Population Structure, decline and economic development

Lesson Objective:

To explore the relationship between the population structure and population decline and the impact on future economic development.

In the news….

Fearing population decline, Iran tries to fight falling birth rate

Japan's population falls 'by record 244,000' in 2013

Germany Fights Population Drop

Which parts of the world are experiencing population decline?

Blue countries have growing populations; red countries are shrinking. Purple are growing slowly or not at all.

Create a table to show the positives and negatives of population decline

Population Decline

Positives Negatives

1. ….. This means that …

2. …… This means that …

3. …… This means that …

What would a population pyramid look like for a country experiencing population decline? Draw it on your mini whiteboard.

Create a table to show the positives and negatives of population increase

Population Increase

Positives Negatives

What would a population pyramid look like for a country experiencing population increase? Draw it on your mini whiteboard.

Population Structure

The structure of a population can have a big impact on the wealth of a country.

What impact can the size of the following groups have on the wealth of a country and therefore its level of development?

Young dependents – those under 15 years

Economically active – 15 – 64 years

Elderly dependents – 65 years and over

The Dependency Ratio

The dependency ratio is a measure of the number of working people and those dependent on them. You can work it out like this:

Children (under 15) + elderly (65 and over) x 100

working population

In 2007 the UK dependency ratio was 61, which meant that for every 100 people of working age there were 61 people dependent on them.

Germany and Uganda face different problems because of their population structure.

What are they?

Germany Uganda

Germany’s dependency ratio is 48

Uganda’s dependency ratio is 111

What impact can population structure have on future economic development?

Lets brainstorm some ideas

Too many Too few

Use these points to develop a written answer to the question.You could also use the hand-out (p142 Heinemann) to help you.

To finish….

What advice would you give to the governments of Germany and Uganda to address their

population structure problems.

Get into pairs and come up with some suggestions.

Past Exam Question – complete 1b