Population and Settlement
What this domain tests
This domain examines where people live, why populations change, and how settlements are sited and arranged. You must calculate density, interpret population pyramids and explain migration and urban growth.
Core rules and concepts
- Population density = total population ÷ area in km². Distribution describes where people are; density is a numerical average.
- Natural increase = birth rate − death rate (per 1,000). Net migration = immigrants − emigrants. Total population change includes both.
- Population pyramids show age-sex structure. A wide base indicates high birth rates; a narrow top indicates shorter life expectancy or high elderly mortality.
- Migration is pushed by poverty, conflict, unemployment and environmental hazard; pulled by jobs, safety, services and family links.
- Settlement site factors include reliable water, defensive relief, fertile land, fuel, building materials and bridging points. Situation describes the settlement's relationship to surrounding routes and resources.
- Settlement patterns are dispersed, nucleated or linear. Urbanization is the rising share of population living in towns and cities.
Worked example
A country has a population of 12,000,000 and an area of 150,000 km². Reasoning: density = 12,000,000 ÷ 150,000 = 80 people per km². If the birth rate is 32 per 1,000 and the death rate is 8 per 1,000, natural increase = 24 per 1,000, or 2.4%. Do not call this the growth rate unless net migration is zero.
Traps that cost marks
- Confusing population distribution with density.
- Giving density without units (people/km²).
- Describing a site advantage as a situation advantage, or vice versa.
- Assuming a high birth rate always means rapid total growth; emigration can offset it.