Population

Regional Distribution of the Global population 

The percentage of people living in the developing world –Asia, Africa and Latin America has risen substantially since 1960. In 1960 2.1billion (70%) of the planets population of 3 billion lived in the developingworld.

By 2000 80% of the World’s population lived in developingregions and it is projected that over the next two decades that 98% of the growth(in population) that occurs in the world will come from these developing regions.

The rising population on its own is not an issue, The problem arises when the economic development of the countries in question doesnot come at the same speed as the population growth. 

Requirements of theDeveloping World

• Nearly 60% lack basic sanitation
• Almost 13% have NO access to clean water
• 25% do not have access to basic housing
• Over 20% have no access to basic healthcare
• Aids is spreading especially throughout SubSaharan Africa
• 20% of children do not attend school at primarylevel
• Literacy levels throughout the Developing World population are very low

Ireland and Population

Why is census information important? and what is it used for? (past LC exam question)

• Demographic Change (ageing population)
• Infrastructural requirements (roads, airports)
• Planning for the provision of essential services. (schools, hospitals etc..)
• Regional policy
• Pension planning (serious issue in Ireland at the moment)
• Future levels of consumer demand
• Labour market
• Profiling of the population

    

Here are some key phrases and terms that we must know after studying Population

Demography is the study of human population.

Birth Rate : average number of live births per 1,000 population per year.

Death Rate : average number of deaths per 1,000 population per year.

The Natural Increase is the difference between births and deaths. (Natural Decrease if negative)

Emigration is when a person leaves a country of residence. It is caused by push or pull factors.

What are the effects of Emigration on a country? (past LC exam question)

Positives	Negatives
A reduction in the population, easing financial pressure on the GOV. (reducing unemployment)	Smaller domestic market, which might cause further unemployment and hence more emigration.
A reduction in social costs associated with unemployment ( crime, vandalism)	Brain drain (no return on investment of educating the emigrants)
	An increase in the dependency ratio
	Loss of potential entrepreneurs.
	Difficult to attract FDI due to reduction in labour force.

A Push factor is something that compels someone to leave their own country. (High unemployment)

A Pull factor is something that attracts someone to move to a country. (better political stability) (past LC question)

Net Migration = inward migration - outward migration (It can be calculated as (increase in population – natural increase)

   *** Exam analysis 

     Population has become increasingly popular on the Leaving Cert exam in recent years as you can see below, it has also appeared a lot in the short questions. 

    2012 Q5 (30) Q8 (30) 

    2011 Q8 (45)

    2010 Q8 (25)

    2008 Q7 (20)

    2005 Q8 (45)

    2003 Q7 (55)