Lecture notes
IB Geography Unit 1 (Changing population) notes
Complete notes for IB Geography Unit 1 (Changing population), with all material required by the guide (including mandatory case studies), as well as additional case studies
[Show more]
Connected book
Book Title:
Author(s):
- Edition:
- ISBN:
- Edition:
Content preview
POPULATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PATTERNS● Global population distribution is very uneven, with 90% of the population occupying 16% of the land
Physical and human factors affecting population distribution
➔ Natural
◆ Climate: tropical, subtropical monsoon or marine, warm temperate marine are favoured
● 85% live between 68°N and 20°N
○ The three most populous countries in the world, China, India, and the
United States, are all located in the northern hemisphere
● >10% of the world’s population live in the Southern Hemisphere
○ This is also due to the fact that there is less land in the Southern
Hemisphere
○ The fourth and fifth most populous countries are located in the Southern
Hemisphere (Indonesia and Brazil), though a fraction of their land areas are
located in the Northern
◆ Proximity of the sea
● 75% of the world’s population live within 1,000 km of the sea
○ In Australia, almost all major cities are located alongside the coast (Sydney,
Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane etc.)
◆ Altitude and relief: lowlands, but in hot climates highlands are favoured
● 85% live in areas with an altitude below 500 meters
○ Norway is one of the most mountainous countries in the world, and most
of her population tend to live in valleys, surrounded by mountains
◆ Access to freshwater, good soils and natural resources
● Fertile valleys, such as the Nile valley, have been favoured for a long time
◆ Abundance of natural resources (eg. Tibet has very few resources and is sparsely
populated)
➔ Human
◆ Level of socioeconomic development
● Job opportunities, eg. in tourism or industry
◆ Existence of traffic routes
◆ Political, historical and cultural factors
CASE STUDY: China
● Extremely uneven population distribution
○ 11% of population live on 0.5% of the land; 50% live on 8.2% of the land; 90% live on 30% of
the land
○ Less than 4% live on 50% of the land
, ■ Low-density
areas include
the deserts of
Inner Mongolia
and the
mountains in
Tibet
○ Most of China’s
well-developed and
densely populated areas
are located along the
coast, and in areas with
a temperate climate; the scarcely developed regions (eg. Inner Mongolia, Tibet) are inland
● Reasons for high population density in the South-East:
○ Physical: Coastal plains are easy to build on
○ Climate: Mostly temperate climate with good amount of rainfall
○ Soil: The soil, mostly alluvial thanks to the many rivers and nutritious as the area used to be
covered by deciduous forest makes for good agricultural opportunities
○ Resources: A variety of natural resources, including coal, iron and copper
○ Economic: Sea allows for shipping and trade; significant government investment (e.g.
South-North Water Transfer Project) creates jobs and business opportunities; employment
opportunities in the cities that came with foreign investment (160 million people migrated
from rural to urban areas since 1978)
○ Political: Significant government investment into improving quality of life, including
renewable energy and water transfer projects
● High degree of urbanisation: more than 50 millionaire cities; megacities, eg. the Pearl River Delta;
China’s urban population is expected to grow by 350 million in 2010-2050, 240 million of which will
be migrants
● Internal migration in China:
○ Many people from the interior migrate to the East and Southeast, due to job opportunities
○ A fraction of the population migrate inwards, due to oil and coal deposits
CASE STUDY: Canada
● 85% of the population live within 100 miles of the Canada-US border
● Distance is vast, therefore maintaining connections is difficult.
● Reasons for low population density in the North:
Climate: Extremely cold year around
Vegetation: Tundra has a 2 week growing season
No forest
Soils: Permafrost soil makes agriculture almost impossible
, Water supply: Arid climate so lack of water
Most water sources frozen
Communications: Extremely difficult to build and maintain infrastructure due to climate,
costs and significant distances
Snow and ice can be insurmountable
Economic development
● The global patterns of economic development have changed rapidly
○ In the 1980s, there was a clear north-south divide, but it has largely disappeared with the
rapid development of economies such as China and India
■ Several ‘northern’ countries have lower incomes than ‘southern’ ones (eg. Hungary
vs Malaysia)
● Problems with measuring economic development include the fact that many developing countries
have flouring informal economies, which are not accounted for in governmental statistics
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - the total value of goods and services produced in a country over a year
Gross National Income (GNI) - the total value of goods and services produced within a country together
with the balance of income and payments from or to other countries
What influences a country’s wealth?
➔ Corruption in administration: when there is corruption, less tax money is spent on education,
healthcare etc. and not the best candidates are chosen for positions, thus development is hindered
➔ Culture: in 19 richest country, except the US, more than 70% of people say religion is not
important to them
➔ Geography: poor countries are located in tropical regions where soils are worse and plants have
less carbohydrates; many of the poorest countries are landlocked
◆ Resource curse: natural resources make the rich richer and the poor poorer
The World Bank divides countries into:
➔ HICs (High Income Countries): GDP per capita over $12,735
➔ MICs (Middle Income Countries): divided in two:
◆ Upper Middle Income Countries ($4,036-$12,734 per capita)
● Examples: China, most of Latin America, Southwestern Africa
◆ Lower Middle Income Countries ($1,025-$4,035 per capita)
● Examples: Bolivia, India, Indonesia, Ukraine, Moldova
● Many of these country have some of the highest GINI values in the world, which
signifies there are great inequalities between the poor and the rich
◆ Many former MICs have moved up to become a HIC, like Hungary and Argentina
◆ 64% of the global population live in MICs and ⅓ of global income is produced there
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller tosiacka. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for £12.49. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
84866 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy revision notes and other study material for 14 years now