What happens in Stage 2 of the Demographic Transition Model?
Death rates fall rapidly (due to better food, sanitation and medicine) while birth rates remain high, causing rapid population growth. Learn it step by step →
Population & Migration is a core part of A-Level Geography. Revise the key concepts and common mistakes below, then lock them in with the free games.
Key concepts
Carrying CapacityMaximum population an environment can sustain; varies with technology and consumption; Malthusian limit debated.
Boserup vs MalthusBoserup: necessity drives technological innovation; Malthus: geometric population, arithmetic food, leading to crisis.
Demographic Transition ModelFive stages of birth/death rate change; UK at Stage 4, Niger Stage 2, Japan Stage 5 (post-transition).
Ecological FootprintGlobal hectares needed per capita; world average 2.7, USA 8.1, India 1.2; humanity consumes 1.75 Earths.
ZoonosesDiseases transmitted from animals to humans; 70% of new pandemics; Ebola, COVID-19 linked to wildlife encroachment.
Replacement FertilityTotal fertility rate of 2.1 needed to maintain population; below this means demographic decline; many HICs at 1.5.
Brundtland 1987'Our Common Future' defined sustainable development meeting present needs without compromising future generations.
Sustainable Development Goals17 UN goals adopted 2015 to be achieved by 2030; replaced MDGs; integrated economic, social, environmental dimensions.
Doughnut EconomicsKate Raworth's 2017 framework: social foundation inside, ecological ceiling outside; safe and just space between.
Bhutan GNHGross National Happiness: a wellbeing index Bhutan uses alongside GDP to guide policy; its constitution requires 60% forest cover.
MigrationPermanent change of residence across an administrative boundary.
Push FactorNegative force prompting migration from origin.
What your exam board covers
Where Population & Migration sits in each exam board's specification. Tap a board to see what it lists.
Questions where students often pick the tempting wrong answer — make sure you know the right one:
What happens in Stage 2 of the Demographic Transition Model?✗ Birth rates rise rapidly because people want larger families.✓ Death rates fall rapidly (due to better food, sanitation and medicine) while birth rates remain high, causing rapid population growth.
Why is an ageing population a challenge for HICs?✗ Because old people stop contributing anything to society.✓ Rising dependency ratio means fewer workers support more pensioners through tax, increasing pressure on pensions, healthcare and social care services.
Does a falling birth rate immediately stop population growth?✗ Once fertility falls to replacement level, the population stops growing straight away.✓ No — population momentum means a youthful age structure keeps growth going for decades, as large cohorts reach childbearing age even at lower fertility.
Was Malthus right that population always outruns food supply?✗ Malthusian famine checks have operated exactly as predicted.✓ His prediction has not held so far — technology, the Green Revolution and trade raised food output faster than he foresaw, as Boserup argued, though resource limits remain debated.
Practise Population & Migration — free games
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