Monday, June 29, 2015

Population of East Africa

POPULATION OF EAST AFRICA

Introduction
This unit addresses the concepts of population, factors that influence population density, population distribution and how they affect the environment of East Africa.
Main Content and Concepts to emphasise
Meaning of population concepts in the following terms;
  • Population
  • Population size
  • Population census
  • Population distribution
  • Population density
  • Under population
  • Over population
  • Optimum population
  • Population pyramid.
-  Map of East Africa showing population distribution.
- Factors influencing population distribution e.g. physical and human factors.  
- Case study: - Highland areas, Lake Victoria region, urban areas and arid areas.
- The positive and negative effects of population distribution on the environment .
-Solutions to the problems that affect the environment.
Learning Objectives

By the end of the topic students should be able to;
  1. Define the concepts related to population.

  2. State the importance of collecting information and data on human population.

  3. Study and interpret the population statistical data.

  4. Develop skills of how to collect and interpret data.

  5. Identify the problems associated with certain patterns of population distribution.

  6. Suggest possible solutions to the problems brought about by the different population patterns.

Teaching and Learning materials:    
  1. Text books
  2. Statistics
  3. Graphs
  4. Diagrams
  5. Photographs 
  6. Case studies
                                          
Job related life skills
By the end of this topic, learners are expected to have acquired the following Job Mart related Skills:
  1. Personal attributes – self confidence, time management, creativity/imaginative, recording skills, enthusiasm, imagination, seek advice and self awareness.
  2. Communication – observation & listening skills, reporting in writing, ability to read and know how to apply general and specialised vocabulary.
  3. Team work – task oriented leadership skills, group work and decision making.
  4. Problem solving - information seeking, environmental protection & conservation, seeking for information (research).
  5. Application of number – ability to work with and present numerical data and using appropriate intermediate calculations (as they try to find out/calculate the population sizes of different areas, birth rates, death rates, fertility rate, infant mortality rate, population growth rate and or try to compare population sizes of various places and years).
  6. Information Skills – ability to identify needs, observe and collect evidence and present findings appropriately using graphs, sketch maps, pictures and reports.

    Population Density

    Population density describes the number of people per square kilometer of land area.
    It is calculated as;
          PD                       =          POPULATION (P)
                                                    AREA (A)
    ACTIVITY 1: - Warm up / Brain Storming

    Ask learners to brainstorm on the following terms;
  7. Population
  8. Population census
  9. Population distribution
  10. Population density
  11. Under population
  12. Over population
  13. Birth rate
  14. Growth rate
  15. Death rate
TABLE 1B: POPULATION DENSITY OF EAST AFRICAN COUNTRIES

Country 		Total area (km2) Total Population 2008 Population density
Uganda                                                      244,400 31,367,972 .......................
Kenya 585,000 37,958,838 .......................
Tanzania 943,000 40,212,612 .......................
Total 1772,400
......................
 .......................




Source: Population Reference Bureau (2006)
ACTIVITY 2:
In groups of 5 – 8, study the Table 1B above and answer the following questions
  • Which of East African country has the;
  • Largest population.
  • Least population.
  • Calculate the population size of East Africa.
  • How is high population an advantage to any one country of East Africa.
  • What are disadvantages of high population size to any one country of east Africa?
  • To which extent may low population be of advantage to your country?
ACTIVITY 3
Given the formula:
            Population Density     =         Total Population
                                                                        Area
  • Use the Table 1B above to calculate the population density of
  • Uganda
  • Kenya
  • Tanzania
  • Which of the three countries has the
  • Lowest population density?
  • Highest population density?
  • What could be the major cause of the differences in the population densities?
ACTIVITY 4
Study the sketch map below showing the population distribution of East Africa and answer the following questions
  
This would also be considered a group task
  • Using the sketch map provided above, which areas of East Africa are:
  • Densely populated
  • Sparsely populated
  • Why do you think that these areas are;
  • Densely populated?
  • Sparsely populated?
  • What challenges do the people living in those areas mentioned in question (b) above face?
  • Suppose a population officer, suggest ways in which you would overcome those challenges
ACTIVITY 5
Study Table 2 below showing population figures in Uganda between 1990 –2001 and answer the questions below.
YEAR    POPULATION (000)
  • -1991
                                            16.000
1992 - 1993                  16.500
1994 - 1995                  17,000
 1996 - 1997                                             18,000        
1998 - 1999                 19,500
2000 - 2001                                             23,000
 (i) Draw a line graph to show the above information.
 (ii) Describe the trend of population growth in Uganda between 1990  to 2001.
 (iii) State the causes for an increase in population between 1990 –2001

Birth Rate

Birth rate: this indicates the number of births per one thousand people in a given area,
    
I.e.       =          Number of birth X 1000
                       Total population                   
ACTIVITY 6: - Field Study
The learners may be organised into groups of 5-8 and ask them to visit 3 neighbouring homesteads (families) of their choice near their school, to find out the following;
  1. How many family members are there in each homestead?
  2. What is the size of the homestead?
  3. What is the occupation of the family head?
  4. How many biological children (offspring) are there in each homesteads?
  5. What are the age groups of these children? (i.e. 0 – 4, 5 – 10 and above years)?
  6. How many non-biological children are there in each homestead?
  7. Do you use family planning methods?
  8. If YES, what are its effects?
  9. If NO, why?
  10. About how many girls in your family give birth after marriage?
  11.  On average, how many girls give birth before their 19th birth day?
  12. What is the importance of a large family?
  13. Why do you think a large family may not be good?
NOTE:
Ensure that learners take notes of their findings, and each group should have a chairman to take up the leadership role and a secretary who would be recording the findings.
Each group in a form of guided discussion with the teacher would make a presentation to their classmates.
 

Fertility rate

         It refers to the average number of children a woman can bear in the production period normally between 15 – 45 years of age.
       
I.e     Total number of children born                        X 1000
        Total number of women in reproduction age  

TABLE 4:  FERTILITY RATE IN EAST AFRICA
COUNTRY FERTILITY RATE 
Uganda 7
Kenya 5
Tanzania 6
Source: Human Institution Report (2007/2008)
This means that on average 5 – 7 children per woman are born.


Death Rate

  1. What is death rate?
  2. What causes a high death rate?
  3. On average how many people die in your home area in a month?
  4. How can death rate be controlled in East Africa?
This is the number of people that die in a year per thousand of total population.

      Number of death   X 1000
      Total population
The death rate in East Africa has been minimised through the fight against the killer diseases in children.
This has been realised through the program of immunisation.
The death rate (crude death rate) is generally high in East Africa. It ranges between 10-15.
This means that there are about 10-15 people who die from a sample of 1000 people.

Infant Mortality Rate

Infant mortality rate refers to death of children under the age of one year per 1000 births. It is measured as follows:  
IMR =Number of death of children under one year x  1000
                                    Live birth per year                                               
In East Africa infant mortality has been controlled through the programme of immunisation.
ACTIVITY 8
Ask learners to visit a nearby hospital or, you would invite a resource person (medical personnel) to your class to make a presentation about the following
  • What is infant mortality?
  • What are the causes of infant mortality? – emphasise the six killer diseases for infants
  • What measures have been taken to control infant mortality in your home area?
  • What is antenatal care and why is it important for expecting mothers?
  • What is immunisation and why is it important?
  • How would we encourage the community to respond to it? 
  • Suppose a medical officer, how would you advise the community about the importance of child health care?
Note:
Ensure that learners note down the pertinent issues raised by the resource person, and freely interact with him/her in form of question and answer.
CAUSES OF INFANT DEATHS
  • Infectious diseases for example pneumonia, tetanus and polio.
  • Domestic violence.
  • Infanticide; the deliberate killing of infants is extremely difficult to document.

Population Growth

Population Growth rate refers to the rate at which population changes by increasing in size.

It is calculated as;

Birth rate – Death rate divide by 1000 X 100.
Birth rate should always be higher than death rate in order for population to increase.

Population growth rate (PGR) = Birth rate – Death rate X 100
                                                                          1000   

For example, assessing the birth rate of Tanzania to be 48% per annum and its death rate 12% per annum, calculate the population growth rate?
PGR     =          48 – 12    X 100   =       3.6%
                           1000            
Factors which lead to High Population Growth Rate in East Africa
  • Early marriages.
  • High fertility rates.
  • Polygamy.
  • Low levels of education.
  • Lack of family planning facilities.
  • Excessive birth rates over death rate.
  • Declining death rate due to improved medical facilities.
  • Rural – urban population.
  • Value the parents attach to their children.
  • Level of income.

Census

Questions
  1. What is a census?
  2. Have you ever participated in a census?
  3. If so, what questions were you asked?
  4. What is the importance of carrying out a population census?
  5. What are the attitudes of people towards census exercises?
A Census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official counting of a particular population.
 10. POPULATION CENSUS
This is the counting of people in a given area.
WHY IT IS CARRIED OUT (IMPORTANCE)
  • To establish the number of people in the country in terms of Age, Sex distribution, level of education, standards of living.
  • To enable the government distribute the resources according to the prevailing population in the area. That is, government plans on how to adequately allocate the resources.
  • To find out the relationship between the prevailing population and their conditions of living for example housing facilities, levels of income, levels of employment.
  • To help the government design a sound policy on population; in terms of birth rates, migration and distribution of resources.
WHAT TO CONSIDER
  • Age
  • Sex
  • Level of education
  • Occupation
  • Standards of living
  • Mode of transport
  • Etc.

11. LIFE EXPECTANCY
Life expectancy is the average age at which people die. Life expectancy is very low in the developing countries and high in the developed countries.
  • Optimum population.Optimum population refers to a situation where the number of people is in balance with the available resources. This means that;  
  • Optimum conditions can only be maintained if the exploitation of new resources and development of employment opportunities keeps in pace with the increasing rate of population.
  • The size, distribution and structure of the population within a country must be viewed in relation to its natural resources.
  • If the country’s resources are not adequately supporting its population, then people are likely to be poor, dependant and hungry. A higher rate of unemployment is also an indicator.
Where a country has gone beyond the optimum population level, there is likely to be a  problem of over population.

Over Population

Over population refers to a situation where a country’s resources are not adequate to provide the necessary means of survival to its people. The resources are over utilised in order for the people to survive.
Population migration
In East Africa people are always moving from time to time. This affects the nature of the population distribution. There are a number of factors why people migrate. These include; 
  • Economic reasons
  • Political   reasons
  • Cultural   reasons
  • Social  reasons
Migration can be for a short time and for a long time. It can be internal and external or international.   
Reasons for migration
  • Unemployed people move from the rural to the urban centres in search for employment opportunities.
  • Cultivators migrate in search for good land for farming (agriculture) purpose.
  • Traders move in search for trade opportunities.
  • In northern Uganda people are frequently moving because of political instabilities etc.   



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