BECE JHS
Population is the number of people in a place. It changes by births, deaths and migration.
The birth rate is the number of live births in a year for every thousand people. The death rate is the number of deaths in a year for every thousand people. Natural increase is birth rate minus death rate. If more people move in than move out, migration adds a further increase. A young population has a large share of children. That can mean a large future workforce, and it also means many people who are not yet earning and who need schools and clinics.
Rapid growth puts pressure on land, housing, jobs, schools, hospitals and the environment. Slow growth, or a fall, can leave a country short of workers later. Policies discussed in class include education, especially of girls, accessible family planning, better health care, and planning towns so that services match the number of people. Do not quote a population total unless the question gives you one. The paper wants the relationships, not a memorised figure.
Define the rate before you explain an effect. Natural increase is a difference of rates, not "when a lot of babies are born". Migration is movement in or out, and it is not part of natural increase. Effects must follow from the cause you named. "Overcrowded schools" follows from many children, not from a high death rate.
These are practice questions in the style of the paper, with a model answer and a mark scheme. They are not a promise of what your paper will ask.
4 marks
(a) Define birth rate. (2 marks)
(b) Define natural increase. (2 marks)
(a) Birth rate is the number of live births in a year per 1,000 people.
(b) Natural increase is birth rate minus death rate.
4 marks
State two problems a community can face when its population grows faster than its services. (4 marks)
Schools become overcrowded, so children learn in large classes or not at all. Clinics and hospitals cannot see everyone who is ill.
2 marks
Explain the difference between natural increase and an increase caused by migration. (2 marks)
Natural increase comes from births exceeding deaths inside the population. Migration changes the number because people move in or out.
More questions on this topic are inside GLearn, marked as you answer, with the reason written out. The first ones need no account.
Practise Social Studies freeBirth rate minus death rate. It ignores migration. If the birth rate is higher than the death rate, the population grows naturally. If the death rate is higher, it falls naturally.
A high birth rate means many children will reach school age together. If classrooms, teachers and books do not increase at the same pace, classes become overcrowded and some children miss out. All BECE Social Studies past questions