Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________________________ Class: ______

Year 9 IGCSE Geography

Population Topic 1-9 Review
Topic 1: World Population Increase
● Explain causes for population boom in the past 100 years
Answer: The population boom of the past 100 years is primarily a result of improved health, food
production, and living conditions, which collectively decreased mortality rates while maintaining relatively
high birth rates,

● Know population statistics of the world at different times (now, 1800, 1927, 2010).
Answer: now- billion, 1800- 1 billion , 1927-2 biilion, 2010- 7 billion

● Why did the population grow slower in the past and then suddenly faster in more recent decades? What do you
think will happen with population growth in the future and why?

-In the past, population growth was slow because of high death rates due to diseases, poor healthcare, and limited
food. In recent decades, growth became faster thanks to better medicine, more food, and improved living conditions,
which reduced deaths while birth rates stayed high.

In the future, population growth is expected to slow down as more countries experience lower birth rates due to
urbanization, better education,

● Define the UN
-United Nations is an organisation created in 1945 and made up of delegates from almost all countries of the world. It
deals with issues of global important including those related to global peace and development.

Topic 2: Over-Population & Under-Population

● Define over-population, under-population, and optimum population
- Over population: having not enough resources to support the people living there
- under population: having more resources available than are being used by people living there
- Optimum population: balance’s population in enough resources for the right amount of people

● What problems are caused by over-population? Under-population?

Overpopulation
1. Not enough housing
 2. Water and air pollution
3. Shortage of food and water
4. High crime rates
5. Not enough healthcare education
6. Lack of employment
7. Poverty
Under-population:
1. Shortage of workers
2. Low level of production
3. Resources under used
4. Higher taxes
5. Lack of income
6. Lack of goods and service
7. Low value of exports
8. Lack of community

● How could a country with a low population be over-populated?

- A country with a low population can still be over-populated if it doesn’t have enough resources like
food, water, jobs, or housing to support its people. Overpopulation is about having more people
than the country’s resources can handle, not just the number of people

● How could a country with a high population not be over-populated?

- A country with a high population may not be over-populated if it has enough resources, jobs, and
good infrastructure to support everyone’s needs. It’s about how well the country manages its
resources, not just the number of people

● Case Study: Nigeria- Over-population

o Nigeria’s whole population
- 175 million (whole country)

o Lagos, Nigeria’s population

- 16,000,000

o Discuss quality of life and problems Lagos and all of Nigeria face due to over-population
- Nigeria is overpopulated it’s population overall is 175million people. But particularly in Lagos it’s
16,000,000 with population density of 3559 per km sq, and it keeps growing. It has pressure on
natural resources, higher level of air and water pollution, and lack of essential services such as
healthcare and education. Overcrowding and lack of accommodation has resulted in increased in
disease levels. It has poor sanitation and scarcity of resources for medical care, and lack of
employment and poverty, have increased the crime rates,therefore it has issues with public
transport, poor networks.
- Solutions:
“Expand population control policy and offer free contraceptives but this can lead to culturally sensitive issues”

● Case Study: Australia- Under-population

o Why do some people think Australia is under-populated?
- because Australia’s population is approximately 26 million. Many areas of Australia are empty and the
resources are not being usefully so the country could support a higher population. This means that
Australia is under populated. Australia is located between Pacific and Indian ocean there are 14
countries near to Australia and its capital city is Canberra with population around 456,692 people its
population density is 194 per km sq.
-Around 67% of the Australian population lives in the five largest cities: Sydney, Melbourne,
Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide
- 30% of Australian population was born outside the country reflecting higher level of immigration.
- Australia is dry because cold ocean currents in the south prevent evaporation so there is not much rain.
There is a rain shadow along the coast.
- Much of the countries are located in the subtropics
- only 6% of the Australian land is suitable for agriculture but still it’s a lot because Australia is big and all land
is not being used now.

Rain shadow : when the rain clouds are blocked by mountains causing rain to only fall on one side living a dryland on
the other

o Why do others think Australia is at optimum population?

- Some think Australia has an optimum population because its resources, economy, and
infrastructure can support its current population well.

o What could be done to solve Australia’s under-population problems?

- Australia can provide job opportunities
- Good living conditions
- Offer incentives for people to move and settle in regional and rural areas that will make the
population spread equally

Topic 3: Causes of Change in Population Sizes

● Define & calculate: birth rate, death Rate, net migration
- Birth rate: number of birth per 1000 people in the population
- Death rate: number of deaths per 1000 people in the population
- Net migration: the difference between the number of people moving into a country “ immigrants” and the
number of people moving out of the country “emigrants”
Birth rate-death rate= the natural population change
Birth rate - death rate + net migration = overall population

a. What challenges are countries likely to face from an increase/decrease in births, deaths, or migration?
 ● What are causes for falling birth rates? Death rates?
Decrease in birth rates
● Availability of contraceptives
● More women go out to work
● Girls are educated and marry later
● Reduction of infant mortality
● More family planning education
● Less needs for children as a labour source
Decrease in death rates :
a. Improvement in healthcare facilities
b. Increased availability of medicine and doctors
c. More and better quality food available
d. Improvement in water supplies
e. Improvement in sanitation and hygiene
f. Reduction in wars and conflicts

● Describe characteristics of countries in different stages of the Demographic Transition Model (DTM)
a. Birth & death rates: high? Low? Increasing? Decreasing?
b. Population size: high? Low? Increasing? Decreasing?
c. Why are the population changes seen in each stage happening?
d. What are some example countries at each stage?

Topic 4: Population Change

● Define LEDCs & MEDCs
LEDC’s: less economical developed countries like Pakistan, Indonesia, India
MEDC’s: more economically developed countries it’s often increasing due to migration from LEDC’s: Bulgaria, Latvia,
Romania, Russia, Ukraine

● Why are populations in LEDCs growing at a much faster rate than MEDCs?
1. Women are not educated
2. Poor healthcare
3. Low access to contraceptives
4. Religious prevalence to have as much children as possible
5. Early child marriage and child bearing
6. Fertility rate average of seven children per woman
But in MEDC’s countries, women are more educated marry later they have less needs children as a labour source

● What pattern can be seen between GDP and population growth? (See Source C)
o Countries in which continents are mostly growing faster? Growing slower or declining?
● Why do people in some countries have many children, while in others people have few if any? (Source D / E)

● Case Study: Niger- High natural population growth

o Define land-locked, sedentary, nomadic, and fertility rate
1. lend locked: an area or country whose borders are surrounded by land so there is no direct access to
sea or ocean
2. Sedentary: farmers who settled in one particular place
3. Nomadic : people usually farmers who move from place to place seasonal to find good land or pasture
4. Fertility rate : how many babies a woman has an average

o Why is Niger’s fertility rate so high?

Nigel is a Land locked country with population about 26 million
o Birth rate= 44.2/1000
o Death rate= 8/1000
o Infant mortality rate= 60/1000
o Life expectancy = 62 years
o Fertility rate= 6.82 children pair of women
Niger is in the west Africa. It’s climate is mainly very hot and dry with many desert areas. It’s one of the
poorest countries in the world.
- Poor healthcare
- Lack of education
- Early child, marriage and child bearing
- Religious prevalence to have as much children as possible as a sign of luck
- Lack of access to contraceptives
- It’s fertility rate is high due to cultural and religious issues ,women need education so that they won’t
give birth to too many children, but countries economy could be below and they won’t provide
education for everyone. Religious reasons could be that giving birth to too many children is a sign of
luck so if government makes a new law, it could evoke religious shock

o Why is Niger’s death rate falling?

1. Niger's death rate is falling due to better healthcare, more vaccinations, improved sanitation, and
increased access to clean water
2. Babies are inoculated against diseases and treated when eel
3. They improved supplies of clean water so there are less water borne diseases
4. People eat more food and more varied diet
5. There are more clinics and hospitals with trained doctors and nurses
6. There’s better education about health and hygiene

o Why is Niger’s population booming and what problems could this have for Niger’s development?
1. Niger has high fertility rate and many citizens don’t use contraceptives they prefer having more
children because it’s a sign of luck and they believe that their children will grow up and help them in
the future as labour
2. Women are not educated they want to have as much children as possible that will help them in labour
work
3. If Niger’s population will increase then it will have pressure on natural resources, food, water, and for
government it would be impossible to provide enough education jobs and water/food
 ▪ What is the Niger government’s plan to slow population growth?

▪ The government wants the number using family planning to increase from 5 to 20%

▪ They will educate women so that they won’t marry a young age

▪ The number of early marriages will be cut because many girls in Niger are married before the
age of 15

● Case Study: Russia- Population Decline

o What are reasons for Russia’s death rate being higher than the birth rate?
- due to alcohol related deaths in Russia are very high levels of HIV/ AIDS, heart disease and
tuberculosis are high,
- male life expectancy is relatively low at 64 years.
- Russian woman are educated and they do not want large number of children.
- Immigration in Russia is low and many immigrants are moving away from Russia mostly to Western
Europe to look for a better lifestyle due to “BRAIN DRAIN”

o Define HIV/AIDS
- human immunodeficiency virus is sexually transmitted infection. The virus attacks the immune system
and when the stops walking the person acquired immune deficiency syndrome-‘AIDS’ this is usually
fatal

o What is Russia’s government doing to increase birth rates? Why are some mothers not persuaded?
1. Putin is going to take money from countries oil profits to spend them on monthly child support
payment and he added if women could choose to have a second baby they will receive 250,000 rubles
per month many women like the sound of money but they protested that “a child is not an easy
project and in this world a woman is expected to get an education to find a job and make a career”
2. Mr. Putin followed up the policy known as “mother capital” of being a woman up to $10,000 to have
a second child

Topic 5: Population Policies

● What is the role of government in managing population sizes?
- Government collect money through taxes, this taxes form government income from which essential public
services are paid for, governments need to produce policies that fit in with their plans for the country future
- another way is to influence migration patterns, by encouraging people to move in to add to the population or
force people out to reduce it

● Mini-Case Studies: China & Singapore

o Singapore:
 i. What were the stipulations of Singapore’s “Stop at Two” and then “Have Three or More if You
Can Afford It” policies? What were their goals?
“Stop at two” - this Policy was to reduce birth rates if women has their child she should pay extra taxes
- no paid maternity leave for third child
- Parents with more than two children could not enroll at the best schools
This policy is main aim was to reduce fertility rates in Singapore , what’s the population growth has
become too low to provide young vibrant work forced to develop the economy of the future
“have three or more if you can afford it”- if you have three or more babies you should:
- Tax rebates for the third child
- Subsidise for daycare
- Priority in enrolling at the best schools
- Extended sick leave
- Priority in gaining housing for large families
Main aim of this policy was to increase birth rates

ii. Were they successful? Why/why not?

No, because the population growth had become too low, and there was not enough young vibrant
work force to develop countries economy of the future, marriage went later too, it also offered 20,000
Singapore dollar tax rebate for the fourth child. But the birth rate remained low. There will be less
working age to support large number of old people.
o China:
i. What policies did China’s government implement (Later Longer Fewer, One-Child, and Two-
Child)? What were the penalties for not following the policy rules?
- later longer, fewer”- policy Emmer parents were encouraged to delay their first child and have
fewer children in total
- One child”- policy was introduced as a rapid growth was seen as a barrier to development and
there were punishments such as fines for those who had more children
- Two children” policy the changes are because of following working population in China
ii. Where the policies successful? What were some of the positive, negative, and unexpected
consequences of the policies on individuals and society as a whole (stateless children, gender
imbalance, reduced births, etc…)?
At first China’s population was rapidly growing. China’s government in 1970 made the policy “later
longer fewer” this policy emerged by parents were in court to delay their first child to have less births
that would have decreased the population growth. By 1979 China’s government understood that still
there was shortage of necessary resources so they made a policy named. “One family , one child”. And
it had its own benefits like free education and healthcare have been offered therefore it had its own
disadvantages like punishment if you had a second baby such as fines or their second child would
never get an ID as if this person doesn’t exist. 6.5 million stateless children
- The consequences were that from 1979-2014 happily China’s fertility rate decreased from 5.8-
1.7, 400 million less births 200-400 people were lifted from poverty , ageing population was
that not enough young people were born in that period of time to grow up and take care of
elder people. There was in balance between men and women. There were 30 million more
men than woman
Topic 6: Population Migration
● Define asylum seeker, refugee, illegal migrant, economic migrant, internal migrant and tell if each is voluntary or
involuntary; emigrant vs immigrant, internal vs international migrants, quality of life, and standard of living
1. Asylum seeker: a person who leaves their country because of persecution. They seek permission to stay in another
country for safety and are willing waiting to hear that country’s decision. (involuntary )

2. Refugee: Leaves their country for fear for their lives. They leave their country with no idea where they will
end up and with no permission to stay in another country. (involuntary)

3. Illegal immigrant: enters a country without permission to live and work. (can be voluntary and involuntary)

4. Economic migrant: moves to live and work in another country for at least one year. (voluntary)

5. Internal migrant: moves to live and work in a different area but within the same country. (can be voluntary
and involuntary)

6. Emigrant VS Immigrant: Emigrant is a person who leaves their own country to live permanently in another
country, and immigrant is a person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country.

7. Internal VS International migrants: Internal migrants are people who move from one place to another within
the same country, usually for reasons like work, education, or better loving conditions. And international
migrants are people who move from one country to another, either temporarily or permanently for reasons
like work, education, escaping conflict, etc.

8. Quality of life: the overall well-being of individuals measured by factors such as health, education, income,
environment, social relationships and personal comfort.

9. Standard of living: The level pf wealth, comfort, material goods, and necessities available to a person.
Measured by income, housing, access to services like healthcare and education

● What are push & pull factors influencing people’s decisions to migrate? What intervening factors might migrants
encounter

Pull factors:

• Better job opportunities

 • Better paid jibs

• Employment, work

• Higher education

• Family reunite

• Better healthcare

• Housings

• Water and electricity supply

• More doctors, hospitals, schools

• Reliable transport

• Entertainment

• Safety

• Chance to improve

Push factors:
● Poverty
• Unemployment
• Conflict or war
• Natural disasters
• Low- paid jobs
• Poor housing
• Poor water and electricity supple
• Few doctors, clinics, schools
• Persecution
• Unsafe

Intervening obstacles:Cost of moving, physical obstacles, passport, visa, document obstacles,

legalities, mountains, oceans, and lack of language

● Mini case studies

o What policies did Australia have when dealing with migrants?
o Why do many refugees leave the Middle East & North Africa on the dangerous journey to Europe
(push/pull factors)? Are they voluntary or involuntary migrants? Describe their journey (think of “The
Swimmers”.
Topic 7: Impacts of Migration
● International Migration
o What population issues do MEDCs face?
- - An ageing population with people living longer
- - A diminishing workforce
 - - A reduced birth rate
- - A workforce that does not wish to work long hours and carry a low-paid work
- - A workforce that lacks the skills that the country needs

o What are the positive & negative impacts of international migration on the migrants’ home countries
(origin) and the countries they move to (destination)
NEGATIVE IMPACTS ON ORIGIN:
- Loss of contacts with family
- Away from home for a long time

POSITIVE IMPACTS O DESTINATION:

- Chance to obtain regular work
- Chance to save up some money
- Chance of better quality of life
- Chance of better standard of living
NEGATIVE IMPACTS ON DESTINATION:
- May be low paid work
- May be exploited by long working hours and poor working conditions
- May be racial and cultural problems
- May struggle with language
- Hard to get housing

o Are migrants welcome? See examples in Source C & reflect on our documentary showing Syrian
migrants trying to enter Bulgaria from Turkey
IN 2013 Bulgaria built a razor-fence to stop Syrian refuges crossing from Turkey, as over 11,000
popleoverwhelmed its resources. Detention centers were set up. While Bulgaria prioritized border security,
this highlighted tension between humanitarian needs and national interests

● Internal Migration:
o Internal migration in China: from rural to urban
- Over the past 30 years, more than 120 million people have migrated from rural areas to cities like Beijing
and Shanghai, with another 80 million moving to smaller towns for work. This is the largest internal migration
globally, driven by China's rapid economic growth and urbanization. Many villages have been abandoned or
repurposed for urban development, such as housing, motorways, and railways

o Why are people moving from rural China to bigger cities in China?
- Economic Opportunities: People leave villages to work on major urban projects, like the Beijing Olympics and
Shanghai Exposition.
- Urban Development: Cities offer better infrastructure, jobs, and living standards.
- Government Policies: Rural farmers are being resettled in urban areas to support urbanization efforts

o Why is it difficult to stay in many small villages around China? (See Source D)
 - Small villages in China are hard to live in due to poor transport, low farming incomes, and better job
opportunities in cities. Most young people leave, causing villages to be deserted and lose their sense of
community. Government policies also encourage relocation to urban areas .

● Case Study: Qatar- International Migration

o How did Qatar go from being a very underdeveloped LEDC to a prosperous MEDC in such a short time?
- Discovery of Natural Gas and Oil:Qatar has the world's third-largest natural gas reserves
and significant oil resources, driving rapid economic growth.
- Investment in Infrastructure:Revenues from energy exports funded modern cities, transport
networks, and world-class facilities.
- Diversification Efforts: Although reliant on energy, Qatar invested in sectors like education,
healthcare, tourism, and sports (e.g., hosting the FIFA World Cup 2022).
- Strategic Global Partnerships: Qatar used wealth to strengthen its international influence
through investments and diplomacy.
- Small Population: High revenue combined with a small population allowed for higher per

capita wealth and social programs.

o Why are there so many migrant workers in Qatar?

Because Qatar relies on migrant workers for large construction projects, a small local
workforce, growing service demands, and better wages for workers from abroad. Its visa
policies also made recruitment easier, supporting rapid development

o People from mostly what countries are moving to Qatar, to do what jobs, and what are conditions like
for them?
- Southwest said/Middle East: phillipines , Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal

o What is the Kafala system, and what are some of the criticisms of it?
The kafala system: Foreign workers must be sponsored by companies based in Qatar.
They become responsible for their visa, legal status and working conditions. The workers
must hand in their passports to their employers. They cannot change jobs or leave the
country at will. They need an exit permit to get out of Qatar and that has to be approved
by the employer. Restricted freedom for workers because they need a permit for
switching jobs, leaving the country and etc. Alsomigrant workers struggle to ask for help
or report abuse to seek justice due to fear of losing their job or even being killed
CRITICISM: It has been criticized for leading to worker exploitation, as some employers
withhold passports, delaying wages, or poor working conditions for workers

Topic 8: Finding out about the Population

 ● Define census, demographer
Census: official count of population by a government at regular intervals.
Demographer: person who uses this information to study populations

● Population pyramids:
o LEDCS:
▪ What does a population pyramid look like for an LEDC? Explain the reasons for this.
 ▪ What problems would a country with a typical LEDC-shaped pyramid be worried about?
o MEDCs:
▪ What does a population pyramid look like for an MEDC? Explain the reasons for this.
 ▪ What problems would a country with a typical MEDC-shaped pyramid be worried about?
o Explain reasons for changes that occur in a country’s population pyramid shape as the country develops
● Case Study: Italy- High dependency
o Define dependent population, dependency ratio (know how to calculate it)
Dependent population: those the population who rely on the working population for support (young+elder)
Dependency ratio: demographic measure- ratio of the number of dependence to the total working age
population in the country or region
Dependency ratio= # dependents/population aged 15to 64x100

o Describe & explain reasons for the shape of Italy’s population pyramid
- Italy population has a major issue like higher percentage of dependent population. - Its population is
60 million people (pop. Density - 201km2) and the dependent ratio percentage is 61.3% there is a
relatively high
- Sardinia has the highest concentration of male centenarians (100+ y.o)
- lack of education could be a big issue due to children would get a bad quality education that will have
a genuine problem on the economy in the future. If we cut out schools that will increase
unemployment and people won’t pay enough taxes that will decrease pensions ,shutting school lead
to school class overcrowding that won’t provide proper education overall to children if children are
educate they will be more specialised workers to economy in the future.
- Not welcoming migrants could be the biggest problem because it could affect the education
healthcare and labour social policy. You were welcome more migraines and like immigration for
several months conditions for visas then more people would make families that would increase birth
rate

o What are the different ministries of Italy’s government worried about? What solutions have they
suggested implementing? Will they work? Why or why not?
1. Race Texas to pay for the health and well-being of our aging population because workers are reaching
65 years old and they’re too few young people coming through to replace them and they lose
experience workers
2. Improve education for children so in the future, there will be more specialised workers
3. Health care more agent population are living longer that increased spending on their health and well-
being garment should provide more hospitals and doctors
4. We should relax our immigration laws for several months and welcome migrants to create families and
increase birth rates

Topic 9: Factors Influencing Population Density

● Define population density, population distribution, peninsula, relief, accessibility

Population density: average number of people living in the given area is (usually km2)
Population distribution: patterns where people live- it’s uneven
Peninsula; a piece of land sticking out into the sea almost like an Iceland but attached to land
Accessibility: how easy it is to get goods or services (cost, time&distance usually more further there’s less access)

● Describe patterns of population density across the world.

In some areas lots of people live close together in large urban areas, towns and cities these are densely populated or
have a high population density, their other areas were few or no people live such as mountainous regions and
deserts. These are sparsely populated or have a low population density over 90.% of the worlds population that lives
in the northern hemisphere, there is most

● In what kinds of places is there higher population density? Lower population density? What are the reasons for
this?
- High population density is in urban areas where there is lots of people there is flatland, but in mountains high
relief regions there are a few people so the population density is low

● Case Study: Japan- High population density

o What is the average population density of Japan?
- 350 people per sq km
o Describe the population distribution & density across Japan
- more densely populated areas are low elevation means low relief by the sea but less than populated
areas have high elevation relief in the mountainous, further north where the temperature is very cold.
o Why are some places in Japan more densely populated than others? For example, discuss differences
between Tokyo & the Norther Japanese Alps
Japanese Alps: is a rural are, have steep slopes and Highland. It is an isolated area with poor network, and
roads, with a little work like forestry, and no communication, due to Highland there is not enough flat learn
to grow food on soils are thin, acidic and infertile
Tokyo: it is densely populated because everything is built on the flatland towns and cities, roads and trail
networks on the coast. There are many ports and Harbours which have led to the import of role materials and
the expert of manufactured goods.

● Case Study: Namibia- Low Population Density

o What is the average population density of Namibia?
- 2.6/km2 one of the lowest in the world

o Describe the population density & distribution across Namibia

- Namibia a country in South Africa with population of 3million, it’s one of the sparsely populated
countries therefore would allow GP per person of $7900. It’s climate is hot and dry air and long
drought periods that’s why people can’t survive in that particular areas, although in arid soil its
infertile so it’s impossible to grow crops plus with no water.

o Describe the development level of Namibia

- let me be again independence from South Africa in 1990 and its capital city is Windhoek with
population 431,000. The extraction and processing of mineral such as diamonds and uranium for
expert however mining employees only about 30% of the population above half of the population
depends on subsistence agriculture

o Explain why Namibia has such a low population density and the reasons for the population being
distributed as it is (geographical, climactic, & economic factors)
1. It’s an LEDC country with low GDP per capita $7900
2. Due to its climate that is hot, dry, arid, erratic & rainsparce, with lone dought periods
3. Due to its climate, it’s hard to grow crops or settle or even build infrastructure on infertile land or a huge
dunes