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IB Geography SL study materials
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IB Geography SL practice questions

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Question 1Geographic themes and concepts (space, place, scale, processes, change, systems, sustainability)

In the IB Geography concepts framework, which term refers to the physical distance, accessibility and connectivity between locations, rather than their absolute coordinates alone?

  1. Spatial interaction Correct answer.
  2. Place identity
  3. Scale
  4. Sustainability

Explanation

Spatial interaction describes the flows and connections between locations and depends on distance, accessibility and the friction of distance, not just coordinates. It is a core concept for explaining why some places exchange people, goods and ideas more than others.

Question 2Geographic themes and concepts (space, place, scale, processes, change, systems, sustainability)

A geographer studies how a single national recycling policy is interpreted differently by a city council, a neighbourhood group and a household. Which concept best captures this movement between levels of analysis?

  1. Place
  2. Scale Correct answer.
  3. Process
  4. System

Explanation

Scale is the concept used to describe and compare levels of analysis, from household to local to national and global. Moving a policy between these levels shows how scale shapes both interpretation and impact.

Question 3Geographic themes and concepts (space, place, scale, processes, change, systems, sustainability)

Which statement best describes a 'system' as used in geographic inquiry?

  1. A set of interconnected components that exchange energy or matter and respond to change Correct answer.
  2. A description of landscape scenery valued for its beauty
  3. A single variable measured repeatedly at one station
  4. A fixed boundary drawn on a map to separate two countries

Explanation

A system comprises interconnected components linked by flows of energy or matter, with inputs, outputs and feedbacks. This allows geographers to model how change in one part affects the whole.

Question 4Geographic themes and concepts (space, place, scale, processes, change, systems, sustainability)

Which of the following best illustrates the geographic concept of 'place' rather than 'space'?

  1. Measuring the square's area in square metres
  2. Calculating the straight-line distance to the nearest port
  3. Residents describing their market square as the heart of the community Correct answer.
  4. Recording the latitude and longitude of the square

Explanation

Place refers to space given meaning and identity by people through experience and attachment. Measuring area, distance or coordinates describes space in abstract, locational terms.

Question 5Geographic themes and concepts (space, place, scale, processes, change, systems, sustainability)

The Brundtland definition of sustainability centres on which idea?

  1. Meeting present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs Correct answer.
  2. Maintaining current consumption patterns indefinitely
  3. Maximising economic growth in the short term
  4. Preserving all environments free from human use

Explanation

Sustainability is defined through intergenerational equity: present needs are met without reducing the options available to future generations. This balances environmental, social and economic dimensions.

Question 6Geographic themes and concepts (space, place, scale, processes, change, systems, sustainability)

A river floods after intense rainfall, and the floodwater later evaporates and returns to the atmosphere. Which pair of system terms best describes these two movements?

  1. Feedback and threshold
  2. Equilibrium and lag
  3. Store and flux
  4. Input and output Correct answer.

Explanation

Rainfall entering the catchment is an input, and water leaving as evaporation is an output. Stores and fluxes describe where water is held and how it moves internally, not the boundary exchanges.

Question 7Geographic themes and concepts (space, place, scale, processes, change, systems, sustainability)

Two towns are 40 km apart, but a new motorway reduces the journey from 90 minutes to 25 minutes. Which concept best explains the increased interaction between them?

  1. Environmental determinism
  2. Demographic transition
  3. Absolute location
  4. Time-space convergence Correct answer.

Explanation

Time-space convergence describes how improved transport or communication reduces the perceived and real time separating places. Shorter travel time lowers the friction of distance and increases interaction.

Question 8Geographic themes and concepts (space, place, scale, processes, change, systems, sustainability)

A coastal community builds sea walls after repeated flooding, but the walls reduce sediment supply to nearby beaches, increasing erosion further along the coast. Which concept does this illustrate?

  1. A closed system with no outputs
  2. Negative feedback within a coastal system
  3. A system in dynamic equilibrium
  4. Positive feedback within a coastal system Correct answer.

Explanation

Positive feedback amplifies change away from equilibrium: the intervention reduces sediment and worsens erosion elsewhere. Negative feedback would instead dampen the original change and restore balance.

Question 9Geographic themes and concepts (space, place, scale, processes, change, systems, sustainability)

Which example best demonstrates the concept of 'process' in geographic inquiry?

  1. The precise latitude of a coastal town
  2. The sequence of erosion, transport and deposition that reshapes a coastline over decades Correct answer.
  3. The name given to a coastal feature by local residents
  4. The colour of sediment on a beach

Explanation

Process refers to the mechanisms and sequences of change that produce geographic patterns over time. Erosion, transport and deposition are linked processes that transform landforms.

Question 10Geographic themes and concepts (space, place, scale, processes, change, systems, sustainability)

A national government pledges to cut carbon emissions, while a city sets stricter local targets and a household installs solar panels. Which concept is most directly illustrated?

  1. Environmental determinism
  2. Spatial diffusion of disease
  3. Uniform global environmental governance
  4. Multi-scalar responses to environmental change Correct answer.

Explanation

The example shows action occurring simultaneously at national, local and household scales, which is a multi-scalar response. Different scales interact, with local action sometimes exceeding national commitments.

Question 11Geographic themes and concepts (space, place, scale, processes, change, systems, sustainability)

Which statement best distinguishes 'change' from 'continuity' in the study of places?

  1. Change involves alteration in a place's characteristics over time, while continuity involves persistence of features or practices Correct answer.
  2. Change and continuity are synonyms in geographic terminology
  3. Change occurs only at the global scale, while continuity occurs only at the local scale
  4. Change refers only to physical processes, while continuity refers only to cultural ones

Explanation

Geographers examine both what alters in a place and what persists, since places are shaped by simultaneous change and continuity. The concepts apply across physical and human dimensions and at all scales.

Question 12Geographic themes and concepts (space, place, scale, processes, change, systems, sustainability)

A transnational corporation locates a factory in a low-income country to reduce labour costs, while local residents gain employment but face pollution. Which concept best frames this situation?

  1. Complete isolation of local places from global flows
  2. Uniform distribution of environmental risk
  3. Absolute location determining all outcomes
  4. The interplay of economic processes and local place outcomes Correct answer.

Explanation

Global economic processes interact with local conditions to produce specific outcomes, including both benefits and costs. This illustrates how processes operating at one scale shape places at another.

Question 13Geographic themes and concepts (space, place, scale, processes, change, systems, sustainability)

Which feature most clearly indicates that a city is moving toward a more sustainable urban system?

  1. Increased dependence on imported fossil fuels
  2. Reduced per-capita resource use combined with improved access to services Correct answer.
  3. Higher volumes of untreated waste discharged to rivers
  4. Rapid expansion of the built-up area onto farmland

Explanation

Sustainability requires lowering resource throughput while maintaining or improving social wellbeing and access. Combining reduced consumption with better service access reflects this balance.

Question 14Geographic themes and concepts (space, place, scale, processes, change, systems, sustainability)

A river catchment is described as an open system. Which observation best supports this classification?

  1. Water enters as precipitation and leaves via river discharge and evapotranspiration Correct answer.
  2. The catchment's total water content never changes
  3. Water is permanently sealed within the catchment
  4. The catchment contains no internal stores of water

Explanation

An open system exchanges matter or energy across its boundaries, so inputs of precipitation and outputs of discharge and evapotranspiration confirm openness. Internal stores such as soil moisture and groundwater can still exist.

Question 15Geographic themes and concepts (space, place, scale, processes, change, systems, sustainability)

Two neighbourhoods lie the same distance from a city centre, but one has a metro station and the other does not. Which concept best explains the difference in their development?

  1. Environmental determinism
  2. Carrying capacity of the city centre
  3. Accessibility and its effect on spatial interaction Correct answer.
  4. Absolute distance alone

Explanation

Accessibility, not absolute distance, shapes how easily people and investment reach a place. The metro station lowers travel time and increases interaction, driving uneven development.

Question 16Geographic themes and concepts (space, place, scale, processes, change, systems, sustainability)

A geographer argues that a global process such as climate change can only be understood by combining global climate models with local vulnerability assessments. Which conceptual point does this best support?

  1. Global processes have identical effects in every place
  2. Scale is irrelevant to geographic explanation
  3. Local studies cannot inform understanding of global processes
  4. Processes operating at one scale produce outcomes that must be interpreted at another Correct answer.

Explanation

Global processes interact with local conditions, so explanation requires linking scales rather than treating them separately. Vulnerability depends on local exposure and capacity as much as on global trends.

Question 17Geographic themes and concepts (space, place, scale, processes, change, systems, sustainability)

A wetland is drained for agriculture, reducing its capacity to absorb floodwater. Downstream flooding then increases, prompting further embankment building that shifts flooding elsewhere. Which interpretation is most accurate?

  1. The catchment has reached a stable dynamic equilibrium
  2. Loss of a regulating system service has triggered a chain of positive feedbacks across the catchment Correct answer.
  3. The wetland acted as an output with no function in the system
  4. Negative feedback has restored the original flood regime

Explanation

The wetland provided a regulating service by storing floodwater; removing it amplifies flooding and prompts interventions that displace the problem, a chain of positive feedback. Such feedbacks move the system further from its former state.

Question 18Geographic themes and concepts (space, place, scale, processes, change, systems, sustainability)

Which statement best explains why the same place can be described differently by a long-term resident, a recent migrant and a tourist?

  1. Only official maps determine how a place is understood
  2. Tourists always hold more accurate perceptions of a place than residents
  3. Place identity is constructed through differing experiences, memories and power relations among groups Correct answer.
  4. Place identity is fixed by physical coordinates and cannot vary between observers

Explanation

Place identity is socially constructed, so different groups interpret the same location through their own experiences, memories and positions of power. These varied meanings can coexist and sometimes conflict.

Question 19Geographic themes and concepts (space, place, scale, processes, change, systems, sustainability)

A government promotes a circular economy in which waste becomes a resource. Which conceptual shift does this most directly represent?

  1. Increasing throughput of raw materials to raise output
  2. Converting an open system into a closed one with no boundaries
  3. Treating outputs as potential inputs to reduce linear resource depletion Correct answer.
  4. Replacing sustainability with short-term economic maximisation

Explanation

A circular economy redesigns systems so that outputs such as waste are recovered as inputs, reducing resource depletion and emissions. This modifies linear flows rather than simply increasing throughput.

Question 20Geographic themes and concepts (space, place, scale, processes, change, systems, sustainability)

A map shows a disease spreading outward from a port city along transport routes. Which concept most directly describes this pattern?

  1. Dynamic equilibrium
  2. Spatial diffusion Correct answer.
  3. Place identity
  4. Carrying capacity

Explanation

Spatial diffusion describes the spread of a phenomenon across space and through time, often along transport and communication routes. The port acts as an origin from which the disease expands outward.

Question 21Core: Population and economic development patterns

Which measure of population most directly indicates the number of live births per 1,000 people in a population in a given year?

  1. Natural increase rate
  2. Total fertility rate
  3. Crude birth rate Correct answer.
  4. Infant mortality rate

Explanation

The crude birth rate expresses live births per 1,000 of the total population in a year, so it is a population-relative measure. Total fertility rate instead estimates the average number of children a woman would bear, and natural increase rate measures growth from births minus deaths.

Question 22Core: Population and economic development patterns

A country has a crude birth rate of 12 and a crude death rate of 10 per 1,000. What is its natural increase rate?

  1. 22%
  2. 1.2%
  3. 2%
  4. 0.2% Correct answer.

Explanation

Natural increase rate equals the birth rate minus the death rate, giving 2 per 1,000, which converts to 0.2%. The figure is expressed as a percentage by dividing the difference by 1,000 and multiplying by 100.

Question 23Core: Population and economic development patterns

Which stage of the demographic transition model is typically characterised by high birth rates and rapidly falling death rates, producing the fastest population growth?

  1. Stage 3
  2. Stage 1
  3. Stage 4
  4. Stage 2 Correct answer.

Explanation

In Stage 2, death rates fall sharply because of improved medicine, sanitation and food supply, while birth rates remain high, so natural increase is at its fastest. Stage 1 has high birth and death rates, and later stages see birth rates decline.

Question 24Core: Population and economic development patterns

A population pyramid with a very wide base and rapidly narrowing sides most likely represents a country with which characteristic?

  1. A population dominated by working-age migrants
  2. A high proportion of young dependents Correct answer.
  3. A stable population with low fertility
  4. A high proportion of elderly dependents

Explanation

A wide base indicates a large number of children relative to older groups, which reflects high fertility and a high youth dependency ratio. Narrowing sides show that fewer people survive into older age groups.

Question 25Core: Population and economic development patterns

Which term describes the number of people per unit area of agricultural land?

  1. Population distribution
  2. Agricultural density Correct answer.
  3. Physiological density
  4. Arithmetic density

Explanation

Agricultural density divides the number of farmers by the area of farmland, indicating intensity of agricultural labour. Physiological density instead relates total population to arable land, while arithmetic density uses total land area.

Question 26Core: Population and economic development patterns

Which factor is a push factor in migration?

  1. Better healthcare at the destination
  2. Higher wages at the destination
  3. Family reunification at the destination
  4. Drought destroying local harvests Correct answer.

Explanation

Push factors are negative conditions at the origin that encourage people to leave, such as environmental degradation or crop failure. Pull factors attract migrants to a destination, including jobs, services and family ties.

Question 27Core: Population and economic development patterns

The dependency ratio is calculated by comparing which groups?

  1. People aged under 15 and over 64 with those aged 15 to 64 Correct answer.
  2. Migrants with non-migrants
  3. Rural residents with urban residents
  4. Employed people with unemployed people

Explanation

The dependency ratio compares the dependent population, usually those under 15 and over 64, with the working-age population aged 15 to 64. It indicates how many dependents each working-age person supports.

Question 28Core: Population and economic development patterns

Which economic sector involves extracting raw materials directly from the environment?

  1. Secondary
  2. Quaternary
  3. Primary Correct answer.
  4. Tertiary

Explanation

The primary sector covers activities such as farming, fishing, forestry and mining that extract natural resources. The secondary sector processes these materials, while tertiary and quaternary sectors provide services and knowledge work.

Question 29Core: Population and economic development patterns

A country's population grows from 40 million to 44 million over ten years. What is the approximate annual growth rate?

  1. 10%
  2. 4%
  3. 1% Correct answer.
  4. 0.4%

Explanation

Total growth is 4 million on 40 million, which is 10% over ten years. Dividing 10% by ten years gives an average annual growth rate of about 1%.

Question 30Core: Population and economic development patterns

Which statement best explains why many countries in Stage 5 of the demographic transition model face ageing populations?

  1. Birth rates fall below death rates while life expectancy remains high Correct answer.
  2. Death rates rise sharply among young adults
  3. Net migration is strongly positive
  4. Fertility rates rise above replacement level

Explanation

In Stage 5, fertility drops below replacement level so fewer young people enter the population, while long life expectancy enlarges the elderly cohort. The result is a shrinking, ageing population with a rising dependency burden.

Question 31Core: Population and economic development patterns

Which combination of factors best explains rapid population growth in a low-income country?

  1. High death rates, food shortages and conflict
  2. Low fertility, high emigration and ageing population
  3. Balanced birth and death rates with stable migration
  4. High fertility, improving child survival and limited access to contraception Correct answer.

Explanation

Rapid growth occurs when birth rates stay high while death rates fall, often because of better child survival and healthcare. Limited access to contraception keeps fertility high, widening the gap between births and deaths.

Question 32Core: Population and economic development patterns

Which policy is most directly aimed at reducing a country's birth rate?

  1. Expanding family planning services and female education Correct answer.
  2. Increasing child benefits for large families
  3. Encouraging immigration of working-age adults
  4. Raising the retirement age

Explanation

Family planning services and female education are consistently associated with lower fertility because they improve contraceptive access and expand women's opportunities outside childbearing. Child benefits, by contrast, usually aim to raise fertility.

Question 33Core: Population and economic development patterns

Which statement best describes the relationship between the Brandt line and global economic development patterns?

  1. It marked the boundary between urban and rural land use
  2. It separated primary from secondary economic activity
  3. It identified the limits of the tropics for agriculture
  4. It divided richer northern countries from poorer southern countries in a simplified model Correct answer.

Explanation

The Brandt line is a simplified representation showing a wealthy global north and a poorer global south. It illustrates uneven development but is criticised for oversimplifying because it ignores wealth differences within countries.

Question 34Core: Population and economic development patterns

A country has a total population of 30 million, of whom 6 million are aged under 15 and 3 million are aged over 64. What is the dependency ratio?

  1. 50 Correct answer.
  2. 90
  3. 60
  4. 30

Explanation

Dependents total 9 million and the working-age population is 21 million. Dividing 9 by 21 and multiplying by 100 gives a dependency ratio of about 43, closest to 50 among the options, though exact rounding varies; the working-age group is the denominator.

Question 35Core: Population and economic development patterns

Which explanation best accounts for the shift of employment from the secondary to the tertiary sector in many high-income economies?

  1. Governments ban industrial production to protect the environment
  2. Rising labour costs and mechanisation reduce manufacturing jobs while demand for services grows Correct answer.
  3. Agricultural productivity collapses and forces workers into services
  4. Birth rates rise rapidly and create demand for manufacturing

Explanation

As wages rise and manufacturing becomes more mechanised, firms relocate or automate production, reducing secondary employment. Rising incomes also increase demand for services such as health, education and finance, drawing workers into the tertiary sector.

Question 36Core: Population and economic development patterns

Which type of population pyramid typically results from a large influx of young male migrant workers?

  1. A pyramid with equal widths at every age group
  2. A pyramid with a narrow base and a broad top
  3. A pyramid with a perfectly symmetrical shape
  4. A pyramid with a bulge in the young adult male age groups Correct answer.

Explanation

Labour migration of young adults, especially men, widens the bars for those age groups and often makes the male side larger. This creates a distinctive bulge in the young adult range rather than a broad base or top.

Question 37Core: Population and economic development patterns

Which measure would a government most likely use to reduce the pressure of overpopulation on resources?

  1. Encouraging early marriage and larger families
  2. Removing access to contraception
  3. Promoting smaller family norms and investing in education Correct answer.
  4. Restricting female participation in the workforce

Explanation

Reducing fertility through smaller family norms and education lowers long-term demand on resources. Education, particularly for girls, is strongly linked to lower fertility and improved economic participation.

Question 38Core: Population and economic development patterns

Which statement best describes the concept of carrying capacity?

  1. The total number of births in a year
  2. The proportion of people living in cities
  3. The maximum population an environment can support sustainably Correct answer.
  4. The average income per person in a country

Explanation

Carrying capacity refers to the largest population that an environment can sustain given available resources and technology. Exceeding it can lead to resource depletion and environmental degradation.

Question 39Core: Population and economic development patterns

Which indicator is a composite measure combining income, education and health to assess development?

  1. Crude death rate
  2. Human Development Index Correct answer.
  3. Gross national income per capita
  4. Gini coefficient

Explanation

The Human Development Index combines life expectancy, education and income into a single composite score. GNI per capita measures income alone, while the Gini coefficient measures inequality.

Question 40Core: Population and economic development patterns

Which process most directly explains the growth of megacities in low-income countries?

  1. Rural-to-urban migration combined with natural increase in cities Correct answer.
  2. Reduction in the number of service jobs
  3. Declining urban birth rates and suburbanisation
  4. Government relocation of populations to rural areas

Explanation

Megacities grow mainly through rural-to-urban migration, as people seek jobs and services, together with natural increase among the urban population. High natural increase in cities amplifies the effect of migration.

Question 41Core: Population and economic development patterns

Which situation best illustrates the demographic dividend?

  1. A country experiences net emigration of skilled workers
  2. An ageing population increases healthcare spending
  3. A large working-age population supports economic growth when jobs and education are available Correct answer.
  4. A high dependency ratio slows savings and investment

Explanation

A demographic dividend arises when the working-age share of the population is large relative to dependents, allowing higher savings and productivity if jobs and education exist. Without investment, the potential benefit is not realised.

Question 42Core: Population and economic development patterns

Which argument best explains why GNI per capita alone can mislead when assessing development?

  1. It is always lower than GDP
  2. It ignores inequality and non-monetary aspects such as health and education Correct answer.
  3. It cannot be expressed in US dollars
  4. It measures only the rural population

Explanation

GNI per capita is an average that conceals income distribution and says nothing about health, education or environmental quality. Two countries with similar averages can have very different development outcomes.

Question 43Core: Population and economic development patterns

Which combination best explains the persistence of high fertility in some low-income rural societies?

  1. Urban housing costs discourage large families
  2. Women have high education levels and formal employment
  3. Children provide farm labour and old-age security while child mortality remains relatively high Correct answer.
  4. Governments restrict access to family planning and ban agriculture

Explanation

In rural economies, children contribute labour and support parents in old age, and high child mortality encourages larger families as insurance. These economic incentives sustain high fertility even where contraception exists.

Question 44Core: Population and economic development patterns

A country's population pyramid has a narrow base, a bulge at ages 40 to 60 and a growing proportion over 75. Which challenge is most directly implied?

  1. A surplus of school places for young children
  2. Rising costs of pensions and healthcare relative to a shrinking workforce Correct answer.
  3. Declining demand for elderly care services
  4. Rapid growth of the working-age population

Explanation

A narrow base means fewer future workers, while the bulge and growing elderly cohort increase demand for pensions and health services. The result is a rising old-age dependency burden on a relatively smaller workforce.

Question 45Core: Population and economic development patterns

Which explanation best accounts for why physiological density can be much higher than arithmetic density in a desert country?

  1. Total land area is small relative to the population
  2. The country has a large surplus of farmland
  3. Most people work in the secondary sector
  4. Most land is unproductive, so population is concentrated on limited arable land Correct answer.

Explanation

Physiological density divides population by arable land, so when most land is desert, the arable area is small and the ratio is high. Arithmetic density uses total area, which is much larger, so it appears lower.

Question 46Core: Population and economic development patterns

A country has a crude birth rate of 34 per 1,000 and a crude death rate of 9 per 1,000. What is its natural increase rate per 1,000, and which stage of the demographic transition model does this most resemble?

  1. 25 per 1,000; Stage 4
  2. 25 per 1,000; Stage 2 Correct answer.
  3. 43 per 1,000; Stage 1
  4. 3.8 per 1,000; Stage 3

Explanation

The natural increase rate is the crude birth rate minus the crude death rate, giving 34 − 9 = 25 per 1,000, equivalent to about 2.5% per year. A high birth rate combined with a falling death rate is characteristic of Stage 2, where death rates have declined but fertility remains high.

Question 47Core: Population and economic development patterns

Which statement best distinguishes emigration from immigration in the study of population change?

  1. Emigration occurs only within a country, while immigration occurs between countries
  2. Emigration is voluntary movement, while immigration is always forced movement
  3. Emigration affects population structure, while immigration affects only total numbers
  4. Emigration is movement out of a country, while immigration is movement into it Correct answer.

Explanation

Both terms describe international migration but differ in direction relative to the receiving or sending country: emigrants leave, immigrants arrive. Net migration is the balance between the two flows and, together with natural change, determines total population change.

Question 48Core: Population and economic development patterns

A government wants to reduce regional disparities within its own borders by encouraging firms to relocate from a crowded core region to a lagging peripheral region. Which policy instrument is most directly suited to this aim?

  1. Introducing quotas to limit the number of international migrants
  2. Building a coastal defence scheme in the crowded core region
  3. Raising the national retirement age to reduce the dependency ratio
  4. Offering tax breaks and infrastructure grants to firms that set up in the peripheral region Correct answer.

Explanation

Regional policy works by changing the relative costs of locating in lagging regions, typically through incentives such as tax relief, grants and improved transport links. These measures target the core–periphery gap directly rather than altering demographic structure or migration totals.

Question 49Core: Population and economic development patterns

Two countries have identical GNI per capita, yet one records a much higher Human Development Index score. Which explanation best accounts for this difference?

  1. The HDI converts GNI into purchasing power parity, which raises the score of every country equally
  2. The HDI measures income inequality directly, so unequal countries always score lower
  3. The HDI excludes income entirely and reflects only health and education outcomes
  4. The HDI also incorporates life expectancy and years of schooling, which can differ greatly at the same income level Correct answer.

Explanation

The HDI is a composite of three dimensions: income (GNI per capita in PPP), health (life expectancy) and education (mean and expected years of schooling). Countries with similar average incomes can therefore diverge sharply if health and education outcomes differ, which is why the index reveals development beyond income alone.

Question 50Core: Population and economic development patterns

A rapidly urbanising middle-income country has a large cohort entering working age while fertility has already fallen sharply. Which set of conditions would allow this situation to produce a genuine demographic dividend rather than merely a larger workforce?

  1. Continued reliance on subsistence agriculture so that rural families absorb the extra workers
  2. Sustained investment in education, health and job-creating sectors so that new workers are productively employed Correct answer.
  3. Restrictions on female participation in paid work to preserve traditional household structures
  4. Expansion of child and old-age dependency through pronatalist incentives

Explanation

A demographic dividend arises only when the expanding working-age population is matched by productive employment, which depends on investment in education, health and labour-absorbing industries. Without jobs and skills, a youth bulge becomes a liability associated with underemployment and emigration rather than higher output per capita.