What does an anti-natalist policy aim to do?

reduce the birth rate. It tries to slow population growth.

Which is a pro-natalist measure?

payments to parents for each child. It rewards people for having children.

How does access to contraception affect population growth?

it lets people limit the size of their families. Birth rates fall.

Why can better healthcare for infants lower the birth rate?

parents no longer have extra children in case some die. When children survive, families choose to be smaller.

Which is a limitation of a strict anti-natalist policy?

there are later too few workers to support the elderly. Fewer births now means fewer workers later.

A country has an ageing population and a shortage of workers. Which pair of strategies fits?

a pro-natalist policy and encouraging immigration. Both add young people to the population.

Managing population size · Cambridge IGCSE Environmental Management

In plain words

No government can order its population to be a certain size. What it can do is change the things that shape people's choices: whether they can plan a family, whether their daughters go to school, and whether having a child costs money or earns a reward.

8 things to know

Access to contraception lets people choose how many children to have, and when. Birth rates fall.
Population policies. An anti-natalist policy aims to reduce the birth rate, with family planning, education campaigns, and rewards or penalties. A pro-natalist policy aims to raise the birth rate, with payments for children, paid leave for parents and cheap childcare.
Access to education: people learn about family planning. Girls who stay longer at school tend to marry later, have careers and have fewer children.
Access to healthcare: when fewer infants die, parents do not need to have extra children to be sure that some survive, so birth rates fall. Healthcare also lowers death rates.
Control of migration: a country can limit immigration, or encourage it to fill a shortage of workers.
Benefits. A slower-growing population puts less pressure on food, water, housing, schools and jobs.
Limitations. Contraception may go against people's beliefs, or may not reach rural areas. Strict policies take away personal choice. A sharp fall in births leads later to an ageing population, with too few workers.
Pro-natalist policies are expensive, and people do not always respond to them. Limits on migration are hard to enforce.

Worked example

A country's population is growing faster than its schools and hospitals can cope with. Suggest a set of strategies and one limitation.

Give free access to contraception, and advice on family planning.
Keep girls in school for longer, so they marry later and have fewer children.
Improve healthcare for infants, so families feel less need to have many children.
Limitation: the effects take a generation to show, and some people will object on grounds of belief.

Tips and tricks

Pro means for. A pro-natalist policy is for more births. An anti-natalist policy is against them.
Better healthcare lowers the death rate first, so a population grows faster for a while. The birth rate falls later. Mention both if asked to discuss.

6 questions, about 2 minutes.

It lands in your notebook with its questions as flashcards.

Managing population size: 6 questions and answers

These are the quiz’s questions. Do the quiz first, then come back here for the ones that got you.

What does an anti-natalist policy aim to do?
- increase immigration
- reduce the birth rate (the answer)
- increase the birth rate
- reduce life expectancy
It tries to slow population growth.
Which is a pro-natalist measure?
- free contraception
- a tax on large families
- payments to parents for each child (the answer)
- campaigns for small families
It rewards people for having children.
How does access to contraception affect population growth?
- it raises the death rate
- it increases immigration
- it has no effect
- it lets people limit the size of their families (the answer)
Birth rates fall.
Why can better healthcare for infants lower the birth rate?
- parents no longer have extra children in case some die (the answer)
- parents have less time
- hospitals limit the number of births
- healthcare is expensive
When children survive, families choose to be smaller.
Which is a limitation of a strict anti-natalist policy?
- the population grows faster
- schools become more crowded
- there are later too few workers to support the elderly (the answer)
- food runs short
Fewer births now means fewer workers later.
A country has an ageing population and a shortage of workers. Which pair of strategies fits?Stretch
- an anti-natalist policy and limits on immigration
- free contraception and less healthcare
- an anti-natalist policy and more emigration
- a pro-natalist policy and encouraging immigration (the answer)
Both add young people to the population.

6 questions

Tap an answer and you’ll see straight away whether it’s right, and why.

Worksheet

3 questions, 7 marks. Write your answers on paper, then check them.

Managing population size

Cambridge IGCSE Environmental Management 0680 · 7 marks · papermunch.org

Name ______________________________ Date ______________

Explain the difference between a pro-natalist and an anti-natalist policy.[2]
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A pro-natalist policy aims to increase the birth rate. An anti-natalist policy aims to reduce the birth rate.
I got this one
Explain how improving the education of girls can reduce the birth rate.[3]
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They learn about family planning. They stay in school longer and marry later. They are more likely to have careers and choose to have fewer children.
I got this one
Give one benefit and one limitation of an anti-natalist policy.[2]
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Benefit: slower population growth reduces the pressure on resources and services. Limitation: it can take away personal choice (or: it leads later to an ageing population with fewer workers).
I got this one

Answers: Managing population size

1. A pro-natalist policy aims to increase the birth rate. An anti-natalist policy aims to reduce the birth rate.
2. They learn about family planning. They stay in school longer and marry later. They are more likely to have careers and choose to have fewer children.
3. Benefit: slower population growth reduces the pressure on resources and services. Limitation: it can take away personal choice (or: it leads later to an ageing population with fewer workers).