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Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE Your notes

Economics
5.3 Population
Contents
Population Growth
Effects of Changing Population Sizes

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Population Growth
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Factors that Affect Population Growth
Population refers to all of the inhabitants of a particular country
The population growth rate is the size of the change in the population of a country, expressed as a
percentage
The following factors affect population growth
The annual birth rate
The annual death rate
The net migration
A higher birth rate and lower death rate would both increase the population
More immigration than emigration would increase the growth rate
All countries have different rates of population growth
Population growth rates are currently highest in less economically developed countries such as
Niger, Mali and Zambia
Population growth rates are lowest in more economically developed countries
In some MEDCs such as Italy and Japan, the population is decreasing as the number of deaths is
higher than the number of births

Examiner Tips and Tricks

MCQ will often check your understanding of the differences between these terms. Remember
immigration and emigration are not the same. Immigration is the inward movement of people into a
country. Emigration is the outward movement of people from a country.

Reasons For Different Rates of Population Growth

There are two broad causes of population change
Migration (explained above)
Natural population change (birth rates and death rates)

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Natural causes of population change

Natural change in population is calculated by deducting the death rate from the birth rate Your notes
The following factors led to a decrease in the death rate
The agricultural revolution led to higher yields and healthier, more varied diets
Improvements to medicine and medical care
Improvements to technology and transport, leading to a wealthier population which increases life
expectancy
Improved housing and sanitation
The birth rate has remained high in LEDCs due to
Lack of access to family planning and contraception
An increase in women surviving childbirth
Families continuing to have large numbers of children to look after their parents in old age and to
help support the family
Culture of having larger families which takes many years to change
Religious reasons
The birth rate has fallen significantly in many MEDCs due to
Increased access to family planning and contraception
Changing social norms which include starting families later, having fewer children, or remaining
single
Increased costs of child rearing and university education

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Effects of Changing Population Sizes

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The Optimum Population
Overpopulation occurs when there are more people in a country/region than can be supported by its
resources and technology and leads to
Higher levels of pollution
Higher crime rates
Higher unemployment or underemployment
Higher levels of food and water shortages
Higher pressure on services such as hospitals and schools
Underpopulation occurs when there are more resources available than the population can use
effectively and may lead to
Fewer people paying tax which can lead to higher taxes
Underused resources, which can lead to wastage
A shortage of workers
Lower levels of exports and production which affects the wealth of an area
Fewer customers for goods and services
Optimum population occurs when there is a balance between the number of people and the
resources/technology available

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Your notes

Optimum Theory of Population

The optimum population results in the highest standard of living

There are not so many people or so few resources that the standard of living falls
There are enough people to develop the resources of the country

Examiner Tips and Tricks

It is important to remember that over-population does not just mean there are a lot of people and
under-population that there are few people. The terms refer to the balance between population
and resources. There may be many people in a country, but it is only over-populated when there are
too few resources to support that population.

Population Distribution
The characteristics of a population (the distribution of age, sex, ethnicity, religion etc), is known as the
population structure
The population structure is the result of changes in:
the birth rate

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the death rate

net migration Your notes
The two main characteristics of age and sex can be shown on a population pyramid
Population pyramids
Population pyramids are used to display the gender and age structure of a given population
They illustrate the distribution of population across age groups and between male/female
Population pyramids can be used to identify the following groups:
Young dependents
Old dependents e.g number of retired people
Economically active (working population or labour force)
Dependency ratio

Example 1 - Niger as a Less Economically Developed Country

(LEDC)

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Your notes

Population Pyramid - Niger

LEDCs like Niger have a concave pyramid shape which indicates

High birth rate
Low life expectancy
High death rate but starting to decrease (people dying through every age group)
High infant mortality rate (significant decrease between 0-5)
Young dependent population dominates the distribution

Example 2 - USA as a More Economically Developed Country

(MEDC)

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Your notes

Population Pyramid - USA

This population pyramid indicates:

Decreasing birth rate - there is a smaller population reading down from age 29
Increasing life expectancy - indicated by the relatively straight sides reaching the age of 70,
followed by a good proportion of people living much longer
Decreasing death rate - indicated by the relatively straight sides reaching the age of 70
Low infant mortality - hardly any change between 0-9 years
Larger working age population - 15 to 69 represents a large proportion of the population

Example 3 - Japan as a More Economically Developed

Country (MEDC)
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Your notes

Population Pyramid - Japan

This population pyramid indicates

Decreasing birth rate - indicated by decreasing population levels from age 29
Increasing life expectancy - indicated by the relatively straight sides reaching the age of 74,
followed by a good proportion of people living much longer
Death rate is higher than the birth rate due to the ageing population
Low infant mortality
Ageing population - older dependent population with large proportion of the population older
than 40

Effects of Population Changes

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Population changes can have major impacts within the economy resulting in changes to consumption,
production, lifestyle, standards of living and government policies (fiscal, monetary and supply-side)
Your notes
Typical changes that occur are
Progressively ageing populations as economies develop
Falling birth rates as economies develop
Swings in net migration as influenced by war, famine, natural disasters and government policy

Ageing populations
Many developed economies are experiencing ageing populations and an increase in the older
dependent population
The implications of this include
Increased pension payments by governments
Increased need for care homes (public and private)
Increased pressure on the healthcare service and social care results in higher government
spending
It also results in a smaller labour force and often Governments collect less tax
Firms suffer worker shortages
Labour shortages result in increased wage costs for firms

Falling birth rates

Falling birth rates have the following impact on an economy
School closures due to fewer children
Future labour shortages
Governments typically put in place incentives that encourage families to have more children
Governments may change the migration laws to encourage immigration so that labour shortages
are prevented
Excessive immigration can change the nature and culture of different regions within a country

Migration
In some countries migration can lead to an imbalance in the population structure e.g. the UAE has
significantly more males than females

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Rapid population growth caused by migration can lead to

Increased pressure on services such as healthcare and schools resulting in increased costs for Your notes
government
A shortage of housing which generates social issues in society
Increased traffic congestion which is a negative externality
Increased water and air pollution which are negative externalities
Food shortages

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