Geography Case Studies (Theme 1)

• 1960: 1.7 million - 2008: 13.3 million
• Expected to hit 56 million by 2050
• Growth rate of 2.9%
• Highest fertility rate in the world (7.1 births per woman)

Lower death rates because:

• babies are inoculated against diseases
• better supplies of clean water
• people eat better diets
• more clinics and hospitals
• better health education
• people enjoy better living conditions
• women are becoming better educated

10-12 children are desired

Only 5% of people use contraception / family planning

• 2007: 143 million ~ 2050: 111 million
• High death rate
• Low birth rate
• Low level of immigration
• Life expectancy is low
• Russian women: highly educated, do not want many/any children

• One pensioner for every worker in 20 years' time
• Male life expectancy at 59
• More than one million Russians with AIDS
• Russian death rates highest in peacetime
• Lowest birth rates ever at 1.1 per woman

• 140 million people
• 70% living on less than one dollar a day
• Occupies 3% of Africa, has 15% of Africans

Problems caused by overpopulation:

• Not enough housing
• Water and air pollution
• Shortage of food and water
• High crime rates
• Not enough health care and education
• Congested roads

• 1901: 3.7 million - 2013: 23 million
• Majority of country is uninhabitable desert
• Area: 7,686,850km2 

• GDP per person: US$ 5200 (low)
• Population density of 2.5/km^2
• Much of the country is desert with a hot, dry climate
• Rainfall is sparse and erratic
• Prolonged periods of drought
• Economy is dependent on the extraction and processing of minerals for export, e.g. diamonds and uranium
• Mining employs only 3% of the population
• About half the population depend on subsistence agriculture

• Population density: 339/km^2
• Uneven population distribution
• Most people live on Honshu Island
• Most people live along the borders

• Over two-thirds of Japan is mountainous, few people live here because:
• Land is not suitable for farming
• Isolated areas
• Little work
• Extreme climate

• Most people live in high-density rural or urban areas because:
• There is better land for farming (rural)
• Better jobs (both)
• Nicer climate (rural/both)
• Better land for building (urban)

• About 35% of Peru's 10 million people live in the capital city
• 1940: 600 000 living in Lima, majority living in rural areas

• Factors influencing migration to Lima from rural settlements:
• Not enough agricultural land
• Drought and other natural hazards
• Low prices for agricultural products
• Cannot afford clothes and food for children (dev.)
• Not much opportunity for children to go to school
• No running water, electricity or sewage disposal in many villages

• What migrants expperience when they get to Lima
• Racial discrimination
• Separation from family
• Better quality services e.g. water, electricity
• Better schools fro migrants' children
• low pay and ong working hours
• Forced to live in self-built houses on the streets

• 1950s: 2 million people - 2000: 18 million people
• Lack of housing
• Traffic congestion
• Lack of jobs
• Pollution

• Attempts to solve urban problems in Cairo:
• A modern metro system was built
• The Greater Cairo Waste Water Project, extended and repaired the sewage system
• People with donkey carts were licensed to collect and recycle garbage
• Ring road built, encircling the city
• New satellite and dormitory towns built around the city
• Homes and public services were upgraded in the most run-down parts of the city

• 1970: 1.4 million people - 2006: 5,138,000 people
•  2000-2006 Increase by 1 million people
• The fastest-growing metropolitan city in the USA
• One-third was births, the rest from newcomers

• Problems:
• Population growth
• Traffic congestion
• Air pollution caused by traffic congestion (dev.)
• Water quality worse, water quantity less
• Less agricultural land
• Loss of green space/ecosytems
• More Impermeable surfaces
• Cultural loss
• Socio-economic division
• "Hotlanta"