Cambridge IGCSE Pakistan Studies: Population and Employment — Revision Notes

These notes condense Section 8 Population and employment of Cambridge IGCSE Pakistan Studies 0448 Paper 2. Learn the definitions, how to read a population pyramid and growth graph, the push and pull factors for each type of migration, why density varies, and the causes and effects of unemployment and underemployment.

Syllabus coverage

0448 Paper 2, Section 8 (2026 syllabus)

• 8(a) Population pyramids; effects of structure; birth, death and natural increase data; factors in growth; problems and solutions
• 8(b) Rural–urban, seasonal, emigration, immigration and refugees; shanty towns, tent cities, rural depopulation; self-help and service provision
• 8(c) Distribution versus density; variations between and within provinces; physical, economic, social and political factors
• 8(d) Primary, secondary, tertiary jobs; unemployment and underemployment; skilled and manual labour; GNP and GDP; literacy, education and training

Key terms

Term	Meaning
Birth rate	Live births per 1,000 people per year
Death rate	Deaths per 1,000 people per year
Natural increase	Birth rate minus death rate
Population pyramid	Bar chart of population by age group and sex
Dependency	Young (under 15) and old (over 65) people supported by the working-age group
Migration	Movement of people from one place to live in another
Push factor	Something that makes people want to leave
Pull factor	Something that attracts people to a place
Seasonal migration	Temporary movement for part of the year
Emigration / immigration	Leaving / entering a country to live
Refugee	Person forced to leave their country by war or persecution
Katchi abadi	Unplanned shanty settlement in a Pakistani city
Distribution	Pattern of where people live
Density	People per square kilometre
Underemployment	Having some work but not enough to be fully employed
Remittances	Money sent home by workers abroad

Reading a pyramid: three-step method

1. Describe the shape: wide base, narrow top = young, fast-growing population.
2. Quote data: state a percentage or bar value for an age group.
3. Explain and link: high birth rate, falling death rate; then the effect, such as the need for schools and jobs.

Factors in population growth

• Social: early marriage, large families valued, son preference.
• Educational: low female literacy; low awareness of family planning.
• Economic: children as labour and old-age security.
• Political: uneven family planning programmes.
• Health: vaccination and medical care reduce deaths, especially of infants.

Solutions: female education, family planning, mother and child health care, development.

Migration summary

Type	Push	Pull	Effect
Rural–urban	Poverty, few jobs, poor services	Jobs, schools, hospitals	Katchi abadis; rural depopulation
Seasonal	Slack farm season, winter cold	Harvest jobs, urban winter work	Temporary labour supply
Emigration	Unemployment	High wages abroad (Gulf, UK)	Remittances; loss of skilled workers
Refugees	War (Afghanistan since 1979)	Safety	Tent cities; pressure on services

Self-help example: Orangi Pilot Project, Karachi, where residents built their own sewers.

Distribution and density

• Punjab: largest population; high density on irrigated plains.
• Sindh: very high density in Karachi and along the Indus; low in the Thar.
• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: dense in the Peshawar valley; sparse in mountains.
• Balochistan: largest area, smallest population share, lowest density.
• Northern areas: people concentrated in valleys; mountains almost empty.

Factors: physical (relief, water, soil, climate), economic (jobs, irrigation, industry), social (services), political (government investment, security).

Employment

• Primary: largest single share, falling.
• Secondary: manufacturing and construction, growing.
• Tertiary: services, growing fastest in cities.
• Rural underemployment: seasonal farm work, small holdings, mechanisation.
• Urban unemployment: migrants outnumber jobs; lack of skills.
• Effects: lower GNP and GDP, poverty, crime, emigration of skilled workers.
• Skills gap: surplus manual labour, shortage of technicians, managers and professionals.

Worked example

Question: Explain why underemployment is common in rural areas of Pakistan. [4]

Model answer: Farm work is seasonal, so labourers are busy at sowing and harvest but idle at other times [1]. Holdings are small and fragmented, so a family has more workers than the land needs [1]. Mechanisation, such as tractors and threshers, has reduced the need for labour [1]. Few non-farm jobs exist in villages because there is little industry [1].

Common mistakes and exam traps

• Mixing up distribution and density. Distribution is pattern; density is a number per km².
• Describing a pyramid without data. Quote figures from the resource when asked to describe.
• Treating all migration as rural–urban. Learn push and pull factors for each type.
• Forgetting adverse outcomes. The syllabus asks you to evaluate solutions, including poor housing.
• Saying unemployment and underemployment are the same. Underemployed people have some work.

How is this section examined?

This content is examined on Cambridge Paper 2, The environment of Pakistan (1 hour 30 minutes, 75 marks, 50% of the qualification). You answer three questions from a choice of five; each is worth 25 marks and has four parts, (a) to (d), built around resources such as maps, graphs, tables and photographs. Part (d) specifically tests analysis and evaluation, so finish every revision topic by practising a judgement: for example, how sustainable a resource or a policy is, with evidence for and against.

Frequently asked questions

What does a wide-based pyramid mean for Pakistan? A large young population, high dependency and heavy demand for schools, health care and future jobs.

Why does Balochistan have such low density? Its plateaux, mountains and deserts, low rainfall and limited water make farming and settlement difficult.

Related pages

• Population and Employment study guide
• Population and Employment practice questions
• Industrial Development revision notes

Source: Cambridge International, Cambridge IGCSE Pakistan Studies 0448 syllabus for examination in 2026, Paper 2 Section 8.