POPULATION STUDIES

DEFINITION OF TERMS
Population - The number of people in a given area.
Demography – The study of population.
Population Census – The official counting of people in a given area
Population Distribution – This is how people are spread in a given area
Birth rate – The number of babies born in one year for every one thousand women in a country
Death rate – The number of people who die in a year for every one thousand people in a country
Natural Increase – The difference between the birth rate and death rate in a country
Overpopulation – This is when there are more people but few resources in a given place
Under population – This is when there are few people but more resources in a place
Optimum population - The available resources are equal to the number of people in the country
Dependency ratio – The average number of economically dependent population per 100
economically productive population for a given country
Population Structure – The composition of population in terms of sex and age in a given area
Population Pyramid – The graphical representation of the age and sex composition in a given area
Fertility rate – The number of children born per one thousand women in the fertile age range ( 15 –
49 yrs)
Life Expectancy – The average number of years a person is expected to live from birth in a particular
country
Infant mortality rate – The number of death of children under 1 year of age expressed per a
thousand live births. Some developing countries have a high rate of infants dying due to : poor
sanitation, unbalanced diets, lack of food, diseases, poverty, lack of clean water, poor health
facilities etc
Population migration – This is the movement of people from one place to another.
Population Density - The number of people living per square kilometre of land
Defacto population – The number of people present in the country at the time of conducting
population census
Dejure population – The number of people including citizens temporarily outside the country at the
time of conducting population census
Population explosion – A very rapid population increase due to a high birth rate and a rapid fall in
death rate
Doubling time; The number of years it takes for population to double the present population e.g in
every 15 years.
Population Growth rate – The natural increase or decrease of population expressed as a percentage
or BR – DR (+ - migration ) expressed as a percentage
Sex ratio – The number of males per every hundred females in the population

FACTORS INFLUENCING RAPID POPULATION GROWTH

Possible causes of rapid population growth in developing countries :
>high birth rate
>improved diet
>decline in infant mortality rate
>lack of contraceptives
>improved water supply
>improved sanitation/ hygiene
>children seen as a source of labour
>lack of education on birth control
>strong cultural beliefs in large size families

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>religious beliefs against birth control
>striving for a particular sex

REASONS FOR HIGH BIRTH RATES

-The desire for boys or girls
- Early marriage
- Religion and beliefs
- Social prestige
- Children seen as a source of labour

PROBLEMS CAUSED BY RAPID POPULATION

>lack of jobs
>lack of housing/ overcrowding
>lack of food and clean water
>increase in crime rates
>development of squatter settlements
>Increase in poverty
>lack of health facilities
>lack of educational facilities
>lack of transport facilities
>low standards of living
POPULATION DISTRIBUTION
World population stands at around 7 billion with poor developing countries having a large portion of
this population (5 billion). This shows uneven distribution of population which can be explained by
several factors ;
Physical factors
>low rainfall/ high rainfall
>availability of water
>rich fertile soils/ infertile soils
>physical relief/flat land/ mountainous land
>natural vegetation
>diseases/ swamps/ marshes
>natural disasters
>climate eg. Very cold/very hot areas are less inhabited
>availability of minerals
>desert areas/ desertification

Social factors
>wars/ political conflicts
>slave trade
>government policies
>apartheid
>cultural factors

Economic factors
>employment
>creation of new towns
>availability of social services

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POPULATION STRUCTURE
It shows a proportion of males and females and their different age categories distinguishing children
from adults. The structure helps to identify the age group in the majority and this helps in prioritizing
the needs of such a group ie. Many young people would need education and health facilities.
Information on population can be better represented by a population pyramid.

POPULATION PYRAMID
This is the graphical representation of the age and sex composition of a population in a given area.
The age groups are on the vertical axis and the percentage or number of people shown on the
horizontal axis. Males are on the left and females are shown on the right.
Developing Country Pyramid

Description of pyramid
>has broad base
- steep gradient
- a narrow/ thin apex/ top.

Analysis on Population structure

>many children than adults in developing countries
>fewer old people
>fewer middle aged people
>there is a rapid fall in each upward age group in developing countries
>fewer working population

Reasons on Population structure

>many children because of high birth rates in developing countries
>fewer old people because of low life expectancy
>fewer middle aged people because of poor nutrition and lack of facilities
>fewer working population because of poor hygiene and lack of health facilities
>rapid fall in each upward age group because of widespread diseases and poor hygiene

Implication
*many young people means more money spent on education and health leading to low
developmental projects
*high dependency ratio since there are more children than adults
*other problems might emerge such as overcrowding, high crime rates, unemployment etc.

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DEVELOPED COUNTRY PYRAMID

Description
>Narrow base,
- thick middle part
- a thick top

Analysis on Population Structure

>fewer children in developed countries
>more middle age people
>more working people
>large number of old people

Reasons on Population Structure

*low number of children due to low birth rates
*more middle age people due to improved hygiene and better health facilities
*more working people due to better health care
*large number of old people due to high life expectancy and better health care

Implications
*low number of children means low growth rate hence shortage of labour in future
*more old people means high expenditure on their welfare in pensions, health and feeding
*family planning is highly used in developed countries

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DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION MODEL
The model tries to explain how the changes in death rates and birth rates have influenced either a
growth or decline in population. It is based on experience of countries in the North and West
(Europe & North America) in the last 250 years. It suggests that all countries pass through similar
demographic transition/ changes or stages.

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WHY BIRTH RATE IS HIGHER IN SOME STAGES OF THE MODEL
 Early marriages therefore larger child bearing time span/high potential for more children
 Traditional beliefs – high potential for many children
 Lack of use of contraceptives/poor family planning – lack of access to contraceptives/ lack of
knowledge on contraceptives
 Religious beliefs against use of contraceptives – families have many children
 Desire for a boy/girl – therefore family keeps on trying leading to many children
 Children seen as a source of labour – therefore the more the better
 High infant mortality rate – more children born so that if some die some will survive
 Children seen as a form of security – more children are born to look after parents when they
are old

ECONOMIC POPULATION
Overpopulation- A situation whereby the available resources are fewer than the population and
cannot fully support the population

Characteristics of an overpopulated area

*overcrowding/ lack of housing
*pollution
*unemployment
*poverty
*increased crime
*development of squatter settlements
*land degradation eg. Deforestation, soil erosion etc.
*poor sanitation
*shortage of food and clean water
*social ills eg. Prostitution, street kids
*pressure on services eg. Education, health etc

Solutions to control Overpopulation

-education on family planning
-provide free contraceptives
-empowerment of women
-government policies eg one child policy
-give incentives to small families
-conservation of resources
-improved social services eg schools, hospitals, roads etc
-diversification of the economy
-industrialisation
-improve agriculture/ increase food production

UNDERPOPULATION
The resources are more than the available population or where the land is below its carrying
capacity. This is common in developed countries and the problems that may arise from this situation
include the following:

-shortage of labour hence slow industrial growth

-under utilisation of natural resources
-under utilised services
-ageing population

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-high demand for pensions
-illegal immigration
-low production

POPULATION DENSITY
This is the number of people per square kilometre of land. It is expressed as the total population
over the total area of a particular region:

Pop Density = Total number of people

Total area (km²)

Example 1 680 683 people

582 000 km²
=2.88 people/ km²
This shows Botswana’ s population density to be very small as compared to other countries such as
Swaziland( 44 pple/km²), Lesotho (54 pple/km²), Burundi (190 pple/km²), Rwanda (233 pple/km²).

Examples of densely populated regions include: East Asia, Western Europe, West side of North
America, South east Asia, East side of USA and mainly in the Northern hemisphere

Sparsely populated regions include Congo Basin, Amazon Basin, Sahara desert, Namib desert,
Antarctica, Arctic region, Greenland etc.

Factors causing dense population distribution

-availability of minerals
-availability water
-climate eg. adequate rainfall
-fertile soils
-flat land
-historical factors eg. Slavery, wars

Factors causing some areas to be sparsely populated(few people)

-mountainous land
-low rainfall
-cold/ hot climates
-few resources
-desert areas
-dense forests
-occurrence of diseases
-infertile soils

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DEPENDENCY RATIO
It is expressed as follows:
(children 0-14 yrs) + (Elderly 65 yrs +) × 100
Total number of workers
Example - (13 387 children + 10 812 elders) × 100
31 616 workers
=75.79/ 76 ; meaning that for every 100 workers, there are 76 people dependent on them. The
ratio is higher in developing countries than developed countries because of inadequate necessities
such as jobs.

MIGRATION
This is the movement of people from one place to another either temporarily or permanently.
Migration can be forced or voluntary, long distance or short distance, internal or international.

Types of Migration
1 Internal/ Local
a) Rural to Urban migration –involves people moving from rural to urban areas for medical
treatment, tourism, shopping, business, schooling, employment and visiting relatives or friends etc.
b ) Rural to Rural – people might move for grazing livestock, arable farming, employment, marriage
etc.
c) Urban to Urban – movement may be from a small town to a larger city due to greater
opportunities offered eg. higher education, better paying jobs, tourism, better medical facilities,
better shopping facilities etc.
d) Urban to Rural – It may occur due to retirement age, developing farming, visiting relatives and
friends etc

2 External/ International
It involves people moving from one country to another due to reasons such as marriage, seeking
better jobs, seeking refuge, education and better health facilities etc. The most common type of
external migration is regional migration where people move to neighbouring countries eg. Batswana
going to work in the South African mines.

3 Forced migration
Factors that could lead to forcing people to move include:
-religious/ political persecution
-wars,
- epidemic or killer diseases eg Ebola
-racial discrimination
-famine
-slavery
-poverty
-resettlement
-family disputes
-natural disasters

RURAL TO URBAN MIGRATION

This is the most common type of migration in developing countries. It is said to be caused by two
sets of factors namely Push and Pull factors.
Push Factors

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These are negative factors that force people to move from one area to another(eg. rural to urban)
They include the following;
-unemployment
-disease outbreak
- poverty
-low income/ low wages
-drought/ famine
-soil erosion
-overcrowding
-lack of health and educational facilities
-pests/ low agricultural production
-infertile soils
-natural disasters
-adverse climatic conditions eg. too hot/cold/severe aridity

Pull Factors
These are attractions (real/ imagined) which force people to move to a particular area. They include
the following :
-better entertainment
-better schools/ hospitals
-better housing
-better paying jobs
-improved sanitation
-better/higher standards of living
-improved water supply
-better shopping facilities
-development of more industries/ more jobs
-improved transport and communication

Effects of migration on losing areas(rural)

-rural depopulation/ under population
-fall in agricultural/ food production
-ageing population
-juvenile delinquency
-slow rural development
-increased female headed families
-sex imbalance/ more females than males
-more children than adults/ high dependent population
- family breakdown
-decline in birth rate
-remittances

Effects of migration on receiving areas(urban)

-lack of housing/ overcrowding
-traffic congestion
- Easy spread of diseases
-high crime rates
-poor sanitation
-lack of social services eg. schools, clinics
-lack of recreational facilities

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-development of squatter settlements
-unemployment/ lack of jobs
-lack of clean, piped water
-lack of food

Rural – Urban migration in developing countries

The following diagram shows the pattern of rural to urban migration in many developing countries

Analysis
The figure shows the pattern of migration from rural to urban areas. It shows that :
-many people leave rural areas but not all of them go straight to the city.
-migrants who leave the village straight to the city are few .
-most migrants who reach the city would have passed through smaller towns before proceeding to
the city.
-The number of people who leave the village and straight to the foreign city is very small.
-The number of migrants who leave smaller towns to the foreign city is small.

Ways of solving Rural Urban migration

-creating industries in rural areas to create employment

-improving social amenities/ schools/ hospitals
-improving rural infrastructure
-improving recreational facilities
-electrifying rural areas
-improving farming
-decentralising of administration eg. Rural Administrative Centres, government offices
-loans/grants/ youth empowerment/ training

POPULATION & RESOURCES

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The world’s population is growing rapidly and a large portion of this population growth is in Least
Developed Countries(LDC’s). This puts more pressure on governments to provide the necessary
resources for their people.

Problems that may arise from high demand of resources

-deforestation
-soil erosion
-veld fires
-pollution
-overstocking leading to overgrazing
-over harvesting of thatching grass
-overharvesting of water
-Overharvesting of sands
-land degradation

HIV/ AIDS IN BOTSWANA

HIV/AIDS is the breakdown of the immune system that makes it impossible for the body to fight
infections.

How HIV/AIDS can be transmitted

 Blood transfusion using infected blood
 Unprotected sexual intercourse with an infected person
 Sharing of unsterilized sharp instruments with infected people
 Mother to child transmission when giving birth
 Helping bleeding infected person without protection

Problems that have resulted from effects of HIV/AIDS on the people in Botswana
ECONOMIC
 Skilled labour is lost due to deaths
 Low production at work place due to constant absenteeism
 Developments slow down as money is diverted to AIDS programmes
 Government expenditure increases as medication and food have to be provided
 Scare away foreign investors
SOCIAL
 Poverty/ loss breadwinners
 Depopulation
 Children are left as orphans
 Infected people are stigmatised

Role of Stakeholders in trying to control problems of HIV/AIDS in Botswana

a) GOVERNMENT
 Provision of free condoms
 Education on prevention to the public
 Free Counselling and Testing
 Free Male circumcision
 PMTCT programme/ provision of AZT to pregnant mothers
 Free Provision of ARV’s
 Research

b) NON- GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS (NGO’s)

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 Training of manpower
 Free testing and counselling
 Educating public on prevention
 Research
 Providing free condoms

c) LOCAL COMMUNITIES
 Home Based care
 Counselling

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