Geography · Unit 14
Population and Migration
Where and how people live
People are distributed extremely unevenly across the planet, and the reasons are a mix of physical geography, history and economics that this unit takes apart.
It covers density and distribution, the population structures that population pyramids make visible, growth and the demographic transition, and migration - the push and pull factors, and the effects on both the place left and the place arrived at.
This unit breaks down into 20 short steps and 120 questions, starting at difficulty 1 and building to 3. Below you can see exactly what it covers, how the path is structured, and worked examples with explanations.
- Steps
- 20
- Questions
- 120
- Difficulty
- 1-3
What this unit covers
- Population Structure
- Population Distribution
- Migration
- Population Growth
- Density and Settlement
Where this fits
Leads into Cities and Urbanisation and Development and the Economy.
Where people slip
Population density is an average and hides enormous variation. Egypt's national figure is meaningless given almost everyone lives along the Nile.
How the unit is structured
Population and Migration runs as 20 short steps that unlock in order. 15 are practice rounds and 5 are challenge rounds that pull together everything before them. Questions start at difficulty 1 and climb to 3 as you progress.
Challenge rounds
Example questions
30 real questions from this unit, with the answer and the reason behind it, grouped by what they practise. There are 120 in the unit altogether.
Density and Settlement
- Fact or fibLevel 1
1. India has more than a billion people.
Answer: True
India is one of the world's most populated countries, with well over a billion people.
- Fill the blankLevel 1
2. A very crowded area is ____ populated.
- denselycorrect
- sparsely
- empty
- evenly
A crowded place with lots of people packed together is described as densely populated.
- Multiple choiceLevel 1
3. What does 'population density' mean?
- How many people live in a certain areacorrect
- How tall the people are
- How old a country is
- How many rivers a place has
Population density is how many people live in a certain area of land.
- Put in orderLevel 1
4. Put these settlements in order from the smallest to the largest.
Answer: village -> town -> city -> megacity
Settlements grow from a small village, to a town, to a city, and then to a huge megacity.
- Match the pairsLevel 2
5. Match each word about crowding with what it means.
Answer: Densely populated = Very crowded; Sparsely populated = Very few people; City = Many people close together; Countryside = Fewer people, more space
Densely populated places are crowded, while sparsely populated places have few people spread out.
- Guess the numberLevel 3
6. If 24 million people live in an area of 300,000 square kilometres, what is the population density in people per square kilometre?
Answer: 80 people per square kilometre
Density is population divided by area: 24,000,000 / 300,000 = 80 people per square kilometre.
Migration
- Build the sentenceLevel 1
7. Build the sentence about why people migrate.
Answer: people move to find safety and jobs
People often move to find safety and jobs in a new place.
- Fill the blankLevel 1
8. Migration means people ____ from one place to another.
- movingcorrect
- staying
- sleeping
- counting
Migration is when people move from one place to live in another.
- Choose all that applyLevel 2
9. Which of these are push factors that make people leave a place?
- Warcorrect
- Droughtcorrect
- Povertycorrect
- Good jobs
Push factors like war, drought and poverty are hard conditions that make people want to leave.
- Multiple choiceLevel 2
10. Which of these is a pull factor that attracts people to a new place?
- Good jobscorrect
- War
- Drought
- Poverty
Pull factors like good jobs draw people towards a place, unlike push factors that drive them away.
- Fact or fibLevel 3
11. Forced migration is when people have no real choice but to move, such as fleeing a war or disaster.
Answer: True
Forced migration happens when people are compelled to leave, unlike voluntary migration which is chosen.
- Match the pairsLevel 3
12. Match each migration term to its meaning.
Answer: Emigrant = Someone leaving their country; Immigrant = Someone entering a new country; Refugee = Person forced to flee across a border; Voluntary migrant = Person who moves by choice
Emigrants leave, immigrants arrive, refugees are forced to flee, and voluntary migrants move by choice.
Population Distribution
- Build the sentenceLevel 1
13. Build the sentence about where most people live.
Answer: most people live near water and flat land
Most people live near water and flat land, which makes farming and travel easier.
- Multiple choiceLevel 1
14. Where do most people around the world live?
- Near rivers, coasts and cities
- In the middle of hot deserts
- On the tops of high mountains
- On the frozen poles
Most people settle near rivers, coasts and cities, where there is water, flat land and jobs.
- Odd one outLevel 1
15. Three of these places have very few people. Which one is crowded with people?
- Big citycorrect
- High mountains
- Hot desert
- Polar ice
Deserts, mountains and polar ice are hard to live in, but a big city is packed with people.
- Match the pairsLevel 2
16. Match each place with why people do or do not settle there.
Answer: Coast = Good for fishing and trade; River valley = Flat land and fresh water; Hot desert = Too dry to farm; High mountain = Too cold and steep
People gather where there is water and flat land, and avoid places that are too dry, cold or steep.
- Choose all that applyLevel 3
17. Which of these are HUMAN factors that attract people to live in an area?
- Plentiful job opportunitiescorrect
- Good transport and servicescorrect
- Political stabilitycorrect
- Steep, rugged relief
Jobs, transport links and political stability are human factors, while relief and soil are physical factors.
- Fill the blankLevel 3
18. The uneven way that people are spread across the Earth's surface is called population ____.
- distributioncorrect
- density
- growth
- migration
Population distribution describes where people live and how unevenly they are spread out.
Population Growth
- Fill the blankLevel 1
19. The number of babies born each year is the ____ rate.
- birthcorrect
- death
- city
- school
The birth rate counts how many babies are born in a place each year.
- Guess the numberLevel 1
20. About how many people live on Earth today?
Answer: 8 billion people
The world's population is roughly 8 billion people.
- Multiple choiceLevel 1
21. What does 'birth rate' mean?
- The number of babies borncorrect
- The number of people who die
- The number of people who move away
- The number of cities in a country
The birth rate is the number of babies born, usually counted each year.
- Fact or fibLevel 2
22. A population grows when more people are born than die.
Answer: True
When the birth rate is higher than the death rate, the number of people goes up.
- Choose all that applyLevel 3
23. Which of these are likely consequences of rapid population growth?
- Pressure on food and water suppliescorrect
- Overcrowded housingcorrect
- Strain on schools and jobscorrect
- A shrinking, elderly workforce
Fast growth strains food, water, housing, schools and jobs, while an ageing workforce is a feature of slow-growing populations.
- Match the pairsLevel 3
24. Match each stage of the Demographic Transition Model to its key feature.
Answer: Stage 1 = High, fluctuating population; Stage 2 = Rapid population growth; Stage 4 = High, stable population; Stage 5 = Declining population
Each DTM stage has a distinct pattern of birth and death rates and overall population change.
Population Structure
- Fact or fibLevel 2
25. The working-age population is made up of adults who can work.
Answer: True
The working-age population is the group of adults old enough to work but not yet retired.
- Fill the blankLevel 2
26. How long people live on average is called life ____.
- expectancycorrect
- distance
- density
- balance
Life expectancy is the average number of years people are expected to live.
- Match the pairsLevel 2
27. Match each group of people with what it means.
Answer: Children = Too young to work; Working adults = The people with jobs; Retired people = Older and no longer working; Life expectancy = Average age people reach
Populations are made of children, working adults and retired people, and life expectancy is the average age people reach.
- Build the sentenceLevel 3
28. Build the sentence about the demographic dividend.
Answer: A demographic dividend boosts growth when workers outnumber dependents
A demographic dividend can boost economic growth when a large working-age population outnumbers the young and old dependents.
- Choose all that applyLevel 3
29. Which of these are consequences of an ageing population?
- Rising pension costscorrect
- Greater demand for healthcarecorrect
- A shrinking working-age populationcorrect
- A very high birth rate
Ageing populations raise pension and healthcare costs and shrink the workforce, but do not cause a very high birth rate.
- Guess the numberLevel 3
30. A country has 30 million people under 15, 10 million over 65, and 60 million of working age. What is its dependency ratio, in dependents per 100 workers?
Answer: 67 dependents per 100 workers
The dependency ratio is (young + old) divided by the working-age population times 100, so (40 million / 60 million) x 100 is about 67.
Where these questions come from. Each unit starts as a plan of the concepts it should cover and the difficulty it should span. Questions are written against that plan with AI assistance, then checked by a validator that rejects anything without a single defensible answer, an explanation, or plausible wrong options. How we write questions sets out the whole process, and corrections are fixed in the bank and reach the site and the app the same day.
How you practise
This unit mixes 17 different question formats, so you are recalling and applying rather than recognising the same layout every time.
- Build the sentence
- Choose all that apply
- Fact or fib
- Fill the blank
- Guess the number
- Listen and choose
- Match the pairs
- Multiple choice
- Odd one out
- Picture question
- Put in order
- Sequence recall
- Sort into groups
- Spell it
- Tap the pairs
- True or false
- Type the answer
Practise Population and Migration
120 questions across 20 steps. Start with step one and crawl at your own pace.
Play this unitRead about Population and Migration
Explainers from our blog on what this unit covers. Each one ends with real questions from the bank.
- What Is Population Density? How Geographers Measure CrowdingLearn how geographers calculate people per unit of area, compare places, and explain why density can hide local differences.August 17, 2026 · 5 min read
- Why Populations Are Unevenly DistributedPeople are not spread evenly across Earth's surface. Water, climate, land, jobs, history and political decisions all help explain why some regions are densely settled and others remain sparsely populated.August 5, 2026 · 5 min read
- Population Pyramids: How to Read Age and Sex StructurePopulation pyramids show the age and sex structure of a population. Learn how to read the shape, compare cohorts, and avoid overinterpreting one chart.August 14, 2026 · 6 min read
More units in Geography
- Our PlanetThe Earth, continents and oceans
- Continents and OceansThe seven continents and five oceans
- Map SkillsReading and using maps
- Rivers and WaterRivers, the water cycle and flooding
- Mountains and LandformsHow the land is shaped
- Volcanoes and EarthquakesPlate tectonics and natural hazards
- Weather and ClimateThe atmosphere, weather and climate
- Climate Zones and BiomesEcosystems around the world