"I owe a lot to my parents, particularly my mother and father"
Greg Norman
Updated October 2005
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| 2001 CENSUS | POPULATION POLICIES |
| A GREYING POPULATION | POPULATION MIGRATION |
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POLISH IMMIGRATION New for 2007 |
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There was also a story on the BBC Website way back in December 2002 saying that an increasing number of retired people are going back to work. More than 1 in 5 goes back to work, and they aren't necessarily doing it for money, but because they miss the social contact. A third of people between 65 and 74 in the survey went back to work. Many of these are voluntary jobs. The Pension crisis isn't making a lot of people sleep easily however... Teachers currently enjoy a final salary pension scheme to look forward to...for how much longer ?
The latest National Statistics report: SOCIAL TRENDS (in its 35th year) (March 2005) is a fascinating snapshot of our lives.
There are over 200 pages of trends, graphs, figures and analysis. Some interesting snippets on what has happened since 1971:
We eat a lot less meat
Number of people aged 65 and over rose by 28% and number under 16 fell by 18%
Number of registered cars on roads (28m) twice that in 1971 (and four times that in 1961)
Nearly 29% of households had 2 or more cars by 2001
At 8.50am on schooldays, 1 in 5 cars is being used to take children to school!
In 1970, only 35% of houses had a landline telephone.
Rich and poor households are getting further away.
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ISSUES : A PRIMER FOR GCSE STUDENTS
Make sure you are familiar with the various 'D' words.
Population geography is about DEMOGRAPHICS. The ebb and flow of populations is one of the few aspects of Human Geography which I find quite interesting.
Population has a DENSITY: the number of people living within a particular unit area (usually the square kilometre), and we can also describe its DISTRIBUTION: whereabouts people are within that area - are they spread out or nucleated (focussed in one or two areas...) - clearly within a country which has an average density of perhaps 250 people per square kilometre there will be some densely populated areas (not surprisingly in the main cities) and others which are SPARSELY populated: remote areas, mountains, bogs, forests, rural areas etc.
Population is counted in a CENSUS. The UK has a ten yearly interval between these surveys which ask each household a large number of questions. Of course the day after they're out of date as some people featured on the census will have died, and others not born will have made their entrance.
Things like BIRTH RATE and DEATH RATE are expressed in terms of 'per thousand'. If one takes 1000 people and returns to them at the end of a year, some of them will have died, others will have given birth (probably the women in the sample....) - the difference is the NATURAL INCREASE (although in countries such as Italy, Japan and Germany this is becoming a NATURAL DECREASE)
Basically every couple should theoretically have 2 children in order to reach the REPLACEMENT LEVEL, but fertility has declined. Women are having their first child later than ever (over 30 years old on average) and are also having fewer children. This means that instead of the old benchmark of 2.4 CHILDREN (hence the name of the comedy series...), it's now more like 1.8 CHILDREN, which doesn't star that bloke from Hollyoaks...
This means that some countries are having to adopt a PRO-NATALIST stance - encouraging births, whereas other countries have gone through tremendous social upheaval as a result of adopting ANTI-NATALIST policies.
A superb site for all things STATISTICAL is NATIONMASTER. This is a fantastic site for statistics and graphs, and I recommend that you go and make use of it right now.... Recommended.
"Bringing up a girl is like watering a neighbour's garden"
Punjabi proverb
A key figure in POPULATION is Thomas Malthus. He developed the idea of 'LIMITS TO GROWTH' which blighted, I mean brightened up endless lectures on my degree course. Malthus suggested that food supply grows geometrically, but that population growth was capable of growing exponentially. This meant that at some stage a crisis would be reached, where famine, disease and war would start to lower the population to a lower level. This mirrors the food-predator cycles in some natural ecosystems. If you really want to, you can read the ORIGINAL ESSAY by Malthus: "An Essay on the Principle of Population" at Ed Stephan's website. Or you could get out more....
There's a useful article on the BBC site about INDIA's growing population.
There have been several recent stories relating to the CHINA ONE CHILD policy, and the impact on the population, in particular the imbalances which are created. The link above is to a transcript of a programme which was called LOOKING FOR CHINA GIRL.
How long are you going to live for ? There's a LIFE EXPECTANCY CALCULATOR at the BBC HEALTH site. A useful activity is to collect together links to several of these kinds of sites and see whether there is agreement over how long you have left to live...
SOUTHEND on SEA in Essex is the town which is voted 'TOP FOR RETIREMENT' - a useful BBC article from March 2006
2001 saw the last CENSUS in the UK.
The Government Census page is HERE. and used the tagline 'Count Me In'. There's an FAQ on the Census available which answers any question you (or your students might have) including some fascinating facts such as the fact that 2000 babies were due to be born on Census Day in the UK, and they all got a free 'baby-grow' (almost worth having another baby, but doesn't quite match the offer of Bandai to Japanese couples of £9000) Also a list of FACTSHEETS in PDF Format can be downloaded free of charge.
There has also been a recent story in the paper (also featured on the RGS 'Geography in the News' site which has details on an Italian mayor who was offering to pay couples in his town who had a child.
Until 1801, it was believed that a census would give away the potential strength of the fighting force to enemies.
The 1991 Census showed 90% of the population living in urban areas, compared with 16% in 1831.
Recently (December 2001), the Public Records Office put the full 1901 CENSUS ONLINE.
There was such a demand that the site crashed immediately (over a million people trying to get at the census data), and at the time of writing it is still offline. Maybe when you read this you'll be able to get access, but I doubt it. (Still no, May 2002, and still limited access only, June 2003)
For information on the Census in INDIA, go HERE. This must have been a little bit harder than the UK one.
Why would carrying out a census be harder in an LEDC ?
Head off to David Rayner's new GEOINTERACTIVE site and look at the SAMPLES on offer. One of them is an excellent POWERPOINT presentation for you to download which investigates the 2001 Census, and shows where you can get hold of some of the results of the Census. The first Census was held in 1801, only WWII has prevented it happening. The Census is now compulsory, although there were certain 'issues' with the 2001 Census. The Powerpoint presentation has useful links to the most recent census in Brazil, and a fascinating Census form (presumably genuine) from 1989, where the questions include: 'What is the floor of your house made from ?' and 'What is your main source of water ?'
In February 2003, more detailed results from CENSUS 2001 were published. Details were described on the BBC site. It made for interesting reading:
|
UK in General |
London |
| Car 62% | Car 36% |
| Taxi 3% | Taxi 0.65% |
| Bicycle 2% | Bicycle 2.33% |
| Foot 11% | Foot 8.4% |
| Metro/Train 5% | Train 12% |
| Bus 9% | Bus 11% |
| Motorcycle 2% | Motorcycle 1.4% |
| Tube 19% |
Go HERE for the details on the results for King's Lynn and West Norfolk and lots of other areas too.
It's also worth checking out your local authority site. NORFOLK, for example (November 2004) issued some new population statistics. These can add that crucial extra column to bring the figures in the textbook more up to date, and allow the extra plot on the graphs that you do with your groups.
The Norfolk site has a range of useful information HERE. This has links to the Norfolk Census Explorer.
"I'm very proud of being childless. It's my contribution to world ecology" Helen Mirren
There are 2 types of population policies. These are: PRO NATALIST and ANTI NATALIST policies.
The Chinese and Indian Governments also carried out a census in 2001. One of the interesting things about the Chinese One-Child policy is the number of 'Little Emperors': spoilt only children who have no brothers, sisters, aunts or uncles.
Is the world too crowded ? - see here for a view on OVERPOPULATION. Someone who considered the possible limits to growth was Thomas Malthus, read about MALTHUS here. Of course he was writing at a time when agriculture
The aim of one organisation is in the name: ZERO POPULATION GROWTH. I received a nice poster from them by sending off an e-mail. Worth a try.
There are some useful resources referring to the Chinese policy including this TIME MAGAZINE article: 'A Generation of Little Emperors' - and some THINKING SKILLS activities that I've also found.
Singapore has also introduced new measures to encourage women to have more children. Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong explained that fertility rate is 1.48, which is below the replacement level of 2.1 (has to be just above 2 as there are unfortunately some infant deaths..) Resident population is likely to drop if this continues, which will affect the labour force. 8 weeks paid maternity leave will be provided for a third child (Government will meet the cost)
Another feature of family planning is something called the 'family cram' - this is the trend for people to have their children between the ages of 30 and 34. Women will have spent years establishing themselves in the workforce, and then have to break off. Women have to keep working because they have a mortgage and to re-establish their career.
There's also the arrival of the beanpole family, rather than the spread out family tree. This has very few branches as people are having fewer children.
Another trend is the arrival of new social groups, who are targeted by advertisers and retailers.
One of these is the 'Geezer': these people are factory workers and manual labourers in their early twenties. They left school with few qualifications and went straight into work, and still live at home. As a result they have plenty of disposable income.
There have been lots of articles on the people who never leave home, preferring to stay with their parents.
The IF series of programmes has started a lot of debate. See LESSON PLAN 12 below for all the relevant sites...
New additions to the BBC site for March 2006 were a series of articles related to the EU's BABY BLUES, and measures to persuade couples to have (more) children. Check out the ARTICLE HERE and follow the links for some case studies of particular countries.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4872318.stm - fascinating article on the greying of large parts of the country
http://www.bbc.co.uk/parenting/tv_and_radio/birthmap_index.shtml - site to support programme: the UK Birth Map
"Old age is not so bad when you consider the alternative" Maurice Chevalier
One of the sure things to come out of the Census will be an increasing proportion of elderly people. In 1900, 1% of the population was over 65, now it is 7%. By 2050 it will be 20%. The over 85's are the fastest growing age group in Britain.
Italy is likely to be the first country to have over 60's outnumbering children.
There are many results of this change in the dependency ratio, not the least the possible raising of the retirement age. It'll be just my luck to limp my way to 60 and find I have to hang on in there until I'm 70. Better start saving now.
Sure enough: in February 2002) came the first news in the papers: the latest recommendations are to raise retirement age to 67. Can you imagine still teaching aged 67 ? The average time that a male teacher lives for when they retire is just 18 months! I'd like a bit longer than that to catch up on all those things you never had time for - like having a life and travelling. Plus I might even have chance to read a book.
Japan is the country with the greatest number of centenarians. Japan is home to the world's oldest woman, aged 115. There are apparently almost 18,000 Japanese over the age of 100, 84% of whom are women!
The update in September 2001 provided the detail that for the first time, there are more people over the age of 60: 21% of the population, than there are under the age of 16: 20%. There are also well over a million people past the age of 85.
Another interesting article was about the trend in Italian men to stay at home with their parents until they are well into their 30's.
An article on the BBC website in July 2003 had the good news that UK men are now living longer than many of their European counterparts. It gives a Top 5 of longevity: Sweden is at no. 1 (77.5 years), Switzerland, Italy, Norway and then the UK (at 76 years on average) - the lowest in Europe is Ireland at 73 years. The figures are from the European Men's Health Forum.
Recently came across another population trend. It used to be that one generation would build up wealth that the next generation would be able to enjoy. Wealthy retirees are apparently spending the money themselves !
Rather than leave the money to their children, or the taxman, they have taken up SKI-ing, or SPENDING THE KID's INHERITANCE...
Another week, another acronym for a particular age cohort. An article on the BBC website HERE introduces us to what the Prudential is calling KIPPERS. A KIPPER is someone who has not yet left home, although they are old enough to, and are staying put because it's easier.
KIPPERS stands for "kids in parents' pockets eroding retirement savings"
Apparently almost 7m people over 18's still live with their parents. Parents subsidise their children to the tune of £20 bn a year, with contributions such as paying towards a house purchase, for a wedding, for a new car and payments into savings accounts or pensions. In Japan they're known by the more accurate name of 'PARASITE SINGLES'.
It seems that every month brings a new trend, a new social group....
An article in 'The Times' in August 2004 had the headline: "Grandad for Sale" - the article was about an 80 year old retired teachers, living alone, his wife having died 12 years ago. He has put himself up for adoption, and is willing to pay 500 euros a month (a third of his pension) to a family willing to have him as a grandad....
Demographic News in NORFOLK. A newsletter.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5313270.stm - Pensioners choose to keep on working !!
"No modern economy can afford to be anti-immigration."
Beverley Hughes, Home Office Minister
There is a useful site for Asylum seekers, refugees and displaced people at FORCED MIGRATION.
One theme which the media have pounced on is illegal immigration: locally (in Norfolk) there have been several articles on the arrival of Chinese (and other) immigrants. There was an article in the Guardian, and one in August in the EDP. This will be featured in the GEO BLOGS website.
MOVING HERE is one of the best sites on migration. It tells stories of how Caribbean, Irish, Jewish and South Asian communities came to the UK - looks at their journey, and what life was like once they had arrived. Has thousands of photographs, maps, clips of video and even sound files. THE resource for project work in this area.
The American IMMIGRATION site has some fascinating historical background. Immigrants were welcomed by the Statue of Liberty, with its inscribed plaque welcoming them in....
Do you know the meanings of these terms related to Migration ?
XENOPHOBIA
IMMIGRATION / EMIGRATION
PUSH AND PULL FACTORS
NEW COMMONWEALTH IMMIGRANTS
REFUGEE
ASYLUM SEEKER
The centre for IMMIGRATION STUDIES has some very useful articles in an ARCHIVE HERE.
The BBC have put a section of their website onto the theme of POPULATION MIGRATION. Well worth a visit.
According to THIS ARTICLE, the world's population is set to fall, largely due to deaths from HIV/Aids in Africa.
Certain areas are undergoing loss of population. An article in 'The Times' recently featured Sicily. Young Sicilians are abandoning the island to search for work in Britain, Germany and the United States in a 'repeat' of the immigration which occurred in the 19th Century or Second World War. Junior schools are closing, and high unemployment has created a number of 'ghost villages'. In some villages no births have apparently been recorded all year.
An article in 'The Guardian' in March 2005 said that the number of illegal immigrants in the USA has topped 10 million, with almost a quarter of those in the last 4 years. These are mainly Mexicans looking for work in the US. Their presence is crucial to the economy however, as they are used by a lot of companies (though not Wal Mart who, the report says, were recently awarded £6m to settle unfounded accusations that it had knowingly used illegal immigrants as cleaners)
You can now pay money and pretend to be an immigrant in a new tourist attraction in Mexico.
A useful read in this area is Robert Winder's "Bloody Foreigners: the story of immigration to Britain". This can be seen in the BOOKSHOP. Also check out "IMMIGRANTS" by Philip Legrain.
A key moment in immigration history of UK was the arrival of the Empire Windrush in the late 1940s. An excellent starting point for this is the BBC SITE here. There are other BBC sites which trace the life of some of the passengers on the ship, which travelled from the Caribbean (including Jamaica) to Tilbury, docking in 1948. The ship arrived at a time of transition, following the end of the war. The new Caribbean migrants played a vital role in the various public services in which they immersed themselves. A useful circularity is that a lot of the migrants are now retiring back to the Caribbean for a comfortable retirement having sold their houses in London - they deserve to !
http://www.geographyalltheway.com/igcse_geography/populationsettlement/population/spiny_cactus_enter.htm - Richard Allaway's superb mini-site mystery complete with talking heads - one of a range of useful POPULATION based resources at Richard's site - check them out, and check out SITE PAL for the talking heads themselves.