Rural-to-urban migration for jobs and services, plus natural increase. Learn it step by step →
Global Change is a core part of IB Geography. Revise the key concepts and common mistakes below, then lock them in with the free games.
Key concepts
AnthropoceneCrutzen and Stoermer 2000 term for human-dominated epoch; AWG proposed 1950s Great Acceleration as start; IUGS rejected formal designation 2024.
Planetary boundariesRockstrom et al 2009 framework; nine boundaries including biosphere integrity and biogeochemical flows; six transgressed by 2023 update.
Global commonsAtmosphere, high seas, outer space and Antarctica; managed via UNFCCC, UNCLOS, Outer Space Treaty 1967 and Antarctic Treaty.
Demographic Transition Model (DTM)Five-stage model describing the shift from high birth and death rates to low rates as countries develop.
Crude birth rate (CBR)Number of live births per 1,000 population per year.
Crude death rate (CDR)Number of deaths per 1,000 population per year.
Natural increase rateDifference between CBR and CDR, expressed as a percentage.
Total fertility rate (TFR)Average number of children born to a woman over her lifetime; replacement level ~2.1.
Stage 5Post-industrial stage in which birth rates fall below death rates and populations decline.
Push factorsNegative conditions encouraging people to leave an origin: conflict, poverty, environmental degradation.
Pull factorsPositive conditions attracting people to a destination: jobs, schools, safety.
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Learn Global Change step by step
Free interactive mini-lessons: short screens, worked examples and quick checks. Pick your exam board:
Questions where students often pick the tempting wrong answer — make sure you know the right one:
What mainly drives urban growth?✗ Only higher birth rates inside cities.✓ Rural-to-urban migration for jobs and services, plus natural increase.
Where is population generally growing fastest?✗ In the richest countries.✓ In less economically developed countries.
Does climate change just mean everywhere gets hotter?✗ Yes, it only means uniform warming everywhere.✓ No — it brings more extreme, varied weather (floods, droughts, storms).
Practise Global Change — free games
Test yourself with these quick revision games for this topic:
