Study Fig. 1.1, information about population growth in China. China introduced a one-child policy in 1979 to stop over-population. Now China is worried about under-population. In the 1970s, the Chinese government was worried about how fast its population was growing. More people need more food, more homes and more jobs, and population growth can also damage the natural environment. It was believed that this would create problems, so the government decided to introduce the one-child policy. China kept the policy. However, in 2013, all married couples were permitted to have up to two children and recently this was increased to three. One of the reasons for these changes was that China is now worried about under-population. A society that has fewer children becomes a society that has fewer working adults. That means fewer people making things to sell, fewer people growing food, fewer people paying taxes, fewer people to support older family members and fewer people to join a country's armed forces.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2024). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1] Too many people for the available resources/not enough resources for the people living there.
2. [2] The need for more food/lack of food; The need for more homes/lack of homes; The need for more jobs/lack of jobs/unemployment. 2 @ 1 mark
3. [3] Loss of vegetation/deforestation; Loss of habitat/wildlife displaced; Reduction of biodiversity; Destroys ecosystems/food chains; Death of/extinction of species/animals/wildlife/noise scares wildlife; Air/atmospheric pollution/(emissions of greenhouse) gases/carbon etc./acid rain; Global warming/or any impact of global warming on natural environment e.g. sea level rise; Water pollution; Reduction of water in aquifer; Soil erosion/desertification; Etc. 3 @ 1 mark
4. [4] fewer people were paying taxes: Not enough money raised to fund government services/look after the elderly/provide health care/provide pensions/provide education/any other specific example of government spending/increased budget deficit/debt/need to raise taxes etc. fewer people were available to join the armed forces: More difficult to defend the country/country is less well protected. fewer people were growing food: Less food exports/need to import food/food becomes more expensive/food supply decreased/starvation/hunger/malnutrition. fewer people were making things: Less exports/less wealth created/less money goes into economy/economy declines/less production/need for more imports/prices rise/GNP/GDP/GNI low/falls/recession. 4 @ 1 mark
5. [3] Uneven/clustered/next to each other; Northern hemisphere/north of Equator; Northern Asia; (Eastern/northern) Europe; One country in Caribbean; Any 3 countries – Russia/Finland/Poland/Greece/Italy etc. 3 @ 1 mark
6. [5] Availability/affordability/use of contraception/or e.g./family planning; Sex education/education about contraception/family planning/problems caused by high birth rate; Societies become more secular/less religious influence over contraception/abortion; Smaller families becoming more acceptable; Availability of abortion/make abortion legal; Girls being educated; Women working/careers; Females allowed to make decisions/female emancipation; Low/reducing infant mortality; As a result of improvement in health care or example (DEV); Pensions/young not needed to support elderly; No need for children to work/children not sent out to work (earn money)/look after siblings/compulsory education; Later marriage/many people have children later in life; (Government) anti-natal policy/one child policy; Availability of benefits/sanctions when having less/more children (or e.g.); Etc. 5@1 mark or development
7. [7] Level 1 (1–3 marks) Statements including limited detail which explain why a country attracts many international migrants. Level 2 (4–6 marks) Uses named example. More developed or linked statements which explain why a country attracts many international migrants. (Note: Max. 5 if no named or inappropriate example.) Level 3 (7 marks) Uses named example. Comprehensive and accurate statements which explain why a country attracts many international migrants, including some place specific reference. Content Guide: Country chosen can be any country which migrants move to. Answers are likely to refer to pulls such as: Employment; Food supply; Health care; Water supply; Safety/no wars/no conflict; Lack of persecution; Provision of education; Etc. Place specific reference is likely to consist of: Named parts of the chosen country, statistical data etc.