African Geo Homework
DYNAMICS OF POPULATION
I INTRODUCTION
The dynamics of population encompass:
A. Population Distribution
1. Unevenness
2. Factors accounting for uneven distribution
B. Population Growth
1. Rapid growth
2. Implications
C. Population Mobility
1. Explanations for Africa’s high rates of mobility
2. Effects of mobility on source and destination areas
3. Increase in number of refugees
II POPULATION DISTRIBUTION AND DENSITY
A. Measures of population density
Crude or arithmetic density
Physiologic density
Agricultural density
1. Crude Population Density (Table)
a. Small sized countries with:
High densities
Sparse population densities
Medium populations
b. Large sized countries with:
High population densities
Sparse population densities
Medium populations densities
2. Physiologic Density – highest in arid and semi-arid lands
B. Population Density/Distribution (Fig.)
1. Major zones of dense settlement
2. Zones of sparse population
3. The ecology of population density (factors accounting for variation)
a. Precipitation
b. Soil fertility
c. Human activities
Ex. - Kano, Nigeria
Machakos District, Kenya
d. Diseases, e.g., sleeping sickness
e. Development disparities
f. Political/military conflicts – produced refugees
g. Official land policies
South Africa
Zimbabwe
DYNAMICS OF POPULATION CHANGE
I INTRODUCTION
A. Population growth is a function of:
1. Natural increase (crude birth rate – crude death rate
2. Net migration (in-migration – out- migration)
B. The rates of natural increase in Sub- Saharan Africa are high (Table) averaging 2.5%
C. The rates of natural increase are high due to the fact that fertility is high while mortality levels have declined.
1. West Africa? East Africa?
2. Southern Africa?
II FERTILITY LEVELS AND TRENDS
A. Sub-Saharan Africa continues to maintain the highest total fertility rates in the world (Table)
1. East and West Africa have above 5.6 average
2. Several countries in Middle and Southern Africa have below average rates
B. Causes of high fertility
1. Social status – fertility is key to survival and prosperity of a society
2. Early marriage
3. Economic benefits of children (labor)
4. High infant and child mortality
5. Polygamy
6. Desire for sons
7. Low prevalence of contraceptive rates
8. Ethnic rivalry
III MORTALITY LEVELS
A. Why have mortality levels is Sub- Saharan Africa declined substantially?
B. Regional variations in mortality
1. Drought stricken Sahel states – above Sub-Saharan average
2. Countries with high AIDS cases – high mortality rates
3. Countries which have experienced social unrest – civil war – have high rates
C. Infant Mortality
1. Though it has declined in Sub- Saharan Africa since the 1950s, the average rate of 94 infant deaths per 1,000 remains high compared to the average rate in more developed countries of 10 per 1,000
2. Causes of infant and child mortality
a. Malnutrition
b. Disease
c. Poverty
IV AFRICA AND THE DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION
A. The four stages of the Demographic Transition
1. Stage 1 – high stationary stage
2. Stage 2 – high expanding stage
3. Stage 3 – late expanding stage
4. Stage 4 – low stationary stage
B. Africa and the stages of the demographic transition
V AGE STRUCTURE
A. African population is typically young, between 40-50% of the population consists of children aged 1-15 years, while less than 5% of the population is over 65 years of age (Table, Pyramid)
B. Implications of broad based pyramid
1. Burden of supporting a large segment of youth
2. Need for large subsidies for health care and education
3. Translates into increased fertility
VI POPULATION GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
The social and economic development is hampered by rapid population growth in the following ways:
A. Losses in GNP per capita
B. Declining per capita food production – factors contributing to food crisis
C. Declining land quality
1. Deforestation
2. Desertification
D. Labor Surplus
E. Education
F. Inadequate health systems
G. Urban crowding
H. Water supplies
VII COPING WITH POPULATION PRESSURES
A. What problems result from high fertility?
B. Responses to growing population
1. Intensify production
2. Migration
3. Raise money through other means
VIII MEASURES TO REDUCE BIRTH RATES
A. Creating a demand for smaller families. How?
B. Promoting family planning?
C. Expanding family planning services
D. Delaying marriage
IX SUCCESS STORIES OF FAMILY PLANNING
A. Zimbabwe – successful in promoting family planning during 1980s
B. Zimbabwe’s CBR fell from 53 births per 1,000 in 1970 to 30 in 2000
This transition to lower fertility has been attributed to the country’s commitment to family planning in conjunction with:
1. broad-based economic development
2. enhanced opportunities for women
3. improved health care
C. As of 2000, 42% of Zimbabwean women had adopted modern contraception
D. Other African countries are following Zimbabwe’s footsteps
POPULATION AND MOBILITY
I EXPLANATION OF AFRICAN MOBILITY
A. Migration and Culture
1. Pastoralists move between seasonal pastures
2. Seasonal movement of agriculturalists to riverine sites
3. Pilgrimage to Mecca (Fig.)
B. Migration as a response to perceived economic opportunities
1. Rural to urban migration
Push vs Pull factors
2. Movement from less progressive to more progressive regions
C. Involuntary migrations
1. Resettlement, e.g., modern development irrigation schemes which displace people (Table)
2. Refugees
II COLONIAL AND POST COLONIAL LABOR MIGRATION
A. The major foci of the migrants’ job Search (Fig.)
1. South Africa
2. Central Africa
3. East Africa
4. West Africa
B. Ghana Case Study
1. Colonial period – seasonal migrants were attracted to export crop zones in southern Ghana and Ivory Coast.
2. After independence, the decline of Ghanian economy reduced the country’s attractiveness for migrants.
3. Implementation of the Aliens Compliance Order of 1969.
4. Migration of many Ghanians to Nigeria after 1970s.
5. Nigerian government ordered aliens without valid papers to leave in 1983 and again in 1985.
6. As Ghana’s economy improved while Nigeria became less attractive due to economic stagnation and political violence, flow of migrants from Nigeria to Ghana started.
7. Many Ghanians still choose to leave for destinations in higher income countries of Europe and America.
C. 20% of all physicians in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan gained their first medical degree in South Africa.
D. South Africa, in turn, draws physicians from its neighbors to the north.
III THE BRAIN DRAIN
A. Many African professionals are drawn by the higher and more stable salaries abroad. Why?
B. Some professionals go abroad because they perceive their opportunities at home to be limited.
C. Some studies suggest that the extent of the brain drain has been minimized in Africa. Why?
1. Intra-African migration implies that some of the exodus of skilled personnel is offset by qualified people from other countries.
2. Leaving relieves pressure on the job market because the job market is saturated.
IV REFUGEES
A. Africa and S.W. Asia have generated largest number of refugees worldwide.
B. In 2000, there were 3.3 million refugees in Africa South of the Sahara.
C. The principal source areas of refugees in 2000 were eastern and central Africa (Fig.). Why?
V THE EFFECTS OF MIGRATION
A. Young adult males have been predominant in African labor migration. Implication.
B. How do urban areas benefit from in- migration?
1. Ready supply of labor
C. How do urban areas suffer from in- migration when rapid urbanization occurs?
D. How do rural areas benefit from out- migration?
1. Reduced population pressure
2. Cash remittances
E. How do rural areas suffer from out- migration?
1. Loss of labor, hence, reduction in productivity
