CASE STUDIES
YEAR 10
POPULATION
Topic - Over Population/ Population growth/ High birth rates.
Sample case study questions from Past Papers –
For a named country you have studied, describe the problems caused by/cause and
impact of overpopulation.
For a named country you have studied, explain why it has a high rate of population
growth.
For a named country you have studied, explain why birth rates are high.
For a named country you have studied, describe the problems caused by a high rate of
population growth.
Nigeria
Location - Nigeria is located on the west coast of Africa bordering the North Atlantic
Ocean.
Population - With a population of more than 230 million, it is the most populous
country in Africa, and the world's sixth-most populous country. Nigeria occupies 3%
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of Africa but holds 15% of Africa's population.
Birth Rate - 36.61 % in 2022, Death rate – 12.43% in 2022
Growth rate – 24.18% in 2022
Population Density - 255 per Km2
Lagos – Capital of Nigeria - 6,871 residents per square kilometre. The city counts
more than 15 million inhabitants, whereas Kano, the second most populous city,
registered around 4.1 million inhabitants in 2022.
Causes of Population Explosion in Nigeria - The causes of population explosion in
Nigeria are numerous.
1. Lack of birth control law put in place by the Governments.
2. Lack of family planning and failure to use contraceptives to control birth.
3. Early marriages: Couples married at the early ages had a very serious implication
on the population growth. Such couples are not matured enough to control the
number of children.
4. Male child preference syndrome leads to the common practice of continuous
childbirth in an attempt to have male offsprings. Men tend to marry more than once
in hopes of earing a male child because of properties and other traditional benefits
attached to the male children.
5. Religion beliefs in Nigeria allow men to marry more than once and this encourages
large families contributing to Population explosion in Nigeria.
6. High rate of illiteracy among Nigerians leads to a lack in the knowledge of
population and sex education.
7. Old-age social security: In Nigeria, several cultures believed that children were the
only form of support for their parents during old age. Because of this mind- set
among some families, most men were ended up having many children.
8. Perceived high infant mortality: With this mind-set, some men and women are
ended up in having too many children they cannot controlled and managed. They
also believe that survived children will help their parents in the farm, support them
when they were already old and so forth.
9. Immigration: Many people from neighbouring countries move to Nigeria adding to
more population.
10. Better medical facilities: people now live longer because of better medical
facilities available to them in Nigeria. Technically, this has contributed to the rapid
population growth in Nigeria.
Implications/ Impact/ problems of the Population Situation –
1. High fertility and consequently large family sizes place pressures on families &
households.
2. Resource competition for Nutrition, Education, Shelter & Care. Nigerian
energy consumption has more than doubled since 1980. Recently, the
Nigerian government is looking to promote the use of coal for domestic
consumption and industrial uses as a means of combating deforestation and
over-reliance on oil from the growing human population. However, the
country has limited coal reserves; much of which are lignite and sub-
bituminous and Nigeria's coal production has declined by around 50% since
1997.
3. Carbon emission in Nigeria has led to air pollution. The rampant flaring of
natural gas in the Niger Delta during oil production is the main culprit in
adding to carbon emissions. Automobiles and diesel-fired electricity
generators contribute to the choking air in cities such as Abuja and Lagos.
Lagos does not have a subway or intra-city rail service, leaving residents
dependent on automobiles for transportation. The country's oil boom and low
oil prices also have led to an influx of cars and consequent traffic congestion
which continues to get worse.
4. On a Societal level this increases population density and thereby increased
land fragmentation, resulting in lower productivity as subsistence families
would be forced to produce insufficient food.
5. This also increases the pupil-teacher ratio, overcrowded classrooms and
necessitate greater funding for education. Ibadan suffers from lack of schools.
6. Same applies to Healthcare, Urbanisation, Housing, Employment, drop in
GDP per Capita and Food Security.
7. City of Kano suffers from housing problems whereas Port Harcourt has high
levels of air and water pollution. Yola suffers from major food shortage. Jos,
Abuja and Lagos have high crime rates.
Conclusion –
Decreasing the fertility rate is crucial to Nigeria’s long-term success.
Decreasing the population growth would allow Nigeria to have sufficient
resources and infrastructure for its current and future generations. It would
also help the world and country’s future by not putting as much strain on the
world’s already limited and diminishing resources, especially the resources of
food and water.
Topic - Under Population/ Population decline/ Low birth rates/ Sparse population.
Sample case study questions from Past Papers –
For a named country or area you have studied, explain why it has a low population
density.
For a country which you have studied, explain why the rate of natural population growth
is low.
For a named country which you have studied, describe the problems caused by under-
population.
Australia
Under population occurs when there are far more resources in an area eg. food,
energy, and minerals than the people
Location -Australia is an island in Oceania that neighbours New Zealand. Its capital is
Canberra and it is next to the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean and Southern Ocean.
Australia's landmass of 7,6 million km2 and has a population of 22 million people.
Australia is about the same size as the USA (300 million people) but much of its
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land is not used.
As of June 2020, Australia’s population density is 3.3 people per square kilometre.
Australia can export their surplus food, energy and mineral resources
They have high incomes, good living conditions, and high levels of technology and
immigration.
Australia is the world's thirteenth largest economy and has the world's fifth-highest
per capita income
It is probable that standards of living would rise, through increased production and
exploitation of resources, if population were to increase.
Why?
1. This is generally attributed to the semi-arid and desert geography of much of the
interior of the country. 80% of Australia's landmass is desert with infertile, hot and
rocky terrain that is only capable of supporting limited populations.
2. With low birth and death rates, Australia’s natural increase is low.
3. Another cause of Australia's under-population is that there is a high use of
contraception. This mean that there are less unplanned births which will result in a
lower birthrate.
4. Another cause of underpopulation is that almost all of the population lives on the
East Coast and is almost the only developed area where people live. Melbourne’s
inner city has Australia’s highest population density at 22,400 people per square
kilometre. Potts Point and Pyrmont, both in Sydney’s inner-city, have the second-
highest population density in Australia at 16,700 and 16,500 people per square
kilometre, respectively
Problems caused by under population:
1. One of the problems of underpopulation is that there will not be enough people to
protect the borders. This means that invasions are more likely to be successful.
2. Another problem caused by under population is that there is a shortage of workers.
This means that they will not be reaching the optimum productivity.
3. The other problem caused by population is that they have less people paying tax.
This means that they will not be able to expand their infrastructure at the optimum
rate.
4. Ageing population
5. Not full use of natural resources
Solutions/ Conclusion:
The Australian government has tried to increase its population, to develop the country
economically and to protect it from foreign influence. From only 3.7 million in 1901, the
population has increased to its current little over 20 million.
The government can try the following -
Give benefits to those with children (increasing with number)
Relaxing VISA rules
More people move for job opportunities
