What's covered
Key facts
An ageing population means the share of older people is rising relative to younger people.
Reliable water, fertile soil and a mild climate make an area attractive to settlement.
The death rate is the number of deaths per 1,000 people in a population per year.
The birth rate is the annual number of live births per 1,000 people in a population.
A country with very low birth and death rates and little natural change is described as demographically stable.
Most of the world's largest cities are located near coasts or rivers because water enabled trade, fishing and transport long before modern road networks.
The fertility rate is the average number of children born per woman over her lifetime.
An area with many people per square kilometre is described as densely populated.
Migration is the movement of people from one place to another to live permanently or semi-permanently.
Population density is the number of people living per square kilometre.
Sample questions
A taste of the 24 questions in this topic — answers marked. Sign up to practise the full set with spaced repetition.
What is natural increase in population?
- ✓birth rate minus death rate
- •immigration rate minus emigration rate
- •number of births per 1,000 people per year
- •total population divided by land area
Why is population density low in hot desert regions?
- •Desert regions have very high disease rates that deter settlement
- •Desert soils are too sandy to support any building construction
- ✓Extreme heat, lack of water and poor soils deter settlement
- •Governments restrict settlement in desert areas to protect the environment
Which of the following is a pull factor for migration?
- ✓Better job opportunities and higher wages in the destination country
- •Conflict and political instability in the home country
- •Crop failure caused by drought or flooding in the home area
- •Lack of healthcare and poor schools in the home region
Why are most of the world's largest cities located near coasts or rivers?
- •Coastal climates are colder, which historically prevented diseases
- •Coastal land is always cheaper because tides make it hard to build
- •Inland regions are governed by separate states and so excluded
- ✓Water enabled trade, fishing and transport long before modern roads
What is natural increase?
- ✓Births minus deaths
- •Births plus deaths
- •Migration in only
- •Population at start of year
Which area would be densely populated?
- ✓Flat fertile river valley
- •Frozen polar wilderness
- •High mountain peaks
- •Hot dry desert centre
Try it for four weeks. Free.
One school. Unlimited classes. No card limit. No teacher limit. If your students aren't practising daily by the end of the trial, you owe us nothing.