Population 1996 General - Model Answer

Population 1996 General – Model Answer

Q7 (a)
Higher Life Expectancy
Developed countries have higher life expectancy than developing countries. This is due to access to health care being better in developed countries; therefore people are less likely to die from treatable disease. Vaccinations are also given to young children in developed countries – which help prevent disease like measles, which kills many people in the developing countries. Sanitation is also better in developed countries, people have access to clean water, this does not happen in many developing countries which cause people to become ill and die at a younger age, lowering life expectancy.

Literacy Rate
Developed countries have higher literacy rates than developing countries. This is due to the fact that many developed countries provide free education to children, allowing children to attend school and learn to read and write. In developing countries many children are unable to go to school as they cannot afford it. Parents may also be reluctant to send their children to school in developing countries as the children are needed to work and support the family instead; this leads to lower literacy rates in developing countries.

(b)
Population growth is a good indicator of development as a high level of population growth would be likely to indicate a developing country. This is due to the population growing quickly as people have little access to contraception, or lack of education about contraception. High levels of population growth also indicate a country is developing as they indicate a high infant mortality rate, as many people have larger families due to the likelihood that many will not survive.
In a developed country the population growth will be low as people will be educated about contraception and will choose to have smaller families. People in developed countries will also marry later, having less children and reducing population growth.


Q8 – Model Answer 1996
The majority of people in Botswana live along the East coast. This is the most hospitable part of the country with plenty rainfall to allow people to grow crops. There is also a high population density in the NE of the country where many natural resources are found (diamonds, copper) and people live here due to the amount of jobs available from this industry. The South West of Botswana has a low population density, this is because there is very little rain here (less than 400 mm) which makes it difficult for people to grow crops and survive. A large amount of this land is also a national park, which will restrict building and the number of people who live here. The NW of the country also has a low population density due to the fact that much of the land is marsh, which would be difficult to build and farm on.