§-Topic

Population Change

6 dot points, in syllabus order. Each dot point has a focused answer, with exam-style questions and worked answers where available.

How and why do populations grow, age and move, and what are the consequences of these trends for places in Australia and across the world?

Describe and explain population trends and movements, analyse their consequences, and evaluate strategies that manage population growth, ageing and migration.

How and why populations grow, age and migrate, the demographic transition model, the consequences of these trends, and the strategies used to manage them, illustrated with Australian and global cases.

7 min read →

What drives forced migration and displacement, how are these movements distributed across the world, and how do countries and agencies respond?

Explain the causes of forced migration and displacement, analyse their uneven spatial patterns and impacts, and evaluate responses by countries and international agencies.

What drives forced migration and displacement, why refugee and displaced populations concentrate in particular regions, and how the responses of host countries and international agencies are evaluated, using real global cases.

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Why are the world's people concentrating in cities and megacities, and what are the consequences of urbanisation for people and environments?

Explain the causes of urbanisation and the growth of megacities, analyse the consequences for people and environments, and evaluate strategies that manage urban growth sustainably.

Why the world is urbanising and megacities are growing, the consequences for housing, services, infrastructure and the environment, and the strategies used to manage urban growth, illustrated with Australian and global cases.

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How does the demographic transition model explain population change, and how well does it apply to countries at different stages of development?

Explain the stages of the demographic transition model, analyse how birth and death rates change through development, and evaluate the model's usefulness and limits.

How the demographic transition model explains population change through five stages, why birth and death rates shift with development, and how the model's usefulness and limits are evaluated, with country examples at each stage.

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Why are populations ageing, what does a rising dependency ratio mean for societies, and how can countries respond to an older population?

Explain the causes of population ageing, analyse the consequences of a rising dependency ratio, and evaluate strategies for managing an ageing population.

Why populations are ageing, what a rising dependency ratio means for workforces, pensions and health systems, and how strategies for managing an ageing population are evaluated, using Japan, Europe and Australia as cases.

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Why is the world's population so unevenly distributed, and what physical and human factors explain patterns of population density?

Explain the physical and human factors shaping population distribution and density, analyse the resulting spatial patterns, and apply this to interpret population data.

Why the world's population is unevenly distributed, the physical and human factors that explain patterns of population density, and how to interpret distribution data, with global and Australian examples.

7 min read →