Sir Basit Notes

Pakistan Studies Class 9 Unit 7: Population Structure and Growth Notes

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Key notes

Short questions 5 marks, 5 points each

1. [Model] Discuss in five points the effects of rural-urban migration on population distribution.

  1. Overcrowded cities. Cities become overcrowded (Karachi about 1,500 persons per sq km, Lahore and Faisalabad 1,000 to 1,500), while villages lose young workers.
  2. Rural depopulation. Rural areas are depopulated and farming labour decreases, and the share of urban population rose from 28.30 percent (1981) to 38.82 percent (2023).
  3. Slums. Slums and kachi abadis appear on the edges of cities with a shortage of water, gas and electricity.
  4. Pressure on services. Pressure on housing, transport, schools and hospitals increases, and unemployment, pollution and crime rise.
  5. Uneven distribution. Population distribution becomes uneven: dense in Punjab and Sindh plains and big cities, sparse in mountains, deserts and Balochistan.

2. [Model] Assess in five points how population policies influence youth development and dependency ratios in Pakistan.

  1. Fewer births. Family planning and awareness programmes lower the birth rate, so fewer children are dependent (growth fell from 2.6 percent in 1998 to 2.4 percent in 2017).
  2. Dependency ratio. Lower birth rates reduce the dependency ratio and let more resources go to each child for education and health.
  3. Education. Free and compulsory education and technical training build a skilled youth labour force.
  4. Labour force. A large 14 to 60 age group is an opportunity: government can plan jobs, industry and exports.
  5. Policy gaps. Policies fail when they change with governments, so rising numbers of youth and old people (above 60) keep dependency high and need health care, jobs and NGO support.

3. Explain how push and pull factors affect rural-urban migration. (5 points)

  1. Push factors. Push factors drive people out of villages: large families and shortage of land.
  2. Land and drought. Drought, overgrazing and low crop yield from primitive methods.
  3. Lack of services. Shortage of schools, hospitals, jobs and electricity.
  4. Pull factors. Pull factors attract people to cities: better paid jobs.
  5. City facilities. Better education, health, housing, sanitation and recreation.

4. Describe the causes of population growth in Pakistan. (5 points)

  1. Farming economy. A mainly agricultural and subsistence economy where large families are seen as labour.
  2. Early marriage. Early marriages and lack of awareness of the problems of large families.
  3. Son preference. Preference for sons and religious or traditional beliefs against family planning.
  4. Poverty. Poverty and low female education, and weak family planning programmes.
  5. Better health. Better health care and hygiene have reduced the death rate and increased life expectancy.

5. Explain five problems caused by urbanisation. Suggest solutions.

  1. Housing. Lack of accommodation: slums with poor facilities.
  2. Environment. Environmental issues: waste, water and air pollution, smog in Lahore, traffic jams and accidents.
  3. Services and jobs. Strain on resources and services in unplanned outskirts, and unemployment.
  4. Crime. Rise in crime due to unemployment and inequality.
  5. Solutions. Solutions: better public transport (Metro, Orange Line), housing schemes, conservation awareness, and rural development (schools, electricity, small industries) to control migration.

6. Explain seasonal migration and its types. (5 points)

  1. Meaning. Seasonal migration is the temporary movement of people because of season.
  2. Transhumance. Transhumance: people from cold mountains move with their cattle to low-lying areas in winter.
  3. Nomadism. Nomadism: herders move in search of food and water in dry areas (Thal, Kharan, Cholistan).
  4. Harvest migration. Harvest migration: rural workers who moved to cities return for cotton picking and sugarcane transport.
  5. Benefit. It earns extra income and gives livestock access to pasture.

7. Why does population density differ in different areas of Pakistan? (5 points)

  1. Mountains. Mountains of the north are cold and snowy with landslides, so density is low.
  2. Balochistan. Balochistan has low rainfall, rugged terrain, poor transport and few industries, so density is low.
  3. Punjab and Sindh. Punjab and Sindh have flat fertile land, rivers, canals and moderate rainfall, so density is high.
  4. Cities. Cities have jobs, transport, power, education and health facilities.
  5. Projects. Projects such as Gwadar, Thar coal and Sandak attract people, and political stability matters too.

8. Suggest measures to discourage rural-urban migration. (5 points)

  1. Schools and hospitals. Provide quality schools and hospitals in villages.
  2. Electricity and water. Provide electricity and safe drinking water.
  3. Rural industry. Set up small-scale and agro-based industries in rural areas.
  4. Modern farming. Modernize farming (mechanization, better irrigation, cash crops) to raise income.
  5. Small towns. Build subsidized housing in small towns and develop tourism and local projects.

Long questions 10 marks, 10 points each

1. [Model] Discuss the social and economic difficulties caused by youth unemployment in Pakistan and propose sustainable solutions.

The Problem

Pakistan has a very large young population. A large part of the people are in the working age group of 14 to 60 years, and many more young people enter it every year. But the economy does not create enough jobs for all of them, so many educated and uneducated young people remain without work. The country also has to look after a large number of dependants, such as children and old people, and this puts an extra burden on the working group.

Economic Difficulties

When young people have no work they have little or no income, so poverty increases. The country loses the skills and energy of its labour force, which slows economic growth and development. Families and the state have to bear a heavy burden, because the unemployed depend on others. The government earns less tax, and many projects are delayed. Many skilled and educated young people leave for other countries to find work, which is called brain drain, and the country loses its best talent.

Social Difficulties

Jobless young people feel frustrated and hopeless. Unemployment leads to a rise in crime, drug use and misuse by wrong groups. It also leads to child labour and to more migration from villages to cities, where there are already problems of housing, pollution and shortage of services. Political instability and lack of peace make the problem worse, because they reduce the number of jobs and projects.

Sustainable Solutions

The government should give technical and vocational training that matches the needs of the job market, and improve the quality of education, so that young people have the skills that industries need. Small businesses and agro-based industries should be helped with easy loans, and exports should be promoted to create jobs. Family planning should be promoted to control the growth of population. Big projects like CPEC and special economic zones can create many jobs. The government and NGOs should run youth programmes, and political stability should be kept so that investors have confidence.

2. Evaluate the possibilities of sustainable population in Pakistan.

Meaning

A sustainable population means the size of population which can be easily supported by the economic resources of a country at all times. It is achieved when the growth of resources is in proportion to the growth of population. In Pakistan the population is increasing at a greater rate than economic growth, so many development plans cannot meet the needs of the people. There is extra pressure on food, land, energy, transport, education and health care.

Farming and Water

Pakistan is an agricultural country, and most of its people live in villages and do subsistence farming, which does not meet the needs of the growing population. To solve this, the government should encourage farmers to use machines and to grow cash crops, so that they get more yield from each acre. The irrigation system should be improved to give a reliable source of water, so that more land can be cultivated.

Education and Skills

The government should raise the literacy rate by introducing free and compulsory primary education. More technical and skill-based institutes should be set up, with international standards, to give quality education. The country needs a more skilful labour force to increase the share of secondary and tertiary activities, such as industry and services.

Economy and Planning

The government should encourage people to increase exports by finding more international markets. Many developed countries have started mass production of goods to meet the demand of their growing population, and Pakistan should do the same to improve its economy and become self-sufficient. The government should encourage NGOs to contribute more to the social and economic progress of the country. Pakistan has many natural and human resources, and if economic and social problems are planned well, the nation can overcome its difficulties.

3. Explain the importance of the demographic transition model and the population pyramid for understanding population in Pakistan.

Demographic Transition Model

The demographic transition model says that the population of a country grows through five stages. In Stage 1 (pre-industrial society) both birth and death rates are high and are roughly in balance, so growth is slow. Farming is the main work, many children are needed in agriculture, and poor medical care, sanitation and food keep the death rate high. In Stage 2 the birth rate is still high but the death rate falls because of better medical facilities, sanitation and food, so the population grows fast. In Stage 3 the death rate is low due to better economic conditions, and the birth rate is falling because of awareness of family planning, female education, government and NGO plans, late marriages and the wish for a higher standard of living. In Stage 4 both rates are low, which is ideal. Examples are Argentina, Australia, China, Brazil, most of Europe and the USA. In Stage 5 both rates stay low and the death rate is higher than the birth rate, but the total population is still high and does not fall because of higher life expectancy.

Population Pyramid

Population structure means the percentage of males and females in different age groups, and it is shown in a population pyramid. The pyramid also shows birth rate, death rate and migration. People below 14 years are dependants. The group from 14 to 60 years is the active labour force. People above 60 are the old age group and are also dependent. In Pakistan the birth rate has fallen from 2.6 percent in 1998 to 2.4 percent in 2017, which means fewer dependants in the early age group. The large working group lets the government plan for development and better technical education. The group above 60 years is growing and needs more health care, better food and a healthy lifestyle.

Importance for Pakistan

Both tools help us understand the population of Pakistan. They show how fast the population is growing, how many people are young and how many are old, and how many are in the working age. The government can use this information to plan education, health, jobs, housing and food for the future. Political stability is also needed, because without peace there is no development, fewer jobs, and more unemployment and migration.

4. Explain the causes, effects and solutions of rural-urban migration and urbanisation in Pakistan.

Causes

Migration means the movement of people from one area to another on a large scale. In Pakistan the movement from villages to cities has been increasing since independence because of differences in resources and lifestyle. Cities have better facilities for roads, education, health, sanitation, housing and recreation, and also better paid jobs. These are called pull factors, because they work like a magnet and attract people to the cities. On the other hand the limited resources of rural areas push people to leave their homes. Families are large, so the land cannot meet their needs. Overgrazing and drought make the land unproductive. Farmers use old tools and methods and have no access to modern technology, so the yield per acre is low. These are called push factors.

Effects

Urbanisation brings many economic, social and political problems. Migrants cannot find standard houses, so they live in slums or kachi abadis, with poor living conditions, a shortage of safe drinking water, electricity and gas. There is not enough sanitation for the fast-growing population, so untreated domestic and factory waste causes water and land pollution, which leads to diseases such as malaria, dengue and typhoid. The large number of vehicles causes air pollution, traffic jams and accidents, and factories around the cities add to heavy smog, as in Lahore. The people who settle in unplanned areas on the edge of cities lack education, health, transport and electricity, and unemployment rises. The big economic gap between the people of the planned city and the migrants also leads to more crime.

Solutions

The transport system should be improved with better roads, overhead bridges and underpasses, and public transport such as the Metro, Orange and Green Lines and the Rapid Bus system should be expanded, so that travel becomes cheaper and traffic jams are fewer. Awareness should be created to save electricity, gas and water. Migration from villages should be controlled by providing quality education, electricity and safe drinking water, and by encouraging small industries in rural areas. The government and private sector should plan more housing schemes for different income groups, and the government should offer more housing schemes at subsidized rates.