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Flashcards in Population structure and control Deck (14)
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1
Q

Define demography

A

Study of people or populations

2
Q

What is a population pyramid?

A

A population pyramid shows the age and sex structure of the country. It is a type of graph that is divided into males and females and then age groups.

3
Q

Features of a population pyramid

A
  • The young dependents (0-15) who are placed at the bottom of the pyramid
  • The economically active (16-65) in the middle of the pyramid
  • The old dependents (>65) at the top of the pyramid
  • 2 types: pyramid shaped or rocket shaped:
  • Pyramid:
    + Wide bottoms
    + Narrow tops
  • Rocket:
    + Narrow bottoms
    + Broad tops
  • Dependency ratio: The ratio between the amount of dependents (old and young) and the economically active.
4
Q

Define census

A

An official count of the pop carried out at regular intervals

5
Q

Define ageing population

A
  • This is when the proportion of old dependents is increasing. This happens because life expectancy increases, but also because birth rates start to fall.
  • Usually stage 5 in DTM
6
Q

Problems of ageing pop

A
  • There may be a shortage of workers (not enough economically active)
  • If there is a shortage of workers there are less tax payers and the government receives less money
  • In many countries retired people can claim pensions off the government. If there are a lot of old people this can be very expensive.
7
Q

Advantages of ageing pop

A
  • Less need to spend money on schools
  • Older people are less likely to commit crimes
  • Old people tend to travel less (no commuting) so congestion and pollution might reduce.
8
Q

Solutions

A
  • Increase the retirement age
  • Increase the amount of tax charged to economically active
  • Have a pro-natalist policy so that birth rates and the number of young people increase
9
Q

Problems and advantages of too many young people

A
  • Advantages:
    + Potentially large workforce in the future => more tax and GDP
  • Problems:
    + Child care has to be provided so that parents can return to work.
    + Governments need to pay so that young people can go to school
    + An increase in the dependency ratio
10
Q

Solutions to too many young people

A
  • Anti-natalist policy
  • Increase family planning. Make contraception available and affordable
  • Ensure females are educated
11
Q

Problems and advantages of having too little young people

A
  • Advantages:
    + Reduced dependency ratio
    + Reduced education and medical costs
  • Problems:
    + Less consumers and taxpayers in the future
    + Closure of child related services => loss of jobs
12
Q

Solutions to too little people

A
  • A pro-nalalist policy to increase birth rates.

- Subsidised childcare and education to encourage more families to have more children.

13
Q

Define replacement rate

A

The number of children each couple has to have to maintain a country’s population. The replacement rate is about 2.1 - two to replace the couple when they die and then 0.1 for children who might die in infancy or who are infertile

14
Q

Reproductive age range

A

The age that females normally have babies. Biologically this can be anytime between puberty and menopause but is more likely to be between 18 and 35