Geographical studies of population

Population refers to the total number of people in a defined territory at a particular time or during a period. Major sources of information on population are: Census data, birth and death records and records on emigration and immigration. Geographical studies on population focus on the number (size), composition, trends and distribution of human beings in relation to variations in conditions over the surface of the earth. These conditions relate to food production, industrial production, pollution, health conditions, consumption of natural resources and levels of development.

POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Population data, such as composition and structure, are important for national development planning Population distribution is important in determining the provision and location of community facilities such as education, health etc. Population density influences environmental degradation and living standards

MEASURES OF POPULATION DENSITY

Crude or Arithmetic Density: The number of people per unit area of land. Population = x km. Area Another way of making population density more relevant is by expressing it in relation to pressure on arable or agricultural land. This is called physiographic density.

GLOBAL POPULATION DISTRIBUTION

Approximately, 75% of the worlds population live on 5% of the earth surface. Major population clusters are found in East Asia, South East Asia, Europe and North America. The East Asia zone is made up of Japan, China, Taiwan and the Koreas. Together they account for 25% of global population. Europe takes care of 13%. Other regions like East Coast of North America take care of 18%.

Population Distribution
Global distribution of population among continents is represented below: Asia 60.7% Europe 12% Africa - 13.2% Americas 13.6% Oceania 5%

FACTORS AFFECTING POPULATION DISTRIBUTION

Terrain characteristics/Relief: People are concentrated in low lying areas. Mountain ranges such as Himalayas, Rockies and Alps are too cold to attract large populations. Climate Arid areas and very cold regions, such as Antarctica and Greenland, are less populated.

 Soil conditions Fertile soils and water for irrigation encourage high population densities. The highest rural densities in the world are found on rich alluvial soils of the Nile. Water availability and accessibility Vegetation- Inaccessible rainforest and tropical diseases account for the very low densities in Amazonia and the Zaire Basin. Historical factors

Areas with low population

Generally, areas which are sparsely populated include the following: Dry lands: They lack sufficient water to grow crops to support high population densities e.g. deserts Sahara, Arabia, Kalahari deserts Wetlands: These are lands that receive very high amount of rainfall and are characterised by high temperatures throughout the year. Equatorial forests. Amazonia forest in Brazil. Cold lands e.g. territory near the north and south poles Highlands

Areas with high population

Low fertile lands Industrial towns Capital cities Areas with rich agricultural soils

OVERPOPULATION
This is when a country has more people than its physical and human resources can support with adequate living standard. Causes: High birth rate and declining death rate. In developing countries, it is also caused by high levels of immigration. Advantages : A potential labour force and potentially large market.

Social and economic Problems of overpopulation

Poor housing unemployment; food shortage; pressure on public facilities; congestion; overcrowding and development of slums; sanitation problems; Social vices (e.g. armed robbery and prostitution

Measures to control over population

Increase in food production Birth control, by use of modern contraceptives Out migration Housing projects Creation of job avenues

Under-population
Population is less than the resources Causes: Physical disadvantage (e.g. climate), Strict immigration policies, intensive agricultural/manufacturing with small indigenous people Problems: Small market size, small size of labour force, country relies on foreign labour force

POPULATION CHANGE
The global rate of population growth sharply increased during three periods. 8000 BC during which the world population increased rapidly as a result of revolution in agriculture. 1750 A.D. This was a result of industrial revolution. The third rapid change in world population began in 1950: This has been brought about by advances in medical science, which has helped to eliminate traditional causes of death in poorer countries.

Characteristics of population
The sex ratio is the number of males per 100 females. Age structure: Three main age cohorts (age groups) are identified: Below 15 15 -64 Above 64 The economically active and productive group is the second. Those below 15 and above 64 constitute the dependent group.

Population pyramids make this clear

The population pyramids of the developing countries have very broad base formed by the 0-10 years group indicating a youthful population. By contrast the pyramids of most developed countries bulge out in the middle and this indicates that the bulk of the population is in the active working group.

Dependency Ratio
The youthful structure of population of developing countries means high dependency ratio. Dependency ratio is the measure of the number of dependence that is being supported by hundred people in the economically active group. There is roughly one dependent for every active adult compared to 2 adults per dependant in the developed countries. High dependency ratio puts a lot of pressure on the resources of government and individual households.

Population Growth
Population growth is influenced by three main factors. These are birth rate, death rate and difference between emigration and immigration. Natural population growth Fertility refers to births. Crude birth rate refers to the number of live births a year for every one thousand (1000) people alive in a society. Fertility rate of a country is strongly influenced by the: Age and sex structure of its population, the customs and believes of the people and family size expectations, Population policies of the country. Total Fertility Rate (TFR): This is the average number of children a woman will have throughout her child-bearing years (15-49). In other words, TFR describe the average number of children to a child bearing woman. Mortality refers to deaths. Crude death rate refers to the number of deaths per one thousand people living in a society.

CONSEQUENCES OF HIGH POPULATION GROWTH RATE

High dependency burden High population Growth Rate Low savings & Investment

The vicious cycle of Rapid Population Growth

Low standard of living

Low economic growth/development

Comparing populations of developed countries and developing countries Population characteristics Density Growth Rate Developed countries High Low, usually less than 1% per annum. Low Developing countries Low High, around 2.5% per annum.

Dependency Burden

Birth Rate

Death Rate

High (More than 40% of population are children). Low (TFR is usually Very High. It can be less than 2). as high as 7.0, as in Uganda Death rate is very Declining but low. High life relatively high. Low expectancies life expectancies

Reasons for low birth rate in developed countries

People marry late. Women are highly educated and they delay in having a family so that they can have a career. High living standards mean that it is expensive to cater for more children (Becker, 1988). High economic power/position of women means they do not have time to cater for children. Western culture does not encourage many children ( nuclear family, no rewards for people with many children, no family pressure on those who decides not to have children) Couples prefer material possessions such as cars, houses etc to many children Contraceptives are readily available for birth control

Reasons for high birth rate in developing countries

Attitudes towards children and pressure from friends and extended family. Lack of modern contraceptives and limited family planning. For instance, only 17% of married women in Ghana are using modern contraceptives (Ghana Demographic and Health Survey Report, 2008). Low economic status of women Early marriages. Girls are under pressure to marry early to extend their child bearing years No old age pensions and care homes, so children provide security for old age Large families are seen as sign of prosperity

Demographic Transition
Postulated by Notestein in 1945 The model proposes that fertility declines in response to mortality as societies undergo structural changes and move from traditional to modern stage in a linear manner. The shape of the graph is consistent but the divisions in time vary slightly. Some models have only three stages, others have four stages. Others still have five stages.

Stage I
This is known as high stationary stage. High birth and death rates. The high birth rate is due to the fact that parents cannot predict the survival of children; No family planning or birth control; Children are needed for farming activities. The high death rate is largely due to poor medical knowledge. As both the birth and death rates are high, the rate of natural increase of the population of a country in this stage is stable or very low.

Stage 1
Occasional epidemics and famine would dramatically increase the crude death rate for a few years (represented by the "waves" in Stage I of the model. The population is young and characterized by low life expectancy. Subsistence agriculture. It is said that most of human history was spent in this stage, but today there is no major country at this stage. Only a few remote indigenous groups can be said to be at this stage

Stage II
In stage II (known as early expanding stage), the crude death rate declines rapidly as a result of improvement in medical science and sanitation. However, the birth rate remains as high as it was during stage 1. Consequently, natural rate of increase is very high. Agriculture is the backbone of countries in this stage. Industrialization may just have started. Many less developing countries, including Ghana, Egypt

Stage III
This is known as late expanding stage. A rapid drop in birth rate, as a result of rapid education, availability of modern contraceptives, and decreased economic value of children due to increasing urbanization and use of technology. The death rates continue to fall due to continued medical and nutritional developments. Consequently, the population continues to grow at a declining rate because the crude birth rate is still higher than the crude death rate. Most newly industrialized countries are in this stage. This include: China, Argentina, India, Brazil.

Stage IV
This is referred to as the low stationary stage. Crude birth rate roughly equals the crude death rate, and natural increase rate approaches zero. The low birth rate is caused by family planning, good health, late marriages and improving status of women. Population growth is small or stable. High proportion of the population is ageing. High living standards and long life expectancy. Most countries in Western Europe are in this stage. Egs Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States are in this stage.

Stage V
At this stage, both the birth and death rates are so low. The population may be experiencing declining growth rates in cases where the total fertility rate is too low. It is believed that Germany is within or approaching this stage. It is immigration that is preventing some countries, such as Norway and Finland, from moving into this stage.

Criticisms of the Model

The model has been criticised as being too Eurocentric. Developing countries in Asia and Africa may not follow the same patterns. It fails to specify the level of modernisation or economic growth that will help bring about fertility decline (Szreter 1993). The connection between economic growth and fertility decline is not universal as countries like China and SriLanka experienced fertility decline with little economic growth (Schneider and Schneider 1994) Caldwell et al. 1992) explained that fertility decline in China occurred when the population was considerably rural and poor.

D.T.
The model also does not provide "guidelines" as to how long it takes a country to get from Stage I to iv. Western European countries took centuries, yet some rapidly developing countries like Malaysia and Korea are transforming in mere decades. Changing familial roles and traditional values, beliefs and norms could also affect fertility levels, yet these were not formally incorporated into the model (Zafar et al.. 1995; Teye, 2005). Government planning for population change may interrupt the model. For instance, One child policy in China. Yet this has not been discussed in the model.

POPULATION MOVEMENT/ MIGRATION

Migration is movement that involves a change of residence (Carr, 1990). Migration can be classified based distance, causation, and time scale. Distance Internal within the same country External Across national borders Inter-regional International

Causation Forced (e.g. refuges) Economically motivated Time scale Seasonal migration Temporary Asylum seekers Permanent

 According to Carr (1990), permanent migration can be classified into three groups: Cause of the Move -(whether voluntary or involuntary) The distance over which migration occurred International migrations where national frontiers are crossed as against internal migrations By the type of area from and to which migration occurs ( rural to urban or urban to rural or internal) There are two forms, namely: Emigration (I.e. migration from a location) and immigration (migration to a location). The difference between the two is net migration.

MAIN CAUSES OF POPULATION MOVEMENT (MIGRATION)

Economic: Searching for job opportunities and exploitation of natural resources ( e.g. gold, diamond etc). Social: Movement for better education, better medical services to join families etc . Political: To avoid political or religious persecution. Movement during wars etc Environmental: Drought, famine, epidemics, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes.

INTERNAL MIGRATION
Rural to Urban Migration Rural to Rural Urban to Rural Urban to urban

Causes of internal migration

This can be divided into push and pull factors. Push factors for Rural urban migration: Land shortages Unemployment Poverty and crop failure Lack of social amenities Lack of educational opportunities Customs in rural areas- people want to break away from these

Effects of Migration
Benefits to source (area of origin) Remittances: Migrants may send money back home. This may help raise living standards of their origins. Remittances may also include clothes, food etc. Acquisition of new skills by migrants. Reduction in population pressure on agricultural lands Decline in the rate of unemployment Reduction in pressure on social amenities

Disadvantages to the source region

Shortage of labour Weak local army Reduction in size of market Food shortage, especially if youth moves leaving aged and women

Benefits/ Disadvantages to Destination

Benefits to receiving areas (destination) Cheap labour Large market size Increased productivity Increased revenue Disadvantages to the receiving region Pressure on housing and health services Congestion and development of slums Environmental degradation Increase in the number of crimes and social vices

INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION
This is defined as movement across international boundaries. In most cases, it is from poor to rich countries. Factors: Economic Search of jobs. This is the most important factor ( guest workers and illegal migrants) Education Political conflicts

Measures of Controlling International Migration

Tight immigration laws Guest worker programmes to ensure that those who move will benefit countries US Lottery

Sample questions for discussion

Write a critique of the Demographic Transition model ( Assignment, due 30th March) Describe the causes and problems associated with high population growth rate in any developing country of your choice (Tutorial discussions) Outline the main causes of rural-urban migration in any developing country and discuss its effects on both the source region and the destination (Tutorial discussions).