What's covered
Key facts
Population Change
An ageing population means the share of older people is rising relative to younger people.
Population Distribution
Most of the world's largest cities are located near coasts or rivers because water enabled trade, fishing and transport long before modern road networks.
Population Change
The death rate is the number of deaths per 1,000 people in a population per year.
Population Distribution
An area with many people per square kilometre is described as densely populated.
Population Change
A country with very low birth and death rates and little natural change is described as demographically stable.
Population Distribution
Population density is the number of people living per square kilometre.
Population Change
The fertility rate is the average number of children born per woman over her lifetime.
Population Distribution
Population density is measured in people per square kilometre (people per km²).
Population Change
Migration is the movement of people from one place to another to live permanently or semi-permanently.
Population Distribution
Flat, fertile river valleys are typical examples of densely populated areas because they offer water, productive soil and easy movement.
Sample questions
A taste of the 22 questions in this topic, answers marked. Sign up to practise the full set with spaced repetition.
What is natural increase in population?
- ✓birth rate minus death rate
- •immigration rate minus emigration rate
- •number of births per 1,000 people per year
- •total population divided by land area
Why is population density low in hot desert regions?
- •Desert regions have very high disease rates that deter settlement
- •Desert soils are too sandy to support any building construction
- ✓Extreme heat, lack of water and poor soils deter settlement
- •Governments restrict settlement in desert areas to protect the environment
Which of the following is a pull factor for migration?
- ✓Better job opportunities and higher wages in the destination country
- •Conflict and political instability in the home country
- •Crop failure caused by drought or flooding in the home area
- •Lack of healthcare and poor schools in the home region
Why are most of the world's largest cities located near coasts or rivers?
- •Coastal climates are colder, which historically prevented diseases
- •Coastal land is always cheaper because tides make it hard to build
- •Inland regions are governed by separate states and so excluded
- ✓Water enabled trade, fishing and transport long before modern roads
What is natural increase?
- ✓Births minus deaths
- •Births plus deaths
- •Migration in only
- •Population at start of year
Which area would be densely populated?
- ✓Flat fertile river valley
- •Frozen polar wilderness
- •High mountain peaks
- •Hot dry desert centre
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