IB DP Geography Core: Population Distribution -- Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, in the style and at the standard of IB DP Geography Paper 2. They are not reproduced IB past-paper questions – the International Baccalaureate Organization holds copyright in its own papers. Use these alongside official past papers available through your school or IB’s own resources.

Related: Population distribution study guide and revision notes.

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Section A – short answer

1. Define population density and explain how it differs from population distribution. [2]

2. State the two components of population change and give the definition of each. [2]

3. Name the two other sub-themes that sit alongside Population Distribution in the compulsory SL/HL core. [2]

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Section B – data response

4. A population pyramid for Country X shows a wide base, a rapid narrowing through the middle age groups, and a very narrow top.

(a) Describe what this shape indicates about Country X’s birth rate and death rate. [3] (b) Suggest which stage of the demographic transition model this pyramid is likely to represent, with a reason. [2]

5. A choropleth map shows very high population density along a narrow coastal strip and very low density across a large inland desert region within the same country.

(a) Suggest two physical factors that could explain the low density of the inland region. [4] (b) Suggest two human factors that could explain the high density of the coastal strip. [4]

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Section C – extended response

6. “Physical factors matter more than human factors in explaining global population distribution.” Using named examples, discuss the extent to which you agree with this statement. [10]

7. Explain how a country’s position within the demographic transition model can affect both its resource consumption patterns and its vulnerability to climate-related hazards. [8]

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Worked answers

1. Population density is the number of people per unit area, usually expressed per square kilometre. Population distribution is the overall pattern of where people are located across a wider area, rather than a single figure – a country can have a high average density while still being very unevenly distributed within it (dense coastal cities alongside a nearly empty interior, for example). [2]

2. Natural change: the difference between births and deaths within a population over a given period (births minus deaths). Net migration: the difference between people entering and leaving a population over the same period (immigration minus emigration). Total population change is the sum of both components, and a strong answer keeps them separate rather than quoting only the combined figure. [2]

3. Global climate: vulnerability and resilience, and Global resource consumption and security. [2]

4. (a) The wide base indicates a birth rate that is still relatively high (children make up a large proportion of the population), while the rapid narrowing through the middle age groups and very narrow top indicate a high death rate at most ages, meaning relatively few people survive into older age – consistent with lower life expectancy. [3] (b) This shape is most consistent with an early stage of the demographic transition model (Stage 2), where birth rates remain high but death rates have not yet fallen substantially – unlike a Stage 4/5 pyramid, which would show a much narrower base and a wider, more rectangular top reflecting low birth and death rates. [2]

5. (a) Any two of: arid climate limiting fresh water availability and agriculture; extreme temperatures making the region less habitable; poor soil fertility limiting food production; lack of accessible surface water or reliable rainfall. Each point should be linked explicitly to why it discourages settlement, not just named. [4] (b) Any two of: economic opportunity concentrated in coastal trade, fishing or port-based industry; historical patterns of settlement following early trade routes and ports; better transport infrastructure and connectivity along the coast; flatter, more easily developed land compared with the interior. Each point should be linked explicitly to why it attracts settlement. [4]

6. A strong answer takes a clear position and supports it with named, specific examples on both sides, rather than describing physical and human factors in the abstract. For physical factors, a case such as the Sahara Desert’s low population density (driven by extreme aridity and lack of reliable water) or Bangladesh’s high density on fertile, well-watered floodplains illustrates physical factors exerting a strong pull or push. For human factors, a case such as a resource-boom settlement in an otherwise inhospitable physical environment, or a historically planned capital city, illustrates how economic opportunity, political decisions or infrastructure can override an unfavourable physical setting. The strongest answers explicitly weigh the two categories against each other using the named examples, and reach a substantiated conclusion (for example, that physical factors set broad limits on where large-scale settlement is possible, while human factors explain finer-grained variation in density within those limits), rather than simply listing examples under each heading and stopping. Note that examiners reward this kind of explicit weighing and conclusion more than the sheer number of examples cited. [10]

7. A country earlier in the demographic transition model (high birth and death rates, or falling death rates with birth rates still high) typically has a young, fast-growing population, which tends to drive rising demand for resources such as food, water and energy even before per-capita consumption rises – and can strain resource security if supply does not keep pace with population growth. A country later in the model (low birth and death rates, an ageing population) typically has a slower-growing or stable population, but often much higher per-capita resource consumption associated with higher levels of economic development, so overall resource demand can remain high even as population growth slows. On vulnerability to climate-related hazards, a fast-growing, young population in an early-transition country is often concentrated in rapidly expanding urban or coastal areas with less-developed infrastructure and disaster-response capacity, increasing vulnerability to hazards such as flooding or storms; a country later in the transition may have an ageing population that is itself more vulnerable to hazards such as heatwaves, even where infrastructure and response capacity are stronger. A strong answer draws this connection explicitly for both the resource-consumption and vulnerability strands, using named factors and, ideally, a specific country example for each stage discussed. [8]

Official syllabus

International Baccalaureate Organization, Diploma Programme Subject Brief – Individuals and Societies: Geography, first assessment 2019, (c) 2017 – the same source cited by the study guide and revision notes. Verified 2026-09-06.