Topic 1.

Population

Introduce

the

subject

with

the

following

video

clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMY_-xYmJvE&NR=1

1. Population development
Demography is the science dedicated to the study of the growth, distribution,
structure (how it is organized by age groups) and movements of the population.
The main tools to carry out this study are the government census, the municipal
register and, in certain countries, such as Spain, the parochial certificates of baptism.
The growth of world population throughout the years has known different
stages:
-

Until the middle of the 18th century population growth was very slow
because of a high tax of mortality

From mid-18th century population growth in Europe and America

accelerated because of improvements in health care and nutrition

By the 20th century population grew very quickly due to a lowering in the
death rate of Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Since the 1980s population growth has been curbed by a fall in the birth rate,
though in the developing countries it hasnt been so intense.

2. Population distribution
The world has today more than seven billions inhabitants. In July 1987 it was
five billions, so that in some more than twenty years it has grown about 20%.
However,
as you can see in
the

map,

the

world population
is

not

evenly

distributed.
Around

the

world, there are

huge areas with
little

or

no

people living there at all, whereas certain areas are densely populated. This means many
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people living in areas of limited extension. There is a mathematical formula to express

population density:
Population density Number of inhabitants
=
Area of land (Km2)

a.

Look at the map and list some of the less and some of the most populated

areas of the world.

There are a number of reasons to explain this fact. They are usually classified as
physical and human factors.
b. Give some ideas about what specific reasons can determine population density
of one sort or another.
Physical
Human
Climate. Population tend to dwell in humid History. Most populated areas have a long
areas with mild temperatures. Therefore, history of human presence, continued
deserts, jungles and polar regions are nowadays, as is the case of Eastern Asia or
mostly unhabited.
Europe.
Altitude and distance to the coast. People Economic development. Job opportunities
live more often near the coasts and flat, and welfare policies are main reasons for
low altitude areas. Mountains have a scarce people to migrate. Thus urban areas in most
population.

developed countries are the destination for

many people from underdeveloped regions.

Soil fertility. Because of natural reasons, Political and religious persecution. Political
some soils are more fertile than others. enemies and religious or ethnic minorities
Fertility is linked to abundance of crops, are sometimes harassed by the state
which

allows

higher

growth

of authorities, so that they must leave their

population.

countries in search of asylum.

Government
policies.
Governments
occasionally promote settlements in low
populated areas because of military or
economic interest. Another reason is to
reallocate an excess of population in certain
areas, as in Eastern China.

3. Why is the population increasing?

If we consider the population of the entire world, the answer to this question is
easy: there are more births than deaths. However, there are huge differences if we
compare some countries with others. This is because not all the countries have the same
access to food or to medical facilities, to contraceptive methods, etc.
In order to compare the different paces of population growth two indicators are
used: birth rate and death rate. Birth rate is the number of babies born alive per
thousand of people in a given country or region. Death rate is the number of deaths per
thousand of people of a given country or region, no matter the age at which death occurs
or the reason
Birth rate Number of births
x 1000
= Total population

Death rate =

Number of deaths
Total population

x 1000

Why

are

so different these
rates? There are
socio-economic
factors,

for

instance,

in

western

culture

the age at which

women have their
first son or daughter is well over 20 years old. In African cultures it can be as low as 14
or 16 years old. Also, in Europe and America women quite often work outside home,
while in Third World countries they work as housekeepers.

Cultural factors. When the education of women improves, the age of having the
first child is delayed, and the total number of sons is lesser. Religious beliefs also
influence the number of births, since almost all religions condemn birth control
measures. Hence, societies where religious influence is powerful usually have higher
birth rates.
Political factors. Governments may adopt policies which restrict or, otherwise
promote birth.
c.

Look

for

the

proper

data

in

the

Internet

address

http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/informationGateway.php (for extension look

at www.wikipedia.org and search by the country name), fill the blank spaces of
the table and answer to the questions
Country
Spain
Mali
India
Canada

Extension Population in
(Km2)
2009
504,030

Population
Density in
2009

40,525,000

80

Population
in 1991

Growth
rate in
2009

39,461,000
8,512,000
853,724,000
28,118,000

0,1
2,6
1,4
0,8

Relative
Growth
19912009
2.6%
57.9%
35.5%
19.0%

Crude
birth
rate in
2009
10
46
22
10

Crude
death
rate in
2009
10
15
8
8

Of these four countries, which is the most densely populated? And the most sparsely?
Classify them by growth rate, and calculate the relative growth (in percentage) of each
country between 1991 and 2009, classifying them by relative growth. Is the order the
same? What might be the reason?
d. Whats the difference between absolute population and population density?
From the previous explanations we can now introduce the concept of natural
population increase. This is merely the difference between the rate of births and the
rate of deaths. If this difference is positive (there are more births than deaths),
population grows; when the difference is negative (there are more deaths than births),
population decreases. So that:
Rate of natural increase (RNI) =

Birth rate Death

rate

Obviously, different countries have different RNI, often related to their degree of
development.
A special chart is often used to summarize the demographic evolution of human
societies. Its the graphic expression the evolution from the ancient to the modern
demographic behaviour of societies. It is usually known as the demographic transition
model. It may be explained as follows:

As you can see below, in the first stage of evolution both birth and death rates
are high and up to a point variable (red and blue lines). As a result, population remains
stable (black line).
At

certain

moment, death rates

start

to

while

decrease

birth

remains

rate

stable

for

even decades. This is

the

second

stage,

when population rises

rapidly.
In

the

third

stage, the number of inhabitants has risen enough as to produce a restraint in the birth
rate: population now begins to stabilize (i.e. it doesnt grow so fast).
In the final, fourth stage, birth and death rates reach a minimum, and then no
further population increase is registered: population now is stationary or may even
slightly decrease when births fall below the deaths (as in modern western societies).
4. What are migratory movements?
Population distribution around the world is not only affected by births and
deaths, but also by migratory movements.
Migratory movements imply that some people moves from where they have
been living to another placetown, city, region or country.
Taking this into
account, we talk about
emigration, for instance,
when somebody that has
lived here till now moves
permanently to another
place.

On the contrary, when somebody comes to live here, also more or less
permanently, from another place, we talk about immigration.
In the former example, we take the point of view of the departure place; in the
latter, that of the arriving place.
a. Give some examples of emigration and immigration
Why do people migrate? Migrations have usually economic, political or
religious reasons.
If there are few jobs available in their place of residence or they are not paid
enough, people have to move to another place with better opportunities. These are
economic migrations.
In some other cases, people have to flee because of their political or religious
beliefs. These are migrations too, but in this case these people are named refugees.
Take into account that migrations can be definitive or just temporary. Also,
migrations may occur inside a country, from rural to urban areas, or international, from
one country to another.
b. What consequences have migratory movements on the places of origin and of
destination?

5. Population structure
To better understand societies, population is often classified in different ways:
-

By sex. The ratio of men to women. Usually, more boys than girls are born,
but women live longer.

By age. Population is usually divided into three groups of age

o Young people (0-14)
o Adults (15-64)
o Elderly (65 and older)

By economic activity
o Active population: people who have a job or are trying to find one.
This includes employed and unemployed population
o Inactive population: people who dont work nor intend to do so for
whatever reason (age, disability)

By literacy rate (taking into account only people over 15 years)

o High literacy rates in developed countries where schooling is

compulsory until 16
o Low literacy rates in less-developed countries where children start to
work at early ages
o In the latter case is also true that female population usually has lower
literacy rates.

6. The population of Europe

Considered as a
whole, Europe has one of
the

highest

population

densities in the world,

with

more

million

than

inhabitants

10.500.000

700
in
Km2.

However, this density of

66

In./

Km2 is

very

variable.
In some countries
birth rate is below death
rate, so that the number of inhabitants is decreasing.
There is a long life expectancy, over 75 in most of the countries.
For this reason, population is ageing, most evidently in the Western half of the
continent.

7. Population of Spain
Population in Spain grew fast in the 1970s, due to high birth and low mortality
rates. At present, Spain has over 46 million inhabitants.
The population density is rather low for Western Europe, with 92 inh/ Km2.
Since the 1980s growth has fallen to 0.2%: birth and death rates are both very
low.
Spanish population is suffering from acute ageing. 17% of all Spaniards are over
65 years old.
7

Also,

population

is

unevenly distributed in Spain.

Most

people

live

in

the

periphery, near the coasts, with

the exception of the province of
Madrid

and

surroundings.

Central Spain is very sparsely

populated, in more or less little
towns

with

islands

that

concentrate secondary poles of

population. Most often these are province capital cities such as Valladolid, Saragossa,
Ciudad Real, Albacete or Cordoba.

8. Population graphs
Graphs are commonly used in
Geography,

since

they

allow

to

represent geographical facts in a clear

and understandable way. Those most
frequently used in population studies
include the following:
Linear graphs whether with a
single line or several lines or areas,
show the evolution of a given variable. In the x or horizontal axis it is represented the
lapse of time; in the y or vertical axis it is represented the value of the given variable.
Where both data coincides a point is
marked. After marking all points, they
are joined by a line.
Simple bar charts use bars or
rectangles of a size proportional to the
value of the variable, but with the same
base. Complex bar charts feature a
single bar, horizontal or vertical, to

represent

proportional

absolute

data

of

or
a

geographical fact.
Sector

graphs

represent data as proportions

of a circumference, so that
the variable to represent is a
sector

of

the

total

circumference.
Population pyramids represent the distribution by sex and age of a given

population, allowing to analyse its structure. Population is divided into groups from five
to five years, males at the left side and females at right (0-5, 6-10, 11-15 and so on). The
horizontal axis represents the absolute number or the percentage of the individuals, and
the vertical one their group of age, superposing the elder over the younger until all the
population is included. The final result usually looks like a pyramid, from which the
graph takes its name. Different shapes of the pyramids allow reaching relevant
conclusions about the structure, ageing and distribution of the population.
c. From data of the following link, draw a linear chart of the population of Spain
[Classwork].
http://lolaceituno.googlepages.com/unequalpopulationdistribution

Young population. The basis of the

pyramid is wide, while it narrows towards the
top.

This

pyramid

is

typical

of

underdeveloped countries, with great birth

and death rates, and of developed countries
before the demographic transition took place.
Average population age is low, because there
are many children while elderly people is
relatively scarce
Adult population. The basis of the
pyramid becomes narrower because of the
decrease in the birth rate, while death rate
keeps high. This is a transitory stage for
developing countries, when most people
belong to intermediate age ranges

Elderly population. This is the final

stage

of

the

model

of

demographic

transition. Now the basis of the pyramid is

the narrowest because birth rates are at a
minimum. The upper-medium part of the
pyramid is the widest, because birth and
death rates are found in the lowest level.
This profile is characteristic of developed
countries with an ageing population. Over time, the widest part of the population will be
at the top ranks of the pyramid because of the high life expectancy.

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