People and the Planet- Topic 1

1.1 How and why is population changing in different parts of the world?

1.1b) Population change and

structure vary considerably

between countries at

different states of development

What do population pyramids look like for different stages of the DTM?

Task- make quick sketch copies of the 5 population pyramids on your sheet

How do population pyramids help us learn

about population?

Population Pyramids• Population pyramids can be used to show at a glance

the POPULATION STRUCTURE of a country or city.• They show at a glance the breakdown of numbers of

each age and gender of a population• Can highlight possible future population issues• When reading population pyramids check the

horizontal axis to check the scale used when comparing pyramids, each pyramid does not necessarily use the same horizontal scale, however the vertical scale is always identical

How to read a population pyramid

Population pyramids are used to show information about the age and gender of people in a specific country.

Male Female

Population in millions

In this country

there is a high Birth

Rate

There is also a high

Death Rate.

This population pyramid is typical of countries in poorer parts of the world (LICs.) and at stage 1/ 2 of DTM such as Yemen or

Niger

This pyramid shows an ‘youthful’ population

Male Female

Population in millions

In this country the number of people in each age group is

about the same.

The largest category of people were born about 40 years

ago.

In this country there is a low Birth Rate and a low Death Rate.

This population pyramid is typical of countries in the richer parts of the

world (HICs.)

Population in millions

Male Female

In this country the birth rate is decreasing.

In the future the elderly people will make up the

largest section of the population in this

country.

This is happening more and more in

many of the world’s richer

countries.

Male Female

Population in thousands

This country has a large number of temporary workers.

These are people who migrate here especially to find

a job.

Compare these pyramids, in terms ofBirth rateDeath rateIndications for future

?

?

?

How can population pyramids help?• Populations need to have certain

characteristics to be sustainable for the country in the future

• Population pyramids can highlight possible issues in a country’s population such as gender imbalances and high numbers of dependents in a country.

How would India cope with so many people?

Here we can Russia’s population pyramid last year,

low life expectancy for men

Low numbers of future workers

Gaps highlight people have left country

Slight indication of increasing birth rate- necessary for Russia’s future

Look at page 145 in textbook and this Pop. Pyramid-What problems could this pose for Russia in future?How could Russia deal with these problems?

Very high birth rate due to young marriage age of most girls- by 18 years 48% of Yemeni women are married

Evidence of decreasing death rate as more over 60s

Looks like many leave Yemen in 20s

Use the pop. Pyramid below to answer;-Why do you think Yemen has such a high birth rate?Yemen also has very low female literacy rates how could this link to birth rates?Why do you think some people may leave Yemen in their 20s?Why is it bad to have such a large % of your citizens under 16?

Focus on Japan!

What happens next?

This pyramid shows an ‘ageing’/ ‘greying’ population

What is going to happen to Japan’s population in the future?Why does this matter?

Is this a possible stage 6? Problems of this?

Japan is heading for real issues, if they do not start reproducing (having babies) soon, by 3000 there be NO Japanese left on Earth!Some predict that by 2050 only 51% of Japans population will be of economically active age (working)

Why could only 50% of a country’s inhabitants working be a problem?

Dependency Ratio• There are 2 main groups of people in a country• Economically active (16- 64)- those who work, therefore

pay tax used to support dependents• Dependents- (those aged under 16 and over 65) in most

countries that do NOT work and therefore DO NOT pay taxes. Thus rely on economically active population to sustain them

• The higher the countries dependency ratio the worse the problems will be. You need to have at least 75% of your countries population economically active to have sustainable success.

• The level needs to stay pretty constant so if people are living longer they need to…..

• Having children may produce dependents in short term but is vital in long run so that……

• If children start living longer women need to start….

Population change in JapanRead pages 146-7 and answer these questions1) Give evidence in support of Japan being the ‘oldest’ nation in the world2) Use the graph at top of page 147 to describe what has happened to a)

birth rate b) death rate c) natural increase rate3) Explain why people in Japan are living longer4) Give reasons for Japan’s ever decreasing birth rate5) What are the impacts of lower birth and death rates on countries like

Japan?6) Outline the future challenges Japan faces7) Come up with ways the Japanese Government could a) help pay for

extra care for the elderly b) encourage people to have more children8) EXAM PRACTICE QUESTION-Describe the changes and the problems that have been caused by

population change in an HIC (Developed country) (4 marks)

Finish these questions at home