Cambridge O Level Environmental Management: Human Population — Revision Notes (5014, 2027-2029)

Syllabus edition note. These notes follow the Cambridge O Level Environmental Management 5014 syllabus for exams in 2027, 2028 and 2029.

Topic 7 of Cambridge O Level Environmental Management (5014) explains how people are spread across the world, how the age and sex structure of a population is shown and compared, what makes populations grow, how growth affects cities and the environment, and how governments try to manage population size. Many questions are data-based, so practise turning maps, tables and pyramids into precise descriptions.

Full explanations: human population study guide. Test yourself: human population practice questions.

Syllabus coverage (5014, 2027-2029)

Sub-topic	Outcomes	You should be able to
7.1 Density, distribution and structure	7.1.1-7.1.4	Define density and distribution; read pyramids; name World Bank income groups; compare LIC and HIC pyramids
7.2 Population size	7.2.1-7.2.2	Explain birth, death and migration changes; describe twelve impacts of growth
7.3 Managing population size	7.3.1-7.3.2	Describe five strategies; discuss benefits and limitations

7.1 Where do people live?

• Densely populated places have many people; sparsely populated places have few.
• Population density = number of people in an area, usually people per km².
• Population distribution = how people are spread over an area.

Worked example. Region A: 2 400 000 people on 8 000 km² → 300 per km². Region B: 600 000 people on 30 000 km² → 20 per km². Region A is densely populated; Region B is sparsely populated. Density alone hides the fact that most of Region B’s people may live in one river valley - that is distribution.

How do you describe a population pyramid?

Use a three-part description - base, middle, top - with figures.

Part of pyramid	What it shows	Group
Base (0-14)	Young dependants; birth rate	Dependent population
Middle (15-64)	People of working age	Working population
Top (65+)	Elderly dependants; life expectancy	Dependent population
Left v right	Males v females	Sex balance

How do low- and high-income countries differ?

World Bank income groups: LICs, MICs, HICs.

• LIC pattern: wide base, sides slope in quickly, narrow top - high birth rate, lower life expectancy, large young dependent group.
• HIC pattern: narrower base, straight sides, wide top - low birth rate, high life expectancy, large elderly dependent group.
• MICs often show a narrowing base as birth rates fall.

Worked example (7.1.4). Two pyramids show these shares of the population (illustrative figures): Country X has 42% aged 0-14, 55% aged 15-64 and 3% aged 65+; Country Y has 16%, 63% and 21%. A full-mark comparison uses the figures: “Country X has a much larger young dependent population (42% against 16%), suggesting a higher birth rate, so it is likely to be the LIC. Country Y has seven times the share of elderly dependants (21% against 3%), showing higher life expectancy, so it is likely to be the HIC. Both have a similar working population (55% and 63%).”

7.2 What makes a population change?

Natural change = births - deaths. Migration adds (immigration) or removes (emigration) people.

Factor	Raises population when…	Lowers population when…
Birth rate (children per woman)	Little contraception or education; children needed for work	Women educated; contraception available; children costly
Death rate (life expectancy)	Healthcare, clean water, sanitation, food improve	Disease, famine, conflict
Migration	Pull factors: jobs, services, safety	Push factors: poverty, conflict, hazards

Rural-urban migration and urbanisation concentrate growth in cities.

What are the impacts of rapid population growth?

Group the twelve listed impacts into three clusters.

• Housing and services: informal urban settlements; megacities; pressure on facilities and infrastructure; changing employment opportunities.
• Resources: availability of resources; energy usage; water supply; availability of land.
• Environment: sanitation; waste management; air, land, light, noise, visual and water pollution; traffic congestion.

Answer tip: name the impact, then add a consequence - e.g. “inadequate sanitation in informal settlements lets sewage enter streams, spreading disease”.

7.3 How can population size be managed?

Strategy	How it works	Benefit	Limitation
Access to contraception	Couples plan family size	Lowers birth rate; improves women’s health	Supply and cost; cultural or religious resistance
Anti-natalist policy	Incentives or limits to reduce births	Can slow growth quickly	Ageing population; gender imbalance; rights concerns
Pro-natalist policy	Incentives such as child benefits, paid parental leave	Counters ageing and labour shortages	Costly; effect often small
Access to education	Especially for girls	Later marriage, smaller families, higher incomes	Takes a generation
Access to healthcare	Lower infant mortality	Families need fewer births	Population rises first as deaths fall
Control of migration	Limits or encourages movement	Matches labour to need	Political tension; labour shortages; brain drain

A well-known anti-natalist example is China’s one-child policy, in force from 1980 until 2015, which slowed growth but contributed to rapid ageing and a gender imbalance.

Common mistakes and exam traps

• Describing a pyramid shape (“triangle”) without explaining what it shows about birth and death rates.
• Forgetting that a large elderly population is also dependent.
• Writing “overpopulation causes pollution” without naming the type of pollution and its cause.
• Saying migration control affects world population - it only moves people between countries.

Frequently asked questions

What is a dependent population? People who rely on the working population, usually children aged 0-14 and people aged 65 and over.

What is the difference between urbanisation and rural-urban migration? Rural-urban migration is the movement of people from the countryside to towns. Urbanisation is the resulting growth in the proportion of people living in urban areas.

What is the difference between push and pull factors? Push factors are reasons to leave a place, such as conflict, poverty or natural hazards. Pull factors are reasons to move to a place, such as jobs, safety and better services. Most migration answers need one of each.

Which population strategies does 5014 list? Access to contraception, pro-natalist and anti-natalist policies, access to education, access to healthcare and control of migration.

Official syllabus

Cambridge O Level Environmental Management (5014) syllabus for 2027, 2028 and 2029 - official syllabus PDF, Topic 7.