Ch. 2 K.I. #3 – Pt. 2 –“Why Does Population Growth Vary Among Regions”?

Declining Birth Rates

  1. What is the current global Crude Birth Rate (according to text)?

CBR in the whole world? ______

CBR in LDCs? ______

  1. According to Figure 2-22, what is the only country in the world with a higher CBR since 1980?
  1. According to Figure 2-22, name 5 of the countries in which CBRs have declined the most.
  1. What 2 strategies have been successful in reducing birth rates?
  2. ______
  3. ______
  4. What is the benefit of wealthier communities with regard to birth rates?
  1. How does the education of women reduce CBRs?
  2. ______
  3. ______
  4. How do improved health care programs reduce CBRs?
  5. ______
  6. ______
  7. What is the best method for lowering CBRs in LDCs?
  1. What are some examples (4) of countries that have benefited from this method?
  1. Why are family planning programs a better solution than economic development in LDCs?
  1. Where is contraceptive use lowest in the world? Why do you think this is true (Google it if you need to)?
  1. What particular factor accounts for very high birth rates in Africa and Southwest Asia?
  1. Who typically opposes birth control programs? Why?
  1. Why has the U.S. government at times withheld aid to countries and family planning organizations?
  1. According to Figure 2-25, How are the principal family planning methods different between Germany and Nigeria? Why do you think this is true?

Malthus on Overpopulation

  1. English economist ______(1766-1834) was the first to argue that ______.
  2. What theory did Malthus express in his 1798 work, An Essay on the Principles of Population?
  1. What is significant about when Malthus expressed his theory?
  1. What did Malthus say could prevent population growth from outpacing available resources?
  1. What has caused contemporary geographers to take another look at Malthus’s theory?
  1. What 2 reasons make Malthus’s theory even more frightening now than 200 years ago?
  2. ______
  3. ______
  4. Geographers who accept Malthus’s frightening picture of the world are known as ______.
  5. For what 3 reasons do some critics disagree with Malthus’s theory?
  6. ______
  7. ______
  8. ______
  9. Why do Marxists dismiss Malthus’s theory that population growth is the main cause of poverty, hunger, and other social welfare problems?
  1. Why do conditions of the past half-century NOT support Malthus’s theory?
  1. Why has wheat production in India increased twice as fast as Malthus said?
  1. (pp. 374-375) How does Ester Boserup explain the relationship between population growth and food production?
  1. Explain how Boserup’s theory represents a more possiblist (p.35) view of population growth than Malthus’s (answer not in book).
  1. How dramatically will Japan’s population decline by 2050?
  1. According to Figure 2-28, how will Japan’s population structure have changed between 1950 and 2050?
  1. Based on the 3 population pyramids in Figure 2-28, describe Japan’s demographic transition between 1950 and 2050.
  1. How is the direction of the United States population projection different from that of Japan’s? Why?
  1. How will population decline negatively affect Japan? How is Japan addressing this problem?
  1. How is population decline in Japan affecting Japanese women?

Population Futures

  1. How much do current Population Reference Bureau forecasts project the world’s population to increase by 2050, and where will most of this growth occur?
  1. According to the United Nations, the future of population growth depends on what?
  1. How is a country demographically different after it has “completed” its transition from Stage 1 to Stage 4?
  2. ______
  3. ______
  4. What are the 2 big breaks with the past that occur over the course of the 4-stage demographic transition?
  5. ______
  6. ______
  7. Which change has yet to be achieved in many developing countries in the world today?
  1. Statistically, Stage 5 of the DTM is characterized by what?
  1. What problems arise as the elderly population grows, and the number of working-age people declines?
  2. How will Stage 5 affect the CDR of countries?
  1. What countries other than Japan are experiencing negative NIRs and potential entry into Stage 5?
  1. Why are former communist countries experiencing such low CBRs that make them more susceptible to Stage 5 than other developed countries?
  1. What percentage of the world’s population lives in China or India?
  1. Why does India add 12 million more people per year than China?
  1. When didIndia enter Stage 2 of the DTM, and how did this affect its demographic data?
  1. What various family planning policies has India instituted since 1952?
  1. What was India’s most controversial family planning program?
  1. Why did the birth-control drive decline after 1976?
  1. What do current family planning programs in India emphasize?
  1. What policy has helped China reduce it’s CBRto rates even below the U.S?
  1. How did this policy encourage Chinese citizens to have fewer children?
  1. Why has the One Child policy been relaxed in the 21st century?
  1. How has the One Child policy been relaxed in the 21st century?