Last Updated on May 17, 2017 by
Topic 7: Demography
Demography refers to the study of the causes and consequences of changes to the size and structure of a society’s population. There are generally three things which can change the size and structure of a population – birth rates, death rates and migration, and these three things make up the three major sub-topics.
As with marriage and divorce, we break this down into discussing the reasons for the changes and then consider the consequences. A final additional topic here is migration patterns, which we deal with separately.
Subtopics
7.1: Reasons for changes to the Birth Rate
7.2: Reasons for changes to the Death Rate
7.3: The consequences of an Ageing Population
7.4: The reasons for and consequences of changes to patterns of Migration
Key concepts, research studies and case studies you should be able to apply
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Birth rate
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Death rate
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Dependency Ratio
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Total fertility rate
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Infant Mortality Rate
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Child Mortality Rate
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Life Expectancy
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Healthy Life Expectancy
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Demographic Transition
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Immigration
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Emigration
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Net Migration
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Push Factors
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Pull Factors
Possible exam style short answer questions
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Suggest two reasons for the long term decline in birth rate (4)
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Suggest changes in the role of women that may explain why they have fewer children (4)
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Suggest three consequences of the decline in the birth rate (6)
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Suggest three reasons for the long term decrease in the death rate (6)
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Suggest three problems society may face as a result of an ageing population (6)
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Suggest three ways in which the elderly might be represented in stereotypical ways (6)
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Suggest three ways in which society might respond to the challenges of an ageing population (6)
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Suggest three pull factors which might attract people to immigrate into a particular country (6)
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Suggest two push factors which might explain patterns of migration (4)
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Identify two changes in the patterns of child-bearing over the last thirty years (4)
Possible Essay Questions – You should plan these
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Examine the reasons for, and the effects of, changes in family size over the past 100 years or so (24) (January 2012)
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Using material from item B and elsewhere assess the view that an ageing Population creates problems for society (24) (June 2014)
