UNIT 3.

THE POPULATION

INDEX:

1. POPULATION DISTRIBUTION
2. NATURAL POPULATION MOVEMENTS
3. NATURAL INCREASE
4. DEMOGRAPHIC STRUCTURE
5. MIGRATORY MOVEMENTS
6. SPAIN'S POPULATION
1. POPULATION DISTRIBUTION
Population is the term used to describe all the people living in a particular area. The distribution of
the population in a given space is measured via population density, speci cally, people per
square kilometre.

The territories in the world with the highest population densities are Southeast Asia, Western
and Central Europe, and the east coast of the US. Other areas are located along some river
valleys, such as the river Nile, the coast of Brazil, Mexico and Maghreb, and also areas rich in
mineral or energy resources.

Areas with low population densities include the cold polar regions, high, mountainous areas,
deserts, and large equatorial forests.

The planet's human population is in uenced by environmental and human factors.

• The environmental factors include relief, the climate and the soil. People prefer to live in
places with at reliefs, fertile soils and temperate climates, which are better for agriculture,
and areas near the sea.
• The principle human factor is the average age of the inhabitants, The economy is also an
important factor. In developed countries population densities are highest around industrial
areas because they o er better employment opportunities and services.
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ACTIVITIES

1. Using the table above, calculate the population density of each

continent.

2. Indicate the areas in the world that tend to have either high
or low population densities:

a) Southeast Asia:
b) Desert:
c) High mountainous areas:
d) Polar regions:
e) Western Europe:
f) Equatorial jungle:

3. Name three countries with high density populations and three

countries with low density populations.

4. Do you think that the area where you live is densely populated?
2. NATURAL POPULATION MOVEMENTS
The population of an area changes due to the combination of two main factors: NATURAL
INCREASE and MIGRATIONS. The NATURAL INCREASE refers to the growth or the decline of a
population as a result of natural causes.
• The BIRTH RATE refers to the number of births in a population over the course of one year.
It is expressed as the number of births per thousand people. Birth rates and fertility rates
are higher in developing countries. The FERTILITY RATE is the average number of children
born per woman.

• The DEATH RATE is measured by the number of deaths in a population during one year. It
is calculated along with life expectancy. Life expectancy is higher in developed
countries. LIFE EXPECTANCY is the average age of people in a population when they die.
 The variations seen in birth and
mortality rates worldwide are due to
biological, demographic and
socioeconomic factors.
The VEGETATIVE or NATURAL
INCREASE of a population is the
di erence between the number of
people born (the population increases)
and the number of deaths (the
population decreases)

ACTIVITIES

5. True or false?

a) The birth rate is the number of births in a year.

b) The fertility rate is the average number of women per child.
c) The death rate is the number of deaths in one year.
d) Life expectancy is the average life span of a person.
e) The difference between the birth rate and death rate is the
vegetative or natural increase rate.

6. Explain the differences between the terms "natural increase"

and "migratory movement”.
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3. NATURAL INCREASE
The NATURAL INCREASE of the world's population is the di erence between the birth rate and
the mortality rate. According to the theory of demographic transition, there are three stages to this
population growth:

A) THE DEMOGRAPHIC REGIME. At this stage, birth rates are high due to ine ective
contraceptive methods, but death rates are also high, as a result of malnutrition, disease, and
poor hygiene. Consequently, the natural increase occurs at a slow pace.

B) DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION. At this stage, improvements in nutrition, medicine and hygiene

cause death rates to fall. As an urban lifestyle develop's, voluntary birth control become's more
widely used, leading to a drop in the birth rate. Nevertheless, the overall result is an increase in
natural growth.

C) THE MODERN DEMOGRAPHIC REGIME. The birth rate falls sharply and although death
rates continue to decline, natural increase is low.

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4. DEMOGRAPHIC STRUCTURE
The gender structure of the population is the relationship between the number of men and the
number of women, or males and females. In 2010, there were 101,6 males to every 100 females
in the world. There are more males in the younger age groups, because they are born in greater
numbers, but the ratio of women increases as the population ages, as the life expectancy for
women is higher.

The age structure refers to the percentage of young people (0-14 years), adults (15-64 years),
and elderly people (65 years and older) in a population. Developing countries tend to have a
higher ratio of young people and developed nations typically have ageing populations. In 2010,
almost two thirds of the world's population was adult.

The economic structure is the distribution of the

population by economic sector. Most of the
population in developing countries work in the
primary sector (more than 50%) and very low in
developed countries (less than 10%). In developed
countries more than 60% of the workforce is
employed in the tertiary sector.

ACTIVITIES

1. Are there more boys or more

girls in your classroom? Calculate
the ratio and discuss what the consequences would if this
disparity (if there is one) existed in the population of the
country.

2. What typical social problems arise when a population has an

excessively high percentage of young people, or conversely, too
many old people?
 5. MIGRATORY MOVEMENTS
Migration is the movement of people from one area to another. Emigration occurs when people
leave their country of origin, and inmigration describes the arrival of people to a country. The
di erence between the number of people immigrating and the number of people emigrating, is
known as net migration, and it can be either positive or negative.

The causes of migration are diverse:

• NATURAL CAUSES, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, droughts, oods, etc...
• POLITICAL CAUSES, such as war, exile, or political, religious or racial persecution.
• ECONOMIC CAUSES, for instance, overpopulation, unemployment, and a lack of access to
healthcare and education.
Types of migration. Depending on the destination involved, migration is categorised as internal
or external:
• INTERNAL MIGRATION takes place within a nation's borders. The most common migration
of this type is that of people from rural areas to urban areas, referred to as rural exodus.
The consequences of this include the underpopulation of the countryside and the growth of
cities.
• EXTERNAL MIGRATION happens when people travel from their country to another. This
kind of migration is currently very widespread in poorer countries in Africa, Asia and Latin
America, whose inhabitants travel to richer, industrialised countries with more resources.

The consequences of migration for the host country, or country of destination, are di erent to
the consequences of migration as experienced by the country of origin.
• For the COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN, migration brings bene ts as well as problems:
◦ The advantages include a falling population and lower birth rates; lower
unemployment; and the remittances sent home by emigrants to their families.
◦ The disadvanatges of migration are the loss of young people, and an ageing society.
• For the DESTINATION COUNTRIES, immigration creates certain advantages, as well as
some problems:
◦ Bene ts consist of the rejuvenation of the population and rising birth rates; the
availability of cheap labour; and multiculturalism.
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 ◦ The problems include integration di culties (xenophobia and racism); and the
inability of some immigrants to adapt to the destination country.

ACTIVITIES
1. What is migration?

2. Here are four reasons why people migrate. Fill in the blanks to say what sort
of type of factor caused them to move: economic, change, homesick, political,
environmental or social:

• Moving to be closer to friends and family is a/an _______________ factor.

• Moving to a new location to find employment is a/an _______________
factor.
• Moving to escape political persecution is a/an _______________ factor.
• Moving because of loss of home due to natural disaster such as flooding,
earthquake or Tsunami is a/an _______________ factor.

3. Fill in the table with the positive and the negative effects of migration
working in small groups and then we will share our ideas together:

ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
IN COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN

IN DESTINATION COUNTRIES

4. Make a list of the causes of international migration today. Which ones do you
consider the most important and why?
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6. SPAIN'S POPULATION
In Spain, the population distribution is uneven as the population density varies greatly from
region to region:
• Areas with HIGH POPULATION DENSITIES are: Madrid, the coastal areas, the Balearic
Islands, and the Canary Islands. These areas have attracted people for many years
because of their industrial and tertiary sectors.
• Areas that are UNDERPOPULATED include Spain's interior, which is heavily involved in
agriculture and emigration; and mountainous regions, due to their harsh living conditions.

The natural increase of Spain's population is small (2,91% in 2008). The highest gures for
growth are: Madrid, the Mediterranean coast, the Balearic islands, and Ceuta and Melilla. This is
due to high levels of past and present immigration. The lowest increase gures occur along the
Cantabrian coast and in Spain's interior, due to a high proportion of elderly people.
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MIGRATION IN SPAIN
Spain, until recently (1975), was an emigratory country.
• INTERNAL MIGRATION in Spain consisted principally of a rural exodus, where the
population moved from rural regions to industrialised areas such as Catalonia, Madrid, the
Basque Country, Valencia, Sevilla, Malaga and the Balearic Islands.
• EXTERNAL MIGRATION in Spain was focused on Latin America and Europe. Several million
Spaniards recolocated to these places. Since 1995, this dynamic has changed and the
whole of Spain has become a host country due to the ageing Spanish population and the
need for a larger workforce.
 VOCABULARY UNIT 3. POPULATION
1.
2.
• Population
• Birth rate
• Mortality rate
• Infant mortality rate
• Life expectancy
• Migration
• Natural population growth
• Emigration
• Immigration
• Rural exodus
• Gender gap