POPULATION

 Population refers to a group of people in an area at a given time.

 Population Growth Rate is the percentage increase in the number of people in a country.

 Population explosion is the rapid increase in the number of people in a country.

 Depopulation is the decrease in the number of people in a country.

 Demography is the study of population.

 Dependency Ratio is the proportion of the unproductive aged people (0-14 and
65+) to people of economically active ages (15-64)

Children Parents Parents (65 yrs +) Dependency ratio %

(0-14 yrs) (15-64 yrs) in millions
in millions In millions

12 205 40 342 9 342 12 205+9 342

40 342 x 100=53.41%

 Old/Ageing population is a group of people with relatively high proportion of aged

people. This kind of a population has low growth potential.

 Young population is a group of people with relatively high proportion of children,

adolescents and young adults. This kind of a population has high growth potential.

 Sex Ratio is the number of males per 100 females in a population.

 Population Policy is the explicit or implicit measure instituted by a government to

influence the size, growth, distribution and composition of a group of people.

 Population Density is the number of people per unit area

 Population distribution is how people are spread or settled over an area.

 Doubling Time is the number of years required for a population of an area to grow
twice its present size, given the current rate of population growth.

 Overpopulation is when the number of people rises to the extent of exceeding the
available resources in a country

 Demographic Transition Model is a diagram which shows how population changes over
time.

 Population Pyramid is the diagram which shows the structure of the population of country
by age and gender

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  Rapid Population Growth is the fast increase of the size of a group of people.

 Under Population is when people are too few in an area

 Optimum Population is when available resources match the existing number of people in a
country.

 Birth rate is the number of babies born in every 1000 people in a year in a country.

 Death rate is the number of people that die per 1000 people in a year in a country

 Natural increase is a situation whereby the birth rate is higher than the death rate

 Natural decrease is a situation whereby the death rate is higher than the birth rate

The sources of population data

CENSUS is an enumeration of people. It usually details such characteristics as age, occupation, sex etc.

Types of census

 De-factor Census, which is the actual enumeration of people in a given territory on the
census day.

 De-jure Census, which is the enumeration of people who belong to a given area,
whether or not they are present during the census day.

The features/characteristics of a census

 Each individual is enumerated separately, and the characteristics of each person separately
recorded.
 The census covers a clearly defined area, and every person within the area.
 The population is enumerated with respect to a well-defined point of time.
 Census is carried out at regular intervals.

The significance of census

 It helps in development planning, for fair distribution of resources.
 It enables the government to prioritise, for example, if a large portion of the
population is below 15years of age, government’s priority might be to build schools.

SAMPLE SURVEY is a method of data collection through using selected groups of the
population. The information will then be used to inter-trend for larger segment or the entire
population.

The registration of vital events

Vital events such as births, marriages, divorce and deaths are usually registered at the
Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs, as they occur.
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 Poor quality data, which is available mostly in developing countries, may be due to non-
reporting, lack of trained staff, lack of money to carry out the exercise, incomplete coverage,
cultural and linguistic barriers, among other factors.

Factors that influence population distribution and density:

Environmental factors
 Physical or Relief- steep places have fewer people because it is difficult to carry out
agricultural activities, while flat-lying areas have more people.
 Climate-few people are found in extremely hot and cold areas while more people are found in
places with moderate temperatures
 Soil Fertility-more people are found in areas with fertile soils while few people are found in
areas with poor soils
 Disease and Pests- few people are found in areas that are infested with pests and diseases
while places that have few pests and diseases are densely populated
 Availability of Water with an abundance of water are densely populated while those with
shortage of water are sparsely populated
 vegetation

Socio-Political factors
 Wars and conflicts-places where there are wars are sparsely populated while those where
there are no wars are densely populated
 Political stability-places where there is political stability have more people while those with
political instability have fewer people
 Cultural or linguistic segregation
 Racial Discrimination

Economic factors
 infrastructure-places with good roads, and telecommunications network systems have more
people while areas with poor roads and telecommunication network systems have few people.
 Job opportunities- places have many industries are densely populated while areas with few
industries are sparsely populated
 Availability or lack of natural resources such as minerals

The benefits of rapid population growth

 Increased market base.
 Increased provision of labour.
 Improvement of technology.
 Increased military or security
 Increased employment opportunities

The problems/challenges of rapid population growth

 Depletion of natural resources
 Food shortage and malnutrition
 Pollution of the environment
 Increased crime rates
 Littering in environment
 Rapid spread of communicable diseases
 Pressure on hospitals and schools
 Increased unemployment rate
 Shortage of land

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The possible solutions to the problems of rapid population growth
 Improving agricultural production.
 Creating new settlements, for example, towns, villages, cities.
 Establishing agencies and schemes to help decrease the cost of building houses, for
example, BHC and SHHA.
 Providing serviced land, for example, in urban areas through such programs as
Accelerated Land Servicing Program.
 Establishing rainwater and runoff harvesting measures such as building more dams.
 Improving schemes aimed at reducing poverty, especially in rural areas, such as the
Drought Relief Programme.
 Train more doctors and nurses who might improve medical technology.
 Train more teachers and lecturers to improve local educational technology.
 Establishing more industries to create more job opportunities.
 Implementing population policies to control population growth.

Population policy
The Advantages include:
 Reduction in poverty since it allows development to keep pace with population growth.
 It can lessen inflation.

The Disadvantages include:

 It restricts people’s freedom of choice [in regards to the family size]
 Women may be forced to have abortion, which might endanger their health.
 Strict policies can result in an unbalanced population in terms of sex composition.

The impact of HIV and AIDS on the population structure of Botswana

 Fewer children or reduced birth rates or narrow base.
 Reduced working-age group.
 Reduced life expectancy.
 High infant mortality rate.
 Increased orphan-hood
 High dependency ratio.
 Increased death rates.
 Reduced population growth rate or population decrease.

The Demographic Transition Model [DTM]

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 Interpretation

STAGE 1: High fluctuating-Birth rate and death rate high and fluctuating, resulting in
a low population growth.

STAGE 2: Early expanding -Birth rate remains high while death rate rapidly declines,
leading rapid population growth.

STAGE 3: Late expanding -Birth rate rapidly decline, but is still higher than death rate,
which continues to decrease, further accelerating population growth. The population here
grows at a slower pace.

STAGE 4: Low fluctuating- Both birth and death rates are low and fluctuating, resulting in
a steady population growth [the population increases at a comparatively slow pace]

STAGE 1: High fluctuating

The reasons for high birth rate in stage 1 are as follows:
 Lack of knowledge and improper use of contraceptives and poor family planning methods.
 A lot of children were needed for old age security
 having a large family was seen as a sign of prestige,
 People had many children to replace those who were dying,
 A lot of children were needed to provide labour in agriculture
 Early marriages also led to high birth rates.

The reasons for high death rate in stage 1 are as follows;

 Lack of clean water
 Poor nutrition
 Shortage of Doctors and nurses
 Shortage of hospitals and clinics
 Outbreak of killer diseases
 Poor hygiene an d sanitation
 Poverty
 Wars

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STAGE 2: Early expanding
The reasons for the declining birth rate in stage 2 are as follows:
 The couples prefer smaller families
 Improved knowledge and proper use of contraceptives and family planning methods.
 Low infant mortality rate –no need to replace the dying children.
 Introduction of government schemes such as old-age pension fund, secures old-age
life, hence needless to have a lot of children as old-age security.
 Child labour practices were abolished
 Early marriages are prohibited by the law

The reasons for the declining death rate in stage 3 are as folows:
 There is provision of clean water to reduce water borne diseases such as cholera.
 There is provision of good nutrition, for example, supplementary feeding for
babies in clinics such as Tsabana, cooking oil and beans.
 There is provision of improved hygiene and sanitation prevent the spread of diseases.
 There is provision of better health care, for example, there are more Doctors and hospitals
 There is improved immunization programmes

STAGE 4: Low fluctuating- in this stage both the birth and death rate are low. Even though the
population is high, it is growing slowly because the difference between the birth and death rates is
small. It is anticipated that in this stage there will be zero population growth (ZPG), countries of
Western Europe have reached this stage. The ZPG means that the population will neither grow nor
decline

POPULATION PYRAMID FOR BOTSWANA 2022

This is a population pyramid for a typical developing country. It can also be called an Early
Expanding
Population Pyramid.

INTERPRETATION: It has a broad base, steep or contracting column or middle, and a thin
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or narrow apex or top.

ANALYSIS: The population has a high birth rate, shown by a large number of children; the
death rate is also high, indicated by smaller number of those in the middle and old ages.
Life expectancy is also low, shown by an even smaller number of the elderly.
This kind of population is a dependent one, for example the dependency ratio is high

Population Pyramid for England 2021

This is a population pyramid for a typical developed country. It can also be referred to as a

Mature population. INTERPRETATION-It has a narrow base, expanding column or

middle, a thick or broad apex or top.

ANALYSIS-Low birth rate is indicated by a smaller number of children, the middle aged
group has a large number of people, indicating low death rate.

The elderly are also many, indicating high life expectancy.

The dependency ratio is low, hence the population is referred to as a productive one.

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 Population Pyramid for South Africa 2024

This is a population pyramid for a typical New Industrialised Country. It can also be referred
to as Late Expanding.

INTERPRETATION- It has a narrow base, expanding column, and a thin or narrow apex or top.

ANALYSIS- Low birth rate is shown by a small number of children, a large number of
people in the middle ages indicate low death rate, and a smaller number of the elderly shows
low life expectancy.

The pyramid is that of a productive population since the dependency ratio is low.

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