Population, Settlement and Urbanisation
What this domain tests
This domain examines population growth and structure, migration, settlement patterns and urbanisation. Questions require you to interpret population pyramids, calculate simple rates and explain why settlements grow or change.
Core rules and concepts
- Natural increase = birth rate − death rate; migration can add or subtract people.
- Population pyramids show age and sex structure; a wide base indicates high birth rates, while a narrow base and bulge higher up indicate ageing.
- Push factors drive people from a place; pull factors attract them. Migration has economic, social and environmental impacts at both ends.
- Settlements grow where water, flat land, defence, transport and resources are favourable; urbanisation is the rising share of people living in towns and cities.
- Urban land use often shows a CBD, residential zones, industry and transport routes; rapid urbanisation can create squatter settlements and pressure on services.
Worked example
A town has 2,000 births, 800 deaths and a population of 100,000. Natural increase is 2,000 − 800 = 1,200 people, or 1.2% of the population. If 500 more people immigrate than emigrate, total growth is 1,700, or 1.7%. The reasoning matters: calculate natural increase first, then add net migration; do not divide births by deaths.
Traps
Do not confuse population density with population distribution. Do not call a pyramid upside down without saying what that means. Do not assume all migration is international. In urban answers, link a problem to a specific cause and a realistic management response.