Human Geography: Population, Place and Uneven Development
Human Geography in MATSEC AM Geography tests population, settlement, economic activity and development, with emphasis on models, data interpretation and critical evaluation of uneven outcomes. Expect calculations plus explanation of spatial patterns.
Core rules and concepts
- Natural increase is CBR − CDR; population growth also includes net migration. Rates are usually per 1,000 people.
- The Demographic Transition Model links birth and death rates to economic and social change, but it is a generalised model and does not fit every country.
- Migration is shaped by push–pull factors, distance decay and intervening obstacles; Ravenstein's laws remain a useful starting point.
- Urban land-use models (Burgess, Hoyt, Harris–Ullman) describe idealised patterns; real cities reflect transport, planning and informal settlement.
- Development is multidimensional: HDI combines life expectancy, education and GNI per capita, while GDP alone ignores inequality and unpaid work.
- Globalisation shifts production through comparative advantage and transnational corporations, creating winners and losers within and between places.
Worked example
A country has CBR 28, CDR 9 and net migration −2 per 1,000. Calculate natural increase, growth rate and approximate doubling time.
Natural increase = 28 − 9 = 19 per 1,000 = 1.9%. Net migration = −2 per 1,000 = −0.2%. Growth rate = 1.9% − 0.2% = 1.7%. Doubling time ≈ 70 ÷ 1.7 ≈ 41 years. Reasoning: first separate natural change from migration; then convert per 1,000 to percent by dividing by 10. The doubling time is an approximation and assumes a constant rate, which is unlikely over four decades.
Traps that cost marks
- Adding net migration to the CBR instead of converting it to a rate per 1,000 or percent.
- Placing a country in a DTM stage by its date rather than by its birth and death rates.
- Equating urbanisation (share urban) with urban growth (absolute city population increase).
- Using GDP per capita as a complete development measure; it hides inequality and environmental costs.
- Committing the ecological fallacy: assuming every individual in a place shares the average characteristic.