Why Population Matters in Economics — Population | IGCSE Economics

Exam Frequency Analysis

Past paper frequency (2018 to 2024)

This topic accounts for approximately 8% of your exam marks.

stable

Low

Stable8%

Population structure, birth/death rates, and the economic consequences of changing population appear in Section B roughly every other paper; typically 6 to 8 marks.

Population is the source of labour and the destination of demand. How many people a country has, and how those people are split between children, working-age adults, and the elderly, drives the size of the workforce, the level of consumer spending, the burden on public services, and the demands on the natural environment.

This topic looks at:

how population is measured (birth, death, migration and dependency rates),
the consequences of a rising population,
the consequences of an ageing population,
and the government policies used to influence population growth or structure.