Describe

and explain factors that lead to challenges and imbalances in a countries population
structure.
Changes and imbalances in the population structure can be caused by changes in birth rates,
changes in death rates and migration. There can be an imbalance in the ages, with young or old
dependent populations, or gender imbalances in the population pyramid. Factors that aect the
birth rate include population explosions, population policy, child benet, religious beliefs, and a
lack of family planning services. Scenarios that aect the death rate include famine, ood,
conict/war, disease and bad medical infrastructure.
With an increase in birth rate, there is an increase in the young dependents in a country, aecting
the population structure. Population explosions have a large impact on the population structure,
causing a large number or young dependents on a country. For example, in Uganda there has
been a population explosion recently, due to high numbers of teenaged pregnancies and a lack of
family planning. There has also been an increase in birth rate in places such as singapore, with a
child benet policies and medical subsidies for children.
Death rates can be aected by famine, ood, conict, earthquakes and diseases such as AIDs, u
or cholera. For example, oods in Bangladesh, oods destroy crops every year, causing famine in
some places, which can cause a higher death rate. LEDCs in central and northern Africa have bed
medical infrastructure, making people vulnerable to death from diseases. Conicts and wars both
nationally and internationally also aect the death rates of countries, causing imbalances in the
population structure.
The population structure between genders is mainly aected by religious beliefs, government
policy and family needs. In countries that relay on the primary and secondary sector, such as
China, it is important to have more men to farm the land or to work in factories. This leads to the
governments one child policy to allow couples whos rst children were girls to have another boy.
This policy aects the gender equality. Peoples beliefs also aect the gender imbalance, with
more people wanting boys than girls and having abortions until they have a boy.
Changes in demographics can cause challenges such as high birth rates, high death rates and
immigration. These all cause changes in the population structure, changing it causing challenges.
These factors are aected by disease, medical care and government policy, as well as peoples
preferences and religious beliefs.