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AQA GCSE Geography (Paper 2) Smart practice A mixed round aimed at your weak spots
Unit 4
Urban issues and challenges
Urban growth in LICs and NEEs
Global urbanisation and megacities
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A city in an LIC or NEE: growth and opportunities
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A city in an LIC or NEE: challenges and urban planning
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Urban change in the UK
UK population distribution and a major UK city
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Urban change in the UK: challenges and regeneration
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Sustainable urban living
Sustainable urban living and transport
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Unit 5
The changing economic world
Global development
Measuring development
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Population and uneven development
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Reducing the development gap
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Economic development in an LIC or NEE
Economic development in an LIC or NEE: industry and TNCs
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Economic development in an LIC or NEE: trade, aid and quality of life
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The UK economy
The UK economy: change and the post-industrial economy
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The UK: rural change, infrastructure, the north-south divide and global links
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Unit 6
The challenge of resource management
Resource management
Global resources and inequalities
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Resources in the UK: food
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Resources in the UK: water
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Resources in the UK: energy
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Food (option)
Food: global supply, demand and insecurity
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Food: increasing supply and sustainable food
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Water (option)
Water: global supply, demand and insecurity
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Water: increasing supply and sustainable water
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Energy (option)
Energy: global supply, demand and insecurity
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Energy: increasing supply and sustainable energy
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Population and uneven development

Practise 34 exam-style questions on Population and uneven development for AQA GCSE Geography (Paper 2). Write your answer as you would in the exam and get it marked in seconds against the mark scheme, point by point, with an AI tutor on hand if you get stuck.

  • 34 questions
  • 1–12 marks each
  • Instant marking
  • No sign-up needed
20 questions, marked as you go

Sample questions with model answers

Here are 4 of the questions in this topic, each with a model answer, an explanation of why it earns the marks and the mark scheme an examiner would use.

Question 1

1 mark

Figure 1 shows population pyramids for Niger and the UK in 2020.

Using Figure 1, identify the largest age group in Niger.

Two population pyramids side by side on the same scale: "Niger, 2020" (left) and "UK, 2020" (right). Each has horizontal bars for males (blue, to the left) and females (orange, to the right) of a central column of age groups, from 0–4 at the bottom to 80+ at the top. The horizontal scale is "% of total population", from 0 at the centre to 12 at each side, numbered every 2. Niger, 2020: (males, females): 0–4: 10.2, 9.9; 5–9: 8.2, 8; 10–14: 6.9, 6.7; 15–19: 5.5, 5.4; 20–24: 4.2, 4.2; 25–29: 3.4, 3.5; 30–34: 2.8, 2.9; 35–39: 2.3, 2.4; 40–44: 1.8, 1.9; 45–49: 1.4, 1.4; 50–54: 1.1, 1.1; 55–59: 0.8, 0.8; 60–64: 0.6, 0.6; 65–69: 0.4, 0.4; 70–74: 0.3, 0.3; 75–79: 0.2, 0.2; 80+: 0.1, 0.1 (%). UK, 2020: (males, females): 0–4: 2.9, 2.8; 5–9: 3.1, 2.9; 10–14: 2.9, 2.8; 15–19: 2.8, 2.6; 20–24: 3.1, 2.9; 25–29: 3.4, 3.3; 30–34: 3.4, 3.4; 35–39: 3.3, 3.3; 40–44: 3.1, 3.1; 45–49: 3.3, 3.4; 50–54: 3.5, 3.6; 55–59: 3.3, 3.4; 60–64: 2.8, 2.9; 65–69: 2.4, 2.6; 70–74: 2.3, 2.5; 75–79: 1.6, 1.8; 80+: 2, 2.9 (%).

Model answer

The 0–4 age group.

Explanation

The longest bars on Niger's pyramid are at the bottom, for 0–4 year olds (about 10% male and 10% female, so about 20% of the population). This very wide base shows a high birth rate, typical of an LIC in stage 2 of the DTM.

Mark scheme
  1. 1 mark

    0–4 (years)

    Accept 'under 5s' / 'children aged 0 to 4'. Do not accept a wider band such as 0–14 or 'young people'.

Question 2

2 marks

Give two reasons why people migrate from LICs to HICs.

Model answer

People move to HICs because wages are much higher and there are more jobs. They may also be escaping conflict or persecution in their home country.

Explanation

Reasons can be push factors (problems at home, such as poverty or war) or pull factors (attractions of the HIC, such as jobs and services). Both are linked to the development gap between poorer and richer countries.

Mark scheme
  1. 1 mark

    One valid reason, e.g. more jobs / higher wages in HICs; better healthcare or education; safety / political freedom; poverty or unemployment at home; escaping conflict, persecution or natural disasters; family already living in the HIC

    Push or pull factors are both acceptable.

  2. 1 mark

    A second, different reason from the list

    Do not credit two versions of the same idea (e.g. 'more jobs' and 'better jobs').

Question 3

4 marks

Figure 1 shows the Demographic Transition Model (DTM), including the total population.

Using Figure 1, describe how the total population changes through the five stages.

The Demographic Transition Model (DTM). A line graph divided into 5 columns (stages) by vertical dashed lines, with a heading row showing Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4 and Stage 5. The vertical axis on the left is labelled "Birth and death rates (per 1000 per year)" and runs from 0 to 50; the horizontal axis is labelled "Time" with an arrow pointing right. A second vertical axis on the right is labelled "Total population" with an arrow pointing up (no scale). A solid blue line starts high at about 38-39 per 1000 in stage 1, stays high (about 39) through stage 2, falls steeply through stage 3 from about 38 to about 17, is low and fluctuates between about 12 and 15 in stage 4, and falls further to about 8 in stage 5, ending below the orange line. A solid orange line starts high and fluctuates up and down between about 31 and 36 in stage 1, falls rapidly through stage 2 from about 36 to about 17, keeps falling but more slowly in stage 3 to about 12, stays low and steady at about 11 in stage 4, and rises slightly to about 12 in stage 5. The area between the blue line and the orange line is shaded green from the start of stage 2 to the end of stage 4 (widest at the end of stage 2 and start of stage 3); early in stage 5 the blue line drops below the orange line and the narrow area between them from there on is shaded pink. A dashed green line (right-hand axis) is low and steady in stage 1, starts to rise in stage 2 and rises faster and faster, keeps rising rapidly at the start of stage 3 but the rise slows down, levels off high and steady in stage 4 and falls slowly in stage 5. The label "Birth rate" points to the solid blue line, which starts at the top left of the graph; the label "Death rate" points to the solid orange line, which zigzags up and down in stage 1; the label "Total population" points to the dashed green line, which starts low on the left and is high on the right; "Natural increase" is printed on the green shaded area between the blue and orange lines, where it is widest (in the second and third columns); the label "Natural decrease" points to the narrow pink shaded area between the lines at the right-hand end of stage 5.

Model answer

In stage 1 the total population is low and steady. In stage 2 it starts to rise and grows faster and faster. In stage 3 it continues to rise but the growth slows down. In stage 4 it levels off and stays high and steady, and in stage 5 it falls slowly because the birth rate is below the death rate.

Explanation

Describe the dashed population line stage by stage. The population grows when the birth rate is above the death rate (the green shaded natural increase) and falls when it is below (the pink natural decrease). The fastest growth is in stage 2 and early stage 3, when the gap is widest.

Mark scheme
  1. 1 mark

    Stage 1: the total population is low and steady (it hardly changes)

    max 4: 1 mark per accurate descriptive point. Linking changes to birth and death rates is acceptable but not required.

  2. 1 mark

    Stage 2: it starts to rise and rises faster and faster (rapid growth)

  3. 1 mark

    Stage 3: it keeps rising, but the rate of increase slows down

  4. 1 mark

    Stage 4: it levels off, high and steady

  5. 1 mark

    Stage 5: it falls slowly (natural decrease)

  6. 1 mark

    Overall it is much higher at the end than at the start / it follows an S-shaped curve before falling

Question 4

6 marks

Figure 1 shows health indicators for an HIC and an LIC.

Using Figure 1, explain how uneven development leads to disparities in health.

Health indicators for two countries. Table with columns "", "Country A (HIC)", "Country B (LIC)". : Life expectancy (years); Country A (HIC): 81; Country B (LIC): 62 | : Infant mortality (per 1000 live births); Country A (HIC): 4; Country B (LIC): 48 | : Doctors per 10 000 people; Country A (HIC): 32; Country B (LIC): 2 | : Health spending per person (US dollars); Country A (HIC): 4 500; Country B (LIC): 40 | : Access to safe water (%); Country A (HIC): 100; Country B (LIC): 58 | : Children vaccinated against measles (%); Country A (HIC): 92; Country B (LIC): 60.

Model answer

Figure 1 shows that uneven development leads to very large differences in health. Country A, an HIC, spends 4 500 US dollars per person on health, over 100 times more than Country B (40 US dollars). This means Country A can afford many more doctors (32 per 10 000 people compared with only 2, sixteen times as many), as well as hospitals, equipment and medicines.

In Country B, only 58% of people have access to safe water, so water-borne diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea are common, and only 60% of children are vaccinated against measles, compared with 92% in A. As a result, many children die from diseases that could be prevented or treated. This helps to explain why infant mortality is 12 times higher in B (48 compared with 4 per 1000) and why life expectancy is 19 years lower (62 compared with 81 years). Low incomes in LICs also mean many people cannot afford enough food or medicines, and tropical diseases such as malaria are common.

These health disparities also make uneven development worse, because sick people cannot work or study as well, which keeps incomes low in LICs.

Explanation

Link wealth to health spending, then to doctors, vaccinations and water, and finally to outcomes such as infant mortality and life expectancy. Manipulating the data (for example 16 times as many doctors) and noting that poor health in turn slows development are features of Level 3 answers.

Mark scheme
  1. 6 marks

    Levels of response (6 marks).
    Level 3 (5-6 marks): detailed explanation with well-developed chains of reasoning linking differences in wealth to differences in health; makes effective use of evidence from Figure 1, including data comparisons and manipulation (e.g. how many times greater); may recognise that poor health also slows development.
    Level 2 (3-4 marks): clear explanation with some linked points and some use of data from Figure 1.
    Level 1 (1-2 marks): basic statements; data lifted with little explanation.
    0 marks: nothing worthy of credit.

    Indicative content (not a checklist; credit other valid points): Country A spends over 100 times more on health per person (4 500 v 40 US dollars), so it can afford more doctors, hospitals, equipment and medicines; Country A has 16 times as many doctors per 10 000 people (32 v 2); only 60% of children in Country B are vaccinated against measles compared with 92% in A, so more children die of preventable diseases; only 58% have safe water in B, so water-borne diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea are common; these factors help explain why infant mortality is 12 times higher in B (48 v 4 per 1000) and life expectancy is 19 years lower (62 v 81); in LICs low incomes also mean malnutrition and poor housing; tropical diseases such as malaria are common in many LICs; doctors may emigrate to HICs (brain drain); in HICs the main health problems are different, e.g. heart disease, cancer and obesity linked to ageing and lifestyle; poor health reduces productivity and keeps countries poor, widening the gap further.

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