IB MYP Individuals and Societies – Demographics and Human Movements Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions, and they do not replicate the exam’s exact structure, question count or mark tariffs – the IB holds copyright in its own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers available through your school or the IB store.

This practice set is for IB MYP Individuals and Societies and follows the International Baccalaureate Organization, Middle Years Programme Subject Brief – Individuals and societies, from 2014. It covers demographics and human movements, a topic the brief lists for the individuals and societies on-screen examinations at the end of MYP year 5, and suits MYP years 4 and 5 (there is no SL/HL split). MYP has no prescribed content list – schools design their own units – so your teacher will share the task-specific clarifications.

Each question is labelled with the criterion it trains. Real MYP work is judged against criterion level descriptors (1–8, in four bands), so the mark points here are a revision aid, not IB marks. All countries, regions, people and figures below are fictional. A calculator is useful for questions 2, 3, 5 and 10.

See also the study guide, the MYP Individuals and Societies hub, the printable checklist and the criteria in practice question set.

Questions

1. (Criterion A) Define each term: (i) crude death rate, (ii) net migration, (iii) internally displaced person. [3]

2. (Criterion A) A country has a crude birth rate of 24 per 1,000 and a crude death rate of 9 per 1,000. Calculate the natural increase rate and estimate the population’s doubling time. [3]

3. (Criterion B) Tarvon, a fictional region, has 1,350,000 people aged 0–14, 4,500,000 aged 15–64 and 1,080,000 aged 65 and over.

(a) Calculate Tarvon’s dependency ratio. [2] (b) Calculate the percentage of Tarvon’s population aged 65 and over, to 1 d.p. [1] (c) State one consequence of this age structure for Tarvon’s regional government. [1]

4. (Criterion A) Compare stage 2 and stage 4 of the demographic transition model. [4]

5. (Criteria B and D) The table shows the population of Port Aldren, a fictional city-state, as a percentage of its total population.

Age	Males (%)	Females (%)
60+	7.4	6.3
45–59	12.3	6.4
30–44	22.0	8.1
15–29	16.5	7.2
0–14	7.0	6.8

(a) Calculate the percentage of the total population aged 15–59. [2] (b) Describe the sex structure of the population, using figures. [2] (c) Suggest an explanation for the pattern you described. [2]

6. (Criterion A) Classify each factor as push or pull, and as economic, social, political or environmental: (i) repeated crop failure after drought; (ii) a university offering free tuition; (iii) persecution of a religious minority; (iv) a shortage of nurses, with high wages offered. [4]

7. (Criterion B) Read Source A.

Source A – original text written for Marlbridge. A fictional letter (2024) from Ilsa, a 26-year-old nurse who moved from Varenia to Norland (both fictional), to her younger brother.

“The hospital pays me four times what I earned at home, and I send money to Mother every month. The work is hard and the winters are long. Some of my colleagues came for two years and stayed for ten. Please finish your studies first – the visa office asked for every certificate I had.”

A student is researching the reasons for migration from Varenia to Norland. Explain one value and one limitation of Source A for this research. [4]

8. (Criterion B) You are asked to investigate how migration has changed the population of your own town or district. Formulate a research question and outline an action plan for the investigation. [6]

9. (Criterion C) Using the Tarvon data from question 3, plan a one-page infographic explaining the dependency ratio to local councillors. State the graph, how you would label it, and the key message in no more than two sentences. [6]

10. (Criterion B) The table shows migration into and out of Merrow Valley, a fictional rural region.

Year	In-migrants	Out-migrants
2019	2,400	3,900
2021	2,650	3,700
2023	3,100	3,350
2025	3,800	3,200

(a) Calculate the net migration for 2019 and for 2025. [2] (b) Calculate the percentage change in the number of in-migrants from 2019 to 2025, to 1 d.p. [1] (c) Describe the trend in net migration from 2019 to 2025. [2]

11. (Criteria A, C and D) “For the country people leave, the benefits of emigration outweigh the costs.” To what extent do you agree? Refer to at least one real or fictional example. [10]

Answers

1. (i) The number of deaths in a year per 1,000 people in the population. [1] (ii) The number of immigrants minus the number of emigrants over a period. [1] (iii) A person forced to leave their home who has stayed within their own country’s borders. [1] [3] Examiner insight: “Define” needs the precise meaning: “per 1,000 people” and “within their own country” earn the points; an example alone earns nothing.

2. NIR = (24 − 9) ÷ 10 [1] = 1.5% [1]; doubling time ≈ 70 ÷ 1.5 ≈ 47 years [1]. [3] Examiner insight: Show the division by 10: 15% is a unit error that also spoils the doubling time, and without visible method there is no follow-through.

3. (a) (1,350,000 + 1,080,000) ÷ 4,500,000 × 100 [1] = 54.0 dependants per 100 people of working age [1]. (b) 1,080,000 ÷ 6,930,000 × 100 = 15.6% [1]. (c) Any one: more spending on pensions and health care; schools for the 0–14 group; fewer taxpayers per dependant. [1] [4] Examiner insight: In (b) divide by the whole population (6,930,000), not the 15–64 group; the wrong base loses the point.

4. In stage 2 the birth rate is high, but in stage 4 it is low. [1] In stage 2 the death rate falls quickly, whereas in stage 4 it is already low and steady. [1] Population grows rapidly in stage 2 but is roughly stable in stage 4. [1] A linked reason: clean water and vaccination cut deaths in stage 2; in stage 4 people choose small families because children are costly. [1] [4] Examiner insight: “Compare” needs both stages in the same sentence with a linking word such as “but” or “whereas”; two separate descriptions earn fewer points.

5. (a) (16.5 + 7.2) + (22.0 + 8.1) + (12.3 + 6.4) [1] = 72.5% [1]. (b) Males make up 65.2% of the population, females 34.8%. [1] The gap is largest at 30–44 (22.0% males, 8.1% females), while 0–14 is almost balanced (7.0% and 6.8%). [1] (c) Many male workers have migrated in for jobs such as construction or port work. [1] The balanced 0–14 group supports this: the imbalance is not caused by births but by adult migrants who mostly came without families. [1] [6] Examiner insight: A description point needs at least one figure from the table; “there are more men” without a value does not earn it.

6. (i) Push, environmental. [1] (ii) Pull, social. [1] (iii) Push, political. [1] (iv) Pull, economic. [1] [4] Examiner insight: Each point needs both parts right; if a category is debatable (free tuition could be economic), add a short reason.

7. Value: a first-hand account from a migrant who made this journey, showing why she left (pay “four times” higher) [1] and that remittances to family are part of the motive. [1] Limitation: one nurse’s experience cannot show whether others migrate for the same reasons [1]; it is private advice to a younger brother, so it may play down difficulties and is not a balanced account. [1] [4] Examiner insight: Tie each value and limitation to the stated research purpose and to the origin of the source; a generic “it may be biased” earns no credit.

8. A focused research question, such as “How has migration changed the age structure of [town] since 2011?” [1] Why it is worth investigating (school places, housing demand). [1] Named sources: census tables, council data, a residents’ questionnaire. [1] A recording method, such as a table of age bands for two census years. [1] An analysis plan, such as two population pyramids compared. [1] A timeline with deadlines. [1] [6] Examiner insight: Criterion B rewards a clear question that the named sources can answer; a question as broad as “Is migration good?” limits every later step.

9. A divided bar or pie chart of the three age groups (19.5%, 64.9%, 15.6%). [1] A title naming the place and what is shown. [1] Labels with age groups and percentages, plus a one-line definition of “dependency ratio”. [1] Plain language for councillors. [1] Key message, for example: “For every 100 people of working age in Tarvon there are 54 children and older people. Services for both groups must be planned together.” [1] The message uses the correct figure (54) and says why it matters. [1] [6] Examiner insight: Criterion C looks for format and style matched to audience and purpose, so name the audience and keep the message short.

10. (a) 2019: 2,400 − 3,900 = −1,500 [1]; 2025: 3,800 − 3,200 = +600 [1]. (b) (3,800 − 2,400) ÷ 2,400 × 100 = 58.3% increase [1]. (c) Net migration rose steadily, from −1,500 (2019) to −1,050 (2021) and −250 (2023) [1], turning positive (+600) by 2025: the region went from losing to gaining people. [1] [5] Examiner insight: Keep the sign: −1,500 and 1,500 are opposite situations, and the trend point needs the change from negative to positive.

11. Introduction defining emigration and stating a line of argument. [1] Benefit: remittances raise household incomes and pay for schooling and housing. [1] Benefit: returning migrants bring skills, savings and ideas. [1] Benefit: less unemployment and pressure on land. [1] Cost: brain drain, such as losing nurses and doctors the origin trained. [1] Cost: loss of young adults, so the population ages and the birth rate falls. [1] Cost: separated families and declining rural areas. [1] An example with detail, such as emigration from Ireland after the Great Famine of 1845–1852 and the long population decline that followed. [1] Evaluation: the balance depends on scale, on who leaves and on whether migrants return. [1] A clear, justified conclusion answering “to what extent”. [1] [10] Examiner insight: Criterion D rewards a judgement that follows from the evidence; a conclusion that only repeats the arguments limits the level awarded.

Where marks are usually lost

• NIR written as 15% instead of 1.5%: the per-1,000 difference must be divided by 10.
• Dropping the minus sign on net migration or population change.
• Using the whole population as the denominator for the dependency ratio.
• Describing a table or pyramid without any figures.
• Explaining when asked to “describe”, or only describing when asked to “explain”.
• Source evaluation that ignores the origin and purpose of the source.
• A research question that is too broad for the sources named.
• Extended answers with no counter-argument, no example, or no final judgement.

Next steps

• Review the demographics revision notes.
• Reread the demographics study guide.
• Practise judging sources with source-evaluation exam preparation.
• Course hub: MYP Individuals and Societies.
• Printable checklist.
• Try all free 10-minute diagnostics.
• Book a free trial class.

Official syllabus

This practice set is aligned to the International Baccalaureate Organization, Middle Years Programme Subject Brief – Individuals and societies, from 2014. The brief lists “demographics and human movements” among the topics explored in the individuals and societies on-screen examinations. The full MYP individuals and societies guide is available to schools through the IB.