyramid shows a visible bulge at the base, showing that there is a high birth rate, particularly noticable for developing countries eg Kenya.
 * Carrying Capacity**- This relates the population size to the amount of resources available over time.
 * Over Population**- Where the available resources are inadequate to support the great number of people living there (a densely populated area eg Bangladesh).
 * Under Population**- The population is much smaller than the amount of resources available.
 * Optimum Population**- The number of individuals that can be accommodated in an area to the maximum advantage of each individual. So there are adequate resources available for a good standard of living.

____Case Studies____

 * Internal migration in Malaysia (pdf file)
 * Mexicans migrating to the U.S. (textbook, p.30)
 * Afghan refugees (forced migration) (computer notes)
 * China’s one-child policy (population control) (textbook p.13)
 * Ageing population (many examples - China and Italy from textbook p. 15, also Japan and UK in notes)
 * Youthful population (India) (textbook p. 12, more in notes)
 * Effect of HIV/AIDS (Africa in general, Zimbabwe specifically)