Page 30 - ICSE GEOGRAPHY

Consequences of Overpopulation • Th e pressure on natural resources and the
• Natural resources get depleted as the
pressure on resources like food and water
increases.
• Population explosion causes environmental
hazards. A growth in the population
takes its toll on the land by increasing the
demand for habitable area. Th is leads to
deforestation or loss of natural habitat.
Industrialisation and urbanisation increase
the global pollution levels too, causing
imbalances in the atmosphere and global
warming.
• Large populations strain the economy and
lead to a scarcity of jobs.
• Undue usage of land and poor infrastructure
lower the quality of health, and overall
sanitation and hygiene.
Underpopulation
Th e fertility rate in many developed and
developing countries has dropped to about
two children per woman due to factors
such as literacy, economic development or
urbanisation, which made the idea of having
large families impractical.
Emigration leads to underpopulation in a
country as it is the movement of individuals
out of the country. Th is is mostly done with
the intention of permanently settling in their
destination.
Disease and illness have always caused a
decline in the population. Famine is the
scarcity of food which is caused due to factors
like crop failure and it is also a major cause
behind underpopulation.
Consequences of Underpopulation
• Underpopulation has an adverse eff ect
on the economy as it causes defl ation. A
decline in the population leads to a lack of
demand.
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basic infrastructure of an area decreases.
Levels of pollution also reduces.
• Due to decreased rates of procreation,
there is an increase in the social and
economic pressure on the youth who have
to expand their per capita output in order
to support the economy. Th is also leads to
a poor quality of life for the youth.
• Declining populations could create labour
shortages which could have both positive
and negative eff ects.
Population Composition
Th e term population composition refers to the
distinguishing attributes of the population of
a country such as occupation, education, life
expectancy, age, sex and place of residence.
Rural-Urban Composition
Th e division between rural and urban
areas is signifi cant in terms of geographical
distribution of population. Th e percentage
of rural population is higher in primarily
agricultural countries while industrially
developed countries have a higher share of
urban population.
Th e most highly urbanised societies in the
world are found in western and northern
Europe, Australia, New Zealand, temperate
South America and North America. In all
these societies, the proportion of urban
population exceeds 75 per cent.
In many of the developing countries of Asia
and Africa, the urbanisation process has only
recently begun and less than one-third of the
population lives in urban areas. In developing
countries, the rate of growth of urban areas is
very high.
A prominent feature of population
redistribution, especially in developing