Nova Social Studies 8

Nepal has fully consented to cooperate with objectives laid out in UN Charter and fucntioning
of all the specialized agencies operating under the umbrella of UNO. Nepal stands against
global terrorism and favors nuclear disarmament with respect to human rights all over the
world. To stop the violation of human rights in Nepal, independent judiciary within the
country has been given writ jurisdiction and NHRC (National Human Rights Commission)
has been set up as an autonomous constituional organ (Part-25 of the Constituion of Nepal,
2072 BS). United Nations Organization along with its specialized agencies has been very
active in bringing economic and social development around the world. Nepal has expressed
its commitment towards it. Nepal has been in the forefront in drawing attention of UNO and
international community towards the problems and challenges faced by “Least-developed
Countries” because of natural disaster and domestic political conflicts.

Nepal has been active in coordinating with several specialized agencies like Food and
Agricultural Organization (FAO), International Labour Organization (ILO), United Nations
International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organization (WHO),
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to achieve developmental goals. Nepal has been
committed to meet the targets of human development by attaining to better HDI – Human
Development Index - under the success of UNDP (United Nations Development Program).
Nepal has served the UNO as being the Vice-President to General Assembly in 1958, 1967,
1970, 1974, 1983, 1988 and 2001 AD. United Nations Organization has played a constructive
role in shaping up Nepal as a democratic country by extending its help in conclusion of press
process from 2006 to 2015 AD. United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) has helped us in
managing arms and ammunitions used by PLA (Peoples Liberation Army) during 10-year
long violent conflict (from 1996 to 2006 AD or 2052 to 2062 BS) between Communist Party of
Nepal (Maoists) and the then Royal Government inside the country. UNMIN had supervised
the first election (in 2008) of Constituent Assembly in Nepal. Similarly, Nepal has served as
Vice-President of UN Disarmament Commission in 2004 AD.

Nepal has already served twice from 1969 to 1970 and from 1988 to 1989 as one of the 10
non-permanent members of UNSC (UN Security Council). In those time-periods, Nepal
has been direct witness to the resolution of international disputes. Nepal Government has
been regularly participating in the meeting of UN General Assembly. Nepal is considered as
active member of United Nations Organization and has earned praise for that from Secretary
General and other visiting officials of UNO to Nepal.

Words and terms you would like to know

Global Terrorism: violence or the threat of violence, especially bombing, kidnapping, and assassination,
carried out for political purposes in different parts of the world
Nuclear Disarmament: reduction in nuclear arms, bombs and nuclear missiles
Millennium Development Goals: Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) range from reducing poverty
rate to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education.
Forefront (n.): leading position

Learning Guideline
Present a list of contributions made by UNO and other specialized agencies in the class.

245<< Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8

Activities
1. Divide the students into different groups and ask them to prepare on nature and functions

of several specialized agencies which are affiliated with United Nations Organization. Let a
group leader present the details of specialized agencies.
2. Collect different news, articles, essays and editorials published in both print and electronic
media and present them in the class.
3. Nepal is the sixth largest contributors of peacekeepers to the United Nations. Find out
deployment of Nepalese peacekeeprs as of now across the world. Do self-research and make
a list of such deployment.
Exercise
1. When did Nepal become the member of the United Nations Organization?
2. Explain the roles and contributions made by United Nations Organization in maintaining
international peace and security.
3. Illustrate how Nepal has cooperated with United Nations Organization in bringing social
and economic development.
4. Mention any five specialized agencies of UNO working in Nepal with their functions.

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Lesson

4 Diplomatic Mission

An institution meant for promoting and cultivating international relations with a country is
called “diplomatic mission”. In other words, when a group of people from one state (country)
or an international organization such as the United Nations represent the interest of their
state (sending country) or organization in the receiving (host) state, it is called a diplomatic
mission. Therefore, a diplomatic mission is located in a foreign country. A permanent
diplomatic mission is known as an embassy. An ambassador or high commissioner is the
head of the diplomatic mission. To manage and maintain diplomatic missions in foreign
countries, Nepal has set up embassies in foreign countries. An ambassador is appointed
by the President on the recommendation of Government of Nepal to serve the interest of
the country in foreign countries. An ambassador takes charge of his/her office in embassy
located in foreign country and is on diplomatic mission linking Nepal with the foreign
country. There are Nepali officials recruited for assisting in the work of an ambassador in
every embassy. They work in the office space and are engaged in the diplomatic work under
the guidance of the ambassador. A section of a building where office work and diplomatic
work are done is called chancery. Both the embassy and chancery are normally attached with
each other for convenience of diplomatic work. The first diplomatic mission in Nepal was set
up by United Kingdom in 1816 AD after the Sugauli Treaty. Diplomatic mission is primarily
engaged in diplomacy by means of professional diplomats. What is diplomacy? Diplomacy is
the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of states. Therefore,
the term diplomacy usually refers to negotiations done at international level, not between
the people within the country.
Through diplomacy, states try to find out mutually acceptable solutions to a common challenge
(problem). There is no place for direct attack (confrontation) on each other between the states
in smart diplomacy. If diplomacy fails, confrontation begins. Therefore, a diplomatic mission
must handle every matter between the states in careful and sensitive manner. A diplomatic
mission is usually the resident mission acting as the office of a country’s diplomatic
representatives in the capital city of another country (receiving country or host country). It
may be a non-resident permanent diplomatic mission to one or more other countries. Thus,
diplomatic missions are represented by both resident and non-resident embassies.

Nepali Embassy in Doha (Qatar) Nepal-China Diplomatic Relationship

247<< Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8

Apart from embassies in foreign countries there are consular offices, headquarters of regional
organizations like SAARC, Asian Development Bank and offices representing various
specialized agencies and world bodies like UNO and World Trade Organization (WTO).
All of them mentioned here are taken as diplomatic missions. Generally, such diplomatic
missions are located in capital city. All the facilities required to run diplomatic missions
together with number of officials needed for smooth functioning of these missions are
managed by Ministry of External Affairs.
Just as Nepal has embassies in foreign countries to conduct the diplomatic relations with those
countries, other countries also have their embassies in our country. Every foreign embassy
located in Nepal is headed by an ambassador representing foreign country in Nepal. Every
embassy appoints officials to assist in its day to day work. Government in Nepal, in case feels
the necessity to communicate with a foreign country, approaches the embassy of the country.
For visiting any foreign country, Nepali has to take permission from the foreign embassy of
that country in the form of VISA. Visa is an official approval in a passport authorizing the
person to enter or leave, and travel in a specific country or region. Visa is approved by the
ambassador. But, Nepal and India do not require such permission called Visa because both
the countries enjoy very close relationship from time immemorial.

Nepal-India diplomatic relationship: Prime Ministers K. P. Sharma and Narendra Modi
Diplomatic mission provides needed support and security to citizens of its own country in
foreign land. Diplomatic mission takes initiative and facilitates diplomatic talks between two
countries to serve the best interests of the countries. Diplomatic mission helps in conveying
official message and views from its own government to host country’s government. In this
way, diplomatic mission acts as a bridge between two countries. A foreign embassy acts as
a channel of communication between the two countries: receiving and sending countries.
Host (receiving) country is where a foreign embassy is located and sending country is the
one whose embassy is located there. The primary function of a diplomatic mission is to
represent the sending State in the receiving State and protect the interests of sending State
as well as its nationals into the receiving State. It further makes necessary arrangements for
official visits of head of the state and head of the government along with ministers and high
ranking officials. Diplomatic mission is supposed to maintain its diplomatic lines (limits) and
must not cross it to destroy or disturb the foreign relationship between both the countries.
Crossing the diplomatic line may hurt the national pride of the host country and as a result
of which relationship between the countries get strained (soiled).

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Nepal-India-China Nepali Passport United Kingdom and Nepal

Words and Terms you would like to know:

Diplomatic immunities: The rights and privileges enjoyed by the diplomatic mission in the receiving
country are known as diplomatic immunities. There is a practice for diplomatic missions to enjoy full
extraterritorial status (sovereign territory of the represented state). But not all the diplomatic missions
enjoy this status. In such a case, the premises of diplomatic missions usually remain under the jurisdiction
of the host state with some special privileges given to diplomatic mission. According to international law,
an attack on an embassy is taken as an attack on the country it represents.

Consulate: A consulate is similar to but not the same as a diplomatic office. It focuses on dealing with
individual persons and businesses.

Learning Guideline:
Encourage students to do more research on “Diplomatic Mission” from Internet and have them meet a
person who is expert in “foreign affairs”.

Activities:
Find out the names of ambassadors of India and China in Nepal. For how many times have they
come in news and for what reasons in last 15 days? Write it and discuss the same in class.

Exercise:
1. What is “diplomatic mission”? Illustrate.
2. What are the main functions of diplomatic missions? List them.
3. Illustrate the meaning and importance of “diplomatic limit”.
4. Describe the process of appointing ambassadors in Nepal.
5. Name the ministry in Nepal which manages and looks after the requirements of diplomatic

missions and recruits the staff in the missions.
6. Write short note on the following:
Diplomacy, Embassy, Ambassador, Passport, Ministry of External Affairs
7. Name the country which established the first diplomatic mission in Nepal.

249<< Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8

Lesson Nepal’s Contributions in
International Affairs
5

Rana dictatorship in Nepal lasted till 2007 BS. During that time, our southern neighbor India
was being ruled by the British. Rana’s feudal dictatorship needed the blessings from British
Empire because both of them were ruthless suppressor of people’s freedom. British Empire
was suppressing people’s freedom in India and Rana Prime Ministers were suppressing
people in Nepal. Therefore, the first foreign relationship of Nepal was established with
Britain (the then British Empire). Rana’s Government in those times fully supported the
British Empire and pleased them in every possible way. Ranas sent the Nepal Army to fight
both the world wars and even cooperated with British forces to rule over India. Though
the foreign relationship with Britain (United Kingdom) began to serve the Ranas’ interest
in Nepal, people of Nepal were exposed to the European land and its culture. India got
independence in 1947 AD (2004 BS) and the British left India. India’s independence had
a direct impact on Ranas’ Rule in Nepal. Ranas were supporters of British Empire, not of
independent India. Finally, Ranas’ dictatorship ended in Nepal in 2007 BS. Nepal changed
its foreign policy for safeguarding the sovereignty and independence of this country after
2007 BS. Nepal was looking for international support for developing the country. Nepal
went on establishing bilateral relationship with many countries. Nepal ended up having
bilateral relationship with 137 countries. Nepal is also the member of several multilateral
organizations at regional and global level.

Nepal is the active member of UNO (United Nations Organization) from the day it joined
UNO on December 14, 1955. Mr. Rishikesh Shah – a permanent representative to UNO from
Nepal - was the member of investigative team which conducted the probe in the death of
UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold in a plane crash in Africa in September 1961.
Nepal has been fully cooperating with UNO in maintenance of international peace and
security right from the beginning. Nepal is a regular contributor to peacekeeping operations
around the world. Nepal has been sending its Army, Police and Armed Police Force for that
purpose. Nepali peacekeepers have served in not less than 37 countries like Lebanon, Haiti,
Somalia, Iraq, Sierra Leone, Congo, East Timor, Liberia and Sudan. Nepal has been in the
forefront in participating in peacekeeping operations around the world. Nepal was given the
membership of Economic and Social Council in early 2000s.

Nepal is an active member of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation)
right from its inception (beginning). Nepal has contributed to several activities undertaken
by SAARC. The secretariat of SAARC is located in Kathmandu -- the Capital city of Nepal.
Nepal became the 147th member of World Trade Organization (WTO) on April 23, 2004.
Nepal has taken up obligations to promote free trade all over the world. Both Asian Devel-
opment Bank and World Bank have been assisting Nepal in various kinds of development
projects.

250 Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8 >>

WTO NAM ADB

Similarly, Nepal has been cooperating with specialized agencies to achieve ‘millennium
development goals’ in areas of education, health and economic growth. By becoming a
member of BIMSTEC, Nepal has been connected with East Asian countries like Myanmar
and Thailand. In time of need and crises, friendly countries have reached out to Nepal. For
example, countries like India, China, Pakistan, Japan, France, Israel, Germany and United
States extended full support in rescue and reconstruction programs when an earthquake
struck Nepal in April, 2015. In return, Nepal ensures full support to these countries by not
allowing its land for global terrorism, criminal activities and any kind of trafficking in drugs
and humans. Nepal takes up the genuine concerns (issues) of Least Developed Countries
and Landlocked Countries at the world forum.

Words and terms you would like to know

Dictatorship (n.): government by a dictator, usually by force; a dictator’s power or authority
Ruthless (adj.): showing no pity or mercy
Suppression (n.): the state of being forcefully restrained or held back
Bilateral (adj.): involving two groups, especially the political representatives of two countries; relating to
or affecting both of two sides
Multilateral (adj.): involving more than two parties or countries
Trafficking: illegal or unauthorized movement of a thing or a person

Learning Guideline
Use the chart, photo, table and other sources to teach this chapter.

Activities

Divide the class into four groups to discuss Nepal’s contributions on following topics. One group
may pick up only one topic if they so wish.

A. UNO and peacekeeping operations B. Specialized Agencies of UNO

C. SAARC D. Non-Aligned Movement

Exercise
1. Explain the contributions made by Nepal in the UNO.
2. What do you mean by NAM? Make a critical assessment of Nepal’s contributions in NAM.
3. Nepal has been very active at regional level organizations. Do you agree?
4. Explain Nepal’s contributions in international affairs at regional level.
5. Critically evaluate Nepal’s foreign policy during the Rana rule.
6. When did Nepal become the member of UN Security Council?

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7. Discuss briefly the role of Nepal’s army and police in maintenance of international peace and
security.

8. What are the important affiliations of Nepal at international level?
9. What kind of image does Nepal project at international level through Panchasheel and

NAM?
RECAPITULATION EXERCISE
1. Who is the present Secretary General of UNO? From which country does s/he come? Name

minimum three Secretary Generals with their respective countries.
2. Collect the news, essays and other materials which speak about contributions of Nepal in

international affairs. Present your collection in the class.
3. One of the important parts of Social Studies is to relate with and know about contemporary

events. Every day, events good or bad keep on taking place. Similarly, several scientific
inventions and discoveries keep on happening. These inventions and discoveries have a
direct impact on our human life. Many political, economic and social decisions are being
taken at local, national, regional and international levels by decision makers. Missing them
will make us miss out on opportunities and complicate our life. Therefore, we must keep
track of these contemporary events through print and electronic media. Organize debate
every week in your class on contemporary events by framing questions on them.
4. Divide your class into four groups for collecting the contemporary events and happenings in
order to display them on wall outside the class as Wall Magazine. Allot one group to create
Wall Magazine for a week followed by another group and so on. After a week is over, do not
waste or destroy the materials of Wall Magazine. Take them safely and preserve them in a
separate file with proper date.
5. Our friendly countries must have assisted development works in various areas in your
locality and community. Find out the names of these countries with their development
works.
6. On Bhadra 5, 2070, the rebels in Syria accused the government of President Bashar al-Assad
for using chemical weapons. United Nations Organization after investigating the matter
found that chemical weapons were indeed used by the Assad Government. Use of chemical
weapons was declared as threat to regional security and peace. UN Security Council took the
decision to destroy those chemical weapons in Syria and put a complete ban on production,
spread and import of these chemical weapons.
Discuss the issues raised by above paragraph with your class-mates.

252 Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8 >>

Unit

9

Introduction to Population and
Demographic Status

Learning Objectives

At the completion of this Unit, students will be able to:
 Find out rate of population growth by using several tools for demographic measurements.
 Figure out several causes of migration within or outside Nepal.

Lesson

1 Concept of Demography

Demography is the “scientific study of human populations mainly with respect to their size,
their structure and their development”. The word demography is made up two Greek words:
demos meaning the people and graphy meaning measurement or description. In this way,
it is the statistical study of populations and demographics are quantifiable characteristics
of human populations. The word “demography” for the first time was used by a national
from Belgium, Achille Guillard. But, John Graunt was one of the first demographers who
developed demography as scientific study of human population. He used measurement of
death rate to understand the dynamics of a section of human population. Different aspects
of human population are the focus of population or demographic studies (demography).
Demographic analysis is the natural part of demography. Demography as a scientific study
developed between 1960--70 AD. Demographic analysis uses the sets of methods which
help us measure the dimensions and dynamics of populations. Thus, population studies or
demography is also an educational program.
In demographic study of population statistics, three elements are very important. These
three elements are: Birth Rate, Death Rate and Migration Rate. These three elements actually
decide the population of the area or the country. They are the determining elements which
bring change in population. The study of fertility, mortality and migration can be done
from a variety of different viewpoints according to the need and requirement. Subjects like

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sociology, economics, anthropology, political science, public administration encourage such
studies. It is inherently multidisciplinary and it is often referred to as “population studies”.

Components of Demography

1. Major Demographic Processes: Major demographic processes include fertility and birth,
death and disease, and migration.

2. Population Statistics: Population statistics include elements like birth-rate, death-rate,
migration-rate, population growth-rate, etc. in a particular country, zone, district, village
or town.

3. Population Distribution: Every region follows a specific pattern of population
distribution. There are regions with relatively high density of population. At the same
time, there are regions with low density of population. Let us take the example of Nepal.
The Tarai region of Nepal has more population than both the Hills and the Himalayan
region.

4. Causes of Population Growth: Knowing about causes of population growth is important
part of “population studies”. Without identifying the causes of population growth, it is
difficult to understand the impact of rising population and almost impossible to work
on the measures (methods) to control it.

5. Consequences of Population Growth: Continuous rise in population without expanding
our resources generates and invites several problems. According to the United Nations,
world population reached 7 billion on October 31, 2011. The world population was
7.349 billion as of July 1, 2015. According to the most recent United Nations estimates,
the human population of the world is expected to reach 8 billion in the spring of 2024.
Continuous rise in population affects food and nutrition, employment opportunities,
health, residence and shelter, education, etc.

6. Reproductive Health Education: Reproductive health education consists of knowing
the biology and physiology of individual, reproductive health, mother’s health during
pregnancy, fertility, infertility, reproductive problems, and birth-controls and so on. All
these factors affect the population growth rate.

7. Population Policies and Program: Every country has its own population policy and
program. Population policies and program are part of the demography (population
studies).

Words and terms you would like to know

Population Policy: Population policy is all about bringing change in structure and pattern of human
population because population structure can have a major impact on human welfare and the environment.
Fertility (n.): the ratio of live births in an area to the population of that area; expressed per 1000 population
per year
Multi-disciplinary (adj.): involving many subject-areas
Mortality (n.): the ratio of deaths in an area to the population of that area; expressed per 1000 per year
Sex ratio (n.): the sex ratio is the ratio of males to females in the population (normalized to 100). We
calculate two sex-ratios: at birth, and in the total population.
Dependency ratio (n.): This ratio quantifies the number of persons in a population who are not
economically active for every 100 economically active persons in that population. It can be calculated by
dividing the population 0-14 years and 65 years and older by the population that is in the 15-64 year age
group.

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Learning Guideline
Use charts, tables, examples to explain and narrate the concept of demography (population studies).

Activities
1. Discuss the concept of demography in your class.
2. Make different groups in the class. Let one group discuss birth and fertility, second group

mortality and third group migration in population studies. Investigate about population
profile of your community and analyze the birth rate, death rate and migration status in the
last 10 years. Take help of your parents and guardians in this regard.
Exercise
1. Define demography. Outline its importance.
2. Introduce John Graunt.
3. Explain briefly what demographic analysis is.
4. What do you understand by “population distribution”? How is it related to population
policy?
5. Demography is multi-disciplinary population studies. Make a comment.
6. South Asia has the highest density of population in the world and high incidence of poverty
too is found in this region. Do you think poverty is related to high population? Give concrete
reasons for your answer.
7. Briefly describe the components of demography.
Community Work
Meet the people who are involved in social work and community service. Ask them what kind of
topics and subjects should be taught in school in population studies.

255<< Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8

Lesson

2 Basic Demographic Measurement

Fertility, mortality and migration are major demographic processes. A change in population
in any region is determined by these demographic processes. Birth, death and migration
are demographic elements (or elements of population). Therefore, clear difference exists
between elements and processes in demography. For example, fertility is a process and
birth of human is an element. Similarly, mortality is a process and death is an element.
Demographic measurements tell us about processes and methods to find out birth-rate,
death-rate and migration-rate. Computation or calculation of population related ratios
is called measurement. Let us learn about measurement of demographic processes in the
following manner:
Fertility Rate: Fertility rate is the number of live births a mother gives from 15 years of
her age to 49 years of her age. Simply put, fertility rate is also known as birth-rate. While
measuring fertility rate, following three methods or indicators can be used:
Crude Birth Rate: The simplest and the most popular method to measure birth-rate is the
Crude Birth Rate. Number of births per 1,000 persons in a population over a given period
of time (say 1 year) is called Crude Birth Rate (CBR). For example, in the town X, there were
5663 births. The total population was 149,442. The CBR is: 5663/149,442 * 1000 = 37.9
Following formula is used to calculate Crude Birth Rate:

Live Births in a Year (B)

CBR = Mid-Year Population (P) × 1000

Age-specific Birth Rate: Birth-rate is not the same for the mother of all the age-groups.
Birth of live babies in 1000 women of a particular age-group is known as Age-specific Birth
Rate. Women from age-group of 20-29 years have high birth (or fertility) rate. Then after,
fertility rate gradually decreases. Age-specific Birth Rate can only be calculated with data
on the age of the mother at the birth of the child. Calculation of Age-specific Birth Rate is
done by taking the age-group of women in interval of 5 like 5 (20-24) or 10 (20-29) and so
on. Following formula is used to calculate Age-specific Birth Rate (ASBR):

ASBR = Live births from women of a specific age group × 1000
Total population of women of a specific age group in mid-year

Total Fertility Rate: Total Fertility Rate (TFR) is the sum total of Age-specific Birth (Fertility)
Rate. It is expressed in terms of live birth for one woman or a number of child-birth per
woman. The TFR is based on the age-specific fertility rates of women in the “child-bearing
years” from 15 to 49 years of their age. The TFR represents the average number of children
a woman would potentially have in her entire productive life from 15 to 49 years of her age.
In other words, this rate is the number of children a woman would have if she survives
throughout all her childbearing years. Therefore, TFR (total fertility rate) is calculated by
adding up different age-specific birth (fertility) rate by multiplying with a class-interval of 5

256 Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8 >>

years. For getting the statistics for fertility rate per woman, it has to be further multiplied by
1000. This is how TFR is calculated.

Here, TFR = Total Fertility Rate

Bi = Total live birth of children in one year for women belonging to i-age group

i = Specific age group of women

Pi = Total number of women belonging to i-age group

TFR = 5 7 Bi
i = 1 Pi × 1000

Here, TFR = Total Fertility Rate

Bi = Total live birth of children in one year for women belonging to i-age group
i = Specific age group of women

Pi = Total number of women belonging to i-age group

Words and terms you would like to know

Balancing Equation: In the real world, populations grow or decline through a process of entries and exits.
There are several ways through which individuals enter or exit populations. There are three categories
of entries and exits: births, deaths and migrations. In fact, the size of a country’s population at any point
in time (for example, 1/1/2016) can be expressed very simply as 1) the population a year earlier (i.e.,
1/1/2015) plus 2) the number of births that have occurred in the population in the intervening year,
minus 3) the number of deaths that have occurred in the population, plus 4) the number of immigrants
who have moved into the population, minus 5) the number of emigrants who have moved out of the
population. This is what demographers refer to as the “balancing equation”.

Natural Increase: The difference between births and deaths is called a population’s “natural increase”.

Net Migration: Net migration is the difference between the number of immigrants to and the number of
emigrants from a particular region.

Population: A broad meaning of population refers to the population of a country. But, populations may
not always be understood as a country. Populations may simply represent a collection of individuals with
a common characteristic.

Learning Guideline
Get the students on several repetitions of these formulas until they are able to write the formula to solve
the numerical problems on population.

Activities:
1. Have the in-depth analyses of the population growth in the last ten years in your community.

If population has witnessed a rise then give reasons behind such a rise. And, if population
has seen slower rise then explain the reasons behind it. Discuss the outcomes in your class.
2. Collect the data of all the children’s birth last year in your community and the total number of
women in your community from 15 to 49 years of age. Based on the collected data, calculate
the Crude Birth Rate and Total Fertility Rate.

Exercise
1. Give a brief introduction to major elements of demographic process.

257<< Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8

2. Write a short note on ‘demographic measurement’.
3. Populations grow or decline through a process of entries and exits. Explain in light of

balancing equation.
4. What do you mean by natural increase in population? How does it differ from Net

Migration?
5. According to a survey conducted in a village in 2071 BS, the number of live births of

children in the year has been recorded as 25 and the total population is 825. Find out the
Crude Birth Rate of this village.

258 Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8 >>

Lesson

3 Mortality and Migration

Mortality (Death Rate)

The death rate is calculated as the number of deaths per one thousand people per year in
a particular region (area). The death is a second element or component of demographic
process and is expressed in ratio: units of deaths per 1,000 individuals per year. Death rate is
also known as mortality rate. So, mortality rate or death rate is a measure of the number of
deaths either due to specific disease or in a general case. A death or mortality rate of 7.5 (out
of 1,000) in a population of 1000 would mean 7.5 deaths per year in that entire population,
or 0.75% out of the total. Mortality rate is different from morbidity rate because morbidity
refers to either prevalence or incidence of a disease but mortality is all about actual number
of deaths per 1000. For rise in population to take place, the birth rate has to be higher than
the death rate. If birth rate is much higher than the death rate, there is a rapid increase
in population. This is what we witness in case of developing countries where population
increases due to very big gap between the birth rate and the death rate.

Specific measures of mortality are given below:

Crude Death Rate: Crude Death Rate (CDR) is the total number of deaths per year per 1000
people. In other words, the crude death rate is the number of deaths occurring among the
population of a given geographical area during a given period. It is the simplest method
to measure mortality. To calculate CDR, mid-year total population is used. The following
formula is used to find out CDR:

CDR = Total death in a Year (d) × 1000
Mid-Year Population (P)

Infant Mortality Rate: Infant mortality rate (IMR) is the annual number of deaths among
infants (i.e., under the age of 1 year) divided by the total population of all the live births in
that year.

IMR = Total number of deaths of infants in a year × 1000
Total population of the live-births in the same year

For example, in 1995, Niger had 548,000 births. In 1996 the country registered 74,528 deaths
of children under age 1. The IMR is estimated as: (74,528/548,000) * 1000 = 136. The IMR is
the most widely used indicator of population health. Because an infant’s death shows the
mother’s well-being and nutritional status during pregnancy, the child’s nutritional status
after birth and the child’s lack of protection against preventable, infectious diseases. A high
IMR tells us about poor status of overall health and poor levels of living.

Migration

Flow of humans to and from a specific geographical region is migration. Human migration is
the movement of people from one place to another within own country or outside the country.
Nomadic movements are not regarded as migration because the movement is generally

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seasonal. And there is no intention of settling temporarily or permanently in the new place
or location. Migration is the third element or component of demographic process. It plays
a big role in bringing population change. There are two ways to calculate rate of migration:
In-Migration Rate and Out-Migration Rate.

In-Migration Rate: In-migrants (immigrants) are the people who settle down in a
particular geographical area from outside and this whole process is known as in-migration
or immigration. In-migration (immigration) rate is obtained when the total number of in-
migrants in a year is divided by the mid-year population of the region (or country) and
then multiplied by 1000. Following formula is used for this purpose:

Mi = I × K
P

Where, Mi = In-migration Rate, I = Total number of in-migrants who came to settle down
in a particular region or a country in a year, P = the estimated mid-year population and K
= per 1000.
Out-Migration Rate: Out-migrants (emigrants) are the people who move out from a
particular geographical area to settle down elsewhere and this whole process is known as
out-migration (emigration). Out-migration rate is obtained when the total number of out-
migrants in a year is divided by the mid-year population of the region (or country) and then
multiplied by 1000. Following formula is used for this purpose:

Mo = O × K
P

Where, Mo = Out-migration Rate, O = Total number of out-migrants who moved out from
that region or a country to settle down elsewhere in a year, P = the estimated mid-year
population and K = per 1000.

Net Migration Rate: The net migration rate for a given period of time is the difference
between how many people come from other regions to live in the region and how many
people leave the region to live elsewhere. A positive net migration rate means that more
people are moving into an area than are leaving it. A negative net migration rate means
that more people are moving out of an area than are moving into it.
The net migration rate is reported per 1,000 residents over a period of one year and uses
estimated mid-year population for calculation. The formula for net migration rate is simple:

NM = Mi – Mo × K
P

Where NM = net migration rate, Mi = number of people immigrating into the region or
country, Mo = number of people emigrating out of the region or country, P = the estimated
mid-year population and K = per 1000.

Learning Guideline
Get the students involved in collecting the data from their own community in order to calculate death
rate, infant mortality rate and net migration rate.

260 Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8 >>

Activities
1. Identify several causes behind high infant mortality rate in your community and discuss the

same in your class.
2. Calculate Crude Death Rate and Infant Mortality Rate of your community after collecting the

data on total number of people who died in a year and the number of infants (below one year
of age after their birth) who died in a year.
Exercise
1. What is migration? Why does it happen?
2. Differentiate between mortality and morbidity.
3. Differentiate between In-migration and Out-migration. Write the formula to calculate in-
migration rate and out-migration rate.
4. Distinguish between Crude Birth Rate and Crude Death Rate.
5. What is the way to find out ‘infant mortality rate’? What is its significance?
6. According to a survey conducted in 2068 BS at a place where 500 people lived, 40 infants died
in the year. Calculate ‘infant mortality rate’ of that place.
7. John Milton is looking up the data for calculating the net migration rate, crude birth rate and
crude death rate for his country. At the beginning of 2014, the population was 100 million
people. During that same year, 4 million people immigrated into the country to live, one
million people emigrated out of the country, six million babies were born, and four million
people died. What will be the crude birth rate, crude death rate and net migration rate?

261<< Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8

Lesson Factors Affecting
Population-change
4

Population is never static. It keeps on changing: either it increases or decreases. Normally,
population keeps on increasing. But, in case death rate has increased and out-migration has
gone up, population may decrease too. Decrease in population in fair number of villages
of Nepal is being reported due to high death rate and out-migration rate. Major factors or
determinants of population change are fertility, mortality and migration. Details of these
factors (determinants) are given below:

Fertility or Birth Rate:  Fertility refers to the actual production of offspring. To know about
fertility, one has to take into account age-wise structure of population, age for marriage,
education, profession, religious belief, status of health and so on. Out of all these, major
factors affecting fertility are reproductive health of women (fecundity), infant mortality
rate, life expectancy, political situation of a country, social and economic status of parents,
etc. In least developed countries, fertility is significantly influenced by factors like age-wise
population structure, early marriage, and lack of education.

Mortality or Death Rate: There are several factors which affect mortality in a population of a
region. For example, population structure, health facilities, profession, nature of work, level
of population, malnutrition, hygiene and sanitation are the major factors affecting mortality.
In least developed countries, death rate is decreasing from what it was before. Main reasons
behind this are rise in individual’s income, improved medical facilities and better medicines,
better knowledge about general health conditions and diagnosis, more awareness of public
health, etc.

Migration: Migration is the complex component of democratic process. There are basically
two factors which affect migration: pull factors and push factors. Pull factors attract more
population to a region which is known as in-migration and push factors force a section or a
group of population to leave the region and go elsewhere commonly known as out-migration.

Learning Guideline
Use the chart, figure and other tools to discuss main determinants or factors of population change. Involve
the students to ask questions on the topic and then have a discussion for more clarity on it.

Activities

1. What kind of trend does population change show in your community? Birth-rate has not decreased
as expected. Why? Identify the reasons and discuss it in the class.

2. Make a list of all the possible factors which influence migration. Present it in the class.

Exercise

1. What is fertility? How does it differ from fecundity?
2. Illustrate the major factors or determinants influencing fertility.

262 Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8 >>

3. What is the level of difference in birth rate and death rate in developed and least-developed
countries?

4. Name two push factors and two pull factors which affect migration.
5. How does migration affect population of Nepal? What are its consequences in the society?

Community Work:
How many people have out-migrated from your community or village in the last one year. Collect
the data on it and prepare a report on causes (reasons) which have led to this out-migration.

263<< Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8

Lesson

5 Population Structure of Nepal

Population structure is all about the ‘make up’ or composition of a population. Population
structure of a country or a region shows how the population is divided up between males
and females of different age groups, occupations, ethnic groups, mother tongues, education,
and religions and so on. Population structure is determined by conducting a census. A census
is the method of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members
(people) of a given population. The term census is used mostly in connection with national
population and housing. Censuses can be conducted separately for agriculture, business,
and traffic. Population census is normally conducted every 10 years in a country called
national census. Latest national census in Nepal was conducted in 2011 (2068 BS). According
to the census (2068 BS), the size of Population of Nepal was 2,64,94,504. Out of this total
population, male population was 1,28,49,041 (49%) and female population was 1,36,45,463
(51%). The growth rate of population was projected to have come down from 2.4% to 1.4%.
Hence, it was an increase of 3,343,081 in total population since the last census conducted in
2001 (2058 BS). As of 1 January 2016, the population of Nepal was estimated to be 29,271,933
people. In 2015 the natural increase was positive, as the number of births exceeded the
number of deaths by 442 549. The sex ratio of the total population was 0.984 (984 males
per 1000 females). Population structure is generally presented using a population pyramid.
A population pyramid can be shown for any area, from a whole continent or country to
an individual town, city or village. Following is an example of population pyramid for the
population of Nepal – 2014 AD.

In this chapter, structure of the population of Nepal has been presented on the basis of
literacy and occupation. People above 6 years or above have been included in literacy data in
the table given below in census (given in BS years)

264 Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8 >>

Status of Literacy in % in census presented in BS: M for Male & F for Female:

Gender Nepal Urban Areas Rural Areas

M&F 2038 2048 2058 2068 2038 2048 2058 2038 2048 2058
M 23.3 39.6 54.1 65.9 56.0 66.4 71.9 21.3 36.8 51.0
34.0 54.4 65.5 75.1 66.0 77.4 81.2 32.0 51.9 62.6

F 12.0 25.0 42.8 57.4 44.0 54.3 61.9 10.3 22.0 39.6

Source: National Census Report, 2068 BS

Population based on occupation

Human-population in a region or country can also be presented on the basis of profession or
occupation. The following is the detail of facts for Nepal’s population based on occupation
(in BS):

Occupation 2038 BS Population in percentage 2058 BS
91.37 2048 BS 59.61
Nepal 6.35 81.10 40.47
Agriculture 2.28 18.62 0.08
Non-agriculture 0.28
Not known

Following population census data (in percentage) is for urban areas in Nepal

Occupation 2038 BS 2048 BS 2058 BS

Agriculture 63.7 23.8 38.16

Non-agriculture 26.4 75.6 61.74

Not Known 9.9 0.6 0.10

Source: Central Bureau of Statistics, 2050 & 2060 BS
National census conducted in Nepal in 2011 (2068 BS) by the Nepal Central Bureau of
Statistics involved 58 municipalities and the 3915 Village Development Committees at a
district level to record data from all the municipalities and villages of each district. The data
included statistics on population size, households, age distribution, place of birth, residence
characteristics, literacy, religion, language spoken, ethnic group, occupation and so on. The
number of households was declared to be 5,427,302. Each household was of 4.88 members as
an average household size. National Census 2068 BS reported that the Tarai had 50.27% of the
total population, Hills 43.00% and 6.73% people of total population lived in the Himalayan
region of Nepal.

265<< Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8

Words and terms you would like to know

Literacy: Traditionally, literacy means the ability to read and write but now it also includes the ability to
use language, numbers, images, and other symbols used in a culture to understand and communicate the
ideas, feelings and thoughts. UNESCO defines literacy as the “ability to identify, understand, interpret,
create, communicate and compute by using printed and written materials associated with varying
contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning in enabling individuals to achieve their goals, to
develop their knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in their community and wider society”.
Age Group in Population: Age group shows inactive (dependent) population and active (independent)
people in total population. According to latest census, there are three age-groups based on economic
engagement. Age- group (0 – 14 years) and age-group (60 – 60 + years) are inactive population because
they are not engaged in economic activities. Age group (16 – 59 years) is active population because they
are engaged in economic activities.
Density of Population: Density of population means the population residing within a square km.
According to population census 2068 BS, average density of population of Nepal is 181 persons per sq.km.
In terms of density of population, the most populated district is Kathmandu (4408 persons per sq. km) and
the least populated district is Manang (3 persons per sq. km.).
Distribution of Population: The population residing in different geographical regions, development
regions, zones and districts is called distribution of population.
Life expectancy: Life expectancy at birth is one of the most important demographic indicators. It shows
the number of years a newborn infant would live assuming that birth and death rates will remain at the
same level during the whole lifetime.

Learning Guideline
Let the students show above data of Nepal’s population in Bar-Diagram and Pie-Chart.

Activities
1. Collect the data on several bases of population from your community. Find out the status of

literacy in your community for male, female and for all above 6 years of age.
2. Collect the data on the basis of occupation of the population from your community. Arrange

the data in a tabular form and present the data in pie-chart.
3. Tabular representation of Nepal’s population based on literacy and occupation has been

done in the chapter across the census years. Have a lively discussion on all the aspects which
the data shows about Nepal.

Exercise
1. What is population structure? What is its significance?
2. Define census. How does it relate to population structure?
3. What do you understand by “population pyramid”?
4. What is literacy? Describe the status of literacy in Nepal.
5. Examine the inter-linkage of literacy and development in a country like Nepal.
6. Explain the population composition in rural and urban areas of Nepal based on occupation.

266 Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8 >>

Lesson

6 Population- Distribution in Nepal

Population distribution means the pattern of population density in different regions and
areas across a geographical territory. Population distribution across a territory is never same.
Let us take the example of Nepal as a geographical territory where population distribution
is uneven when one compares Himalayan region with the Hilly and Tarai regions. Sparsely
populated places have less number of people living there. Places with many people living
there are called densely populated. Both sparse and dense population in a place depends
on density of population. Population density is the ratio of people to land area expressed as
number of persons per square kilometer (or square mile). Population distribution in Nepal
sees the pattern of population spread in the ecological regions (Mountains, Hills and Plains),
development regions, zones, districts and rural and urban areas. Number of municipalities
has increased today compared to the past. More number of people in Nepal are living in urban
areas and municipalities compared to villages. The following table shows the population
distribution of Nepal in rural and urban areas:
Population distribution in Rural and Urban Areas:

Year (BS) Rural Area Urban Area Mountains Hills Tarai
2048 90.49% 9.51% 7.8% 45.5% 46.7%
2058 85.8% 14.2% 7.3% 44.4% 48.4%
2068 82.93% 17.07% 6.73% 43% 50.27%

Source: Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS)

Population in urban areas in Nepal has increased much more in comparison to population in
rural areas. It indicates increasing migration of people from villages towards towns and cities
possibly in search of more opportunities in employment, education and other infrastructure
facilities. Urban areas are pulling more population from rural areas. And, rural areas are
pushing more population towards urban areas. Increase in number of municipalities shows
the tendency of increasing urban population and decreasing rural population in Nepal.
There are five development regions in Nepal. Population distribution in five development
regions is given in the following table:

Population distribution in five Development Region:

Development Region Population in Percentage

2028 BS 2038 BS 2048 BS 2058 BS 2068 BS
21.93
Eastern Development Region 24.21 24.69 24.0 23.08 36.45
18.60
Central Development Region 33.45 32.68 33.5 34.69 13.39
Western Dev. Region 9.63
21.17 20.83 20.4 19.74

Mid-western Dev. Region 12.88 13.02 13.0 13.01

Far Western Dev. Region 8.29 8.72 9.1 9.47

Source: Ministry of Health & Population 2068 and CBS, 2069 BS

267<< Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8

Central Development Region has the highest population out of all the five development
regions. According to the National Population Census, 2068 BS, the total population of
Central Development Region stood at 9656985. This represents 36.45% of the total population
of Nepal. Eastern Development Region stands at the second rank in terms of population
in Nepal. Far Western Development Region is the least populated development region in
Nepal. Western Development Region, Mid Western Development Region and Far Western
Development Region hold population percentage of 18.6%, 13.39% and 9.63% respectively.
When compared to year 2028 BS, Population in Far Western Development Region has been
rising faster than any other development regions in Nepal. At the same time, population in
Eastern Development Region and Western Development Region has gone down. Remaining
Development Regions have reported rise in their population. As per the population census,
2068 BS, a total of 27 districts have shown decrease in their population since 2058 BS.

Learning Guideline
Ask the students to use ATLAS to find out population distribution in each and every zone with all the 75
districts. Let them do analysis of population of Nepal on their own and guide them to prepare a report
on it.

Activities
1. Find out the pattern of population distribution in your Village Development Committee and

municipality.
2. Discuss the profile of population distribution in urban and rural area in Nepal. Present the

population distribution in pie-chart.
Exercise
1. What do you understand by the term “population distribution”? What is its significance?
2. Explain the reasons behind rise in population in urban areas of Nepal.
3. Analyze the population distribution in urban and rural areas in Nepal.
4. Analyze the population distribution in all the five Development Regions in Nepal.
5. Do you think that trend of migration of population from rural areas to urban areas in Nepal

should continue and should be taken as a sign of development? Give reasons for your answer.

268 Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8 >>

Lesson

7 Internal and External Migration

Internal Migration

Internal migration refers to human migration within one geopolitical entity usually called
a nation (country). So, movement of people within the geographical boundary of a country
from one location to another is called internal migration. In a country like Nepal, a general
trend of movement from rural to urban areas in search of education, health and economic
opportunities has been observed. Urban areas in Nepal have pulling factors like basic
foundation of infrastructure (which is lacking in our villages), good education, better health
facilities, transportation, communication and electricity and convenience goods for easy
survival, etc.
In Nepal, people are migrating from Himalayan and Hilly regions to Tarai and urban areas.
National Census 2068 BS shows that more than 50% of the total population in Nepal lives in
Tarai region. Migration is the main cause behind this. Tarai region of Nepal is pulling people
from Himalayan and Hilly regions because it offers the opportunities for trade, agriculture,
employment and others. Around 1950 AD, the Tarai region was suffering from malaria
and people would fear to go to Tarai. But, after malaria has been eradicated from Tarai, the
region is pulling the population from the Himalayan (mountainous) region and the Hills of
Nepal. This is how within ten years, migration rate in Nepal from one region to another has
gone up to the extent of 109 percent. The number of people who migrated from one place
to another within the country was 1228356 in 2048 BS which rose to 1727350 in 2058 BS and
reached 2088170 in 2068 BS.

External Migration

External migration takes place when people migrate from one country to another country.
External migration also includes persons intending to take up temporary accommodation
abroad. Mostly, political instability and bad governance are reasons behind external
migration. Political governance is not able to provide political, social and economic security
to its citizens. Therefore, they choose to leave the country of their origin and want to settle
down either temporarily or permanently in another country. External migration happens for
educational or economic reasons too. But often, it is politically motivated. External migration
is also known as international migration. Nepal is one of the least developed countries and
external migration in Nepal takes place mostly due to economic reasons and educational
purposes. External migration for foreign employment has become a major source of income
for many Nepali households. Those who are working in India do not require labour-permit.
1. Here is just one example presented in the following table which shows the trend of external
migration in Nepal (2003 AD):

Reason of External Migration Number of People Percentage

Agriculture 7763 1.02
Trade/Business 12060 1.58
Personal/Domestic Service 506221 66.42

269<< Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8

Institutional Service 94329 12.38
Education/Training 31727 4.17
Marriage 14101 1.85
Others 95970 12.69
Total 762181 100.00

Source: Central Bureau of Statistics 2003 AD

2. Next table is related to out-migration from 1981 AD to 2011 AD based on absent population
(gone abroad).

Population Census Total Population Absent Population % of total Population

1981 AD 15425816 402977 2.6
1999 AD 19149387 658290 3.4
2001 AD 23499115 762181 3.2
2011 AD 26494504 1921494 7.3

Source: Department of Foreign Employment
3. Ecological distribution of labour migrants from 2008/09 – 2013/14 is presented here:

Ecological Region Total Labour Migrants Percentage (%)
Mountain 97747 5.7
Hill 759573 43.9
Tarai 871932 50.4
Total = 100 %

Learning Guideline
Let the students present the reasons (causes) behind internal and external migration through role-playing
or drama. Let the students go for self-research and find out the latest data on both internal and external
migration to interpret it in the class.

Activities

1. Find out how many people migrated for working overseas (in foreign countries) from your
village (or locality). What were the reasons behind such out migration?

2. Discuss various causes which lead to internal and external migration in Nepal.

Exercise
1. List the factors which affect (influence) migration.
2. Migration impacts on both the place left behind, and on the place where migrants settle.

Examine the statement with appropriate examples.
3. Differentiate between internal migration and external migration.
4. Fill in the blanks below:

a) The total number of people who chose to migrate from one place to another within the
boundary of Nepal was...........

b) The main reason for external migration in Nepal is............
c) In 1950s, people used to fear to go to..............

270 Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8 >>

Lesson World’s Population Size and
Growth-Rate
8

World population reached 7 billion on October 31, 2011 according to the United Nations
Population Fund. As of July 2015, world population was estimated at 7.3 billion. Asia is the
most populous continent accounting for 60% of the global population. The total population
of the world was estimated to be 250 million (25 crore) in 1 AD. World’s population touched
the mark 500 million (50 crore) in another 1650 years. And the year 1804 AD is landmark year
because world’s population touched 1000 million (1 billion means 100 crore) mark. Further
ahead in 1960 AD, world’s population had touched the mark of 3 billion and gone up to
become 4 billion in 1974 AD and 5 billion in 1987 AD. Look at the following table:

Year in AD 1804 1927 1960 1974 1987 1999 2011
Time taken in years ------- 123 33 14 13 12 12
Population in billion 3 4 5 6 7
1 2

Source: UN Secretariat, Department of Economics and Social Affairs
Global human population is currently growing at 1.1% per year and adding around 75
million people annually. It is estimated that world population will touch the milestone of 8
billion in 2024 AD and 9 billion mark in 2037 AD.
Let us have a look at the population distribution around the world in the following table:

Area/Region Population Birth-Rate Death-Rate Growth-Rate Years to
(millions) (on 1000) (on 1000) (%) double the
population
World 6987 20 08 1.2
0.2 58
Developed 1242 11 10
countries 350

Developing 5745 22 08 1.4 50
countries

Least 861 35 11 2.4 29
Developed
Countries

Africa 2051 36 12 2.4 29
0.5 140
North 346 13 08
America 1.2 58

Latin 596 18 06
America &
Caribbean

Asia 4216 18 07 1.1 64
0.8 60
Europe 740 --- 11 1.2 58

Oceania 37 ---- 18

Source: Population Reference Bureau, 2011 AD

271<< Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8

From the middle of the 17th century, world’s population witnessed rapid rise and Europe
was reporting much faster rise in population particularly in Russia even before 1750 AD.
America was also pacing up in the rise of population with Europe. Colin Grant Clark who
was a British and Australian economist and statistician had never expected such a fast rise in
human population in the world. He had expected human population to stabilize somewhere
below 4 billion at the end of 1999. But human population touched the mark of 6 billion in
1999 just 10 years after Colin Clark died in 1989.

Twentieth century has been the era of wars (with two world wars…World War-I from
1914 -1918 and World War-II 1939 -1945), local wars, civil wars, violent conflicts, diseases
and so on. Despite all these, world witnessed the population growth from 2 billion in 1927
to 6 billion in 1999. Just the completion of the first decade of twenty first century began
with the population milestone of 7 billion in 2011. Projection of such a high rise of human
population in future on planet Earth having reduced resources and limited carrying capacity
has worried the planners and governments all over the world. Managing population and
saving natural resources have become the prime goal for survival, and more so in Asia and
specifically in South Asia. World population has taken less than 15 years to add another
billion from 1960 to 2011. This is quite alarming and shocking when poverty is on rise and
Earth’s resources are reducing day by day. From 1960 to 1974, world population rose from
3 billion to 4 billion, just in 14 years and then gap of the years to add one extra billion has
been reducing as it took just 11 years to touch the mark of 7 billion in 2011 from 1999 when
population of the world was 6 billion. At present, population growth is much faster in Asia,
Africa and Latin America. Present state of overpopulation has invited attention of many
thinkers and planners as a root cause of a number of economic, social and political problems
the world is facing in different parts, particularly in Asia and Africa. Professor Paul R Ehrilch
from Stanford University (California, USA) and his wife Anne Ehrilch wrote a best-selling
book “The Population Bomb” in 1968 and warned of mass starvation of humans due to
overpopulation and other major societal upheavals. A fear of a “population explosion” is
still present and we are facing its consequences in one way or the other.

272 Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8 >>

Words and terms you would like to know

Population Explosion: the rapid rise in the world’s human population since the end of World War-II which
has caused a number of social, economic and political problems particularly in developing countries.
Population Bomb: A predicted explosive growth in the human population on the Earth. Demographers
currently project that Earth’s population will reach just over nine billion by 2050, with all growth occurring
in developing countries. This estimate assumes that fertility will decline from 2.6 children per woman in
2005 to slightly over 2 children per woman in 2050. If the rate falls more sharply, to 1.5 children per
woman, world population would be 7.7 billion in 2050, whereas a slower decline to 2.5 children per
woman would increase world population to 10.6 billion by 2050.
Population Growth Rate: The population growth rate is the rate at which the number of individuals in a
population increases in a given time period. It is expressed as a fraction of the initial population. It is often
expressed as a percentage of the number of individuals in the population at the beginning of that period.
Global human population growth amounts to around 75 million annually, or 1.1% per year.

Learning Guideline
Ask the students to show the data given in this chapter in different forms like Bar-diagram, Line-diagram
and Pie-chart.

Activities
1. Collect the population data of your community now and compare it from 2001 and 2011 AD.

Find the population growth in percentage.

2. Prepare a short report on World’s Population, its current growth and challenges ahead.

3. Analyze the time and situation in which world’s population added one extra billion
population from 1804 AD onwards. Divide your class into six groups for this analysis. Share
the analysis of each group in the class.

4. Draw the map of the world and show the areas/regions with high density of population,
regions with least (low) density of population and the regions in between high and low
density of population.

Exercise
1. Explain the pattern of population distribution around the world.

2. What is population growth rate? Find out the formula or method as to how to get the
population growth known in percentage. Explain with examples.

3. Compare and contrast the birth and death rate of developing and least developed countries
with that of developed countries.

4. What do you understand by “population explosion”? What are the side effects of population
explosion?

RECAPITULATION EXERCISE
1. Fill in the blanks:

a) The formula of the Total Fertility Rate is………
b) To obtain the birth-rate, women are classified in the age group of ……….
c) Fertility, mortality and migration are………….processes.
d) Infant mortality rate is defined as……………………………………

273<< Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8

e) The number of infants (below the age of one year) born in a year on 1000 population is
known as………….

f) The formula of out-migration rate is…………
2. Look at the pictures below and write an essay on them relating with demographic studies.

Report-writing
Make a group of five students and conduct a survey in your community. Use the questionnaire
if needed to get the data on Crude Birth Rate, Total Fertility Rate, Crude Death Rate, Population
Growth Rate and Migration Rate. Prepare the report and present it in the class.

274 Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8 >>

Unit

10

Population Growth
and Management

Learning Objectives

At the completion of this Unit, students will be able to:
 Understand the adverse impact of rising population on quality of life of the people.
 Find out the causes behind the rapid increase in population and explore the measures to

check this population growth.
 Explain the role of international organization in managing the population across the world.

Lesson

1 Population & Quality of Life

Population and quality of life are interlinked. High growth rate of population puts pressure
on available resources as a result of which quality of human life goes down. It is not that easy
to manage the population growth. Today, there is an enormous need to have population
studies in order to improve the quality of life of the people. There are several levels of factors
which influence or affect the quality of life. First level of such factors includes population
size, population growth rate and migration which influence the quality of life of people.
At the second level of factors are social, political and economic structure, consumption
pattern and cultural patterns present in the human society which have impact on quality of
human life. Third level factors are related to kind of priority attached to development, trade,
international and global connectivity (outreach). Fourth level factors relate with source and
means of development. Human and natural resources, science and technology and capital
formation are part of it. Individual’s standard of life is directly linked with per capita income.
Individual’s status or standard of life is determined by employment, health, education, food
and nutrition, social service and so on.
According to the 2011 census, Nepal’s population grew from 9 million people in 1950 to 26.5
million. The average family size has become 4.9. The annual population growth rate is 1.35%.
Female population outnumbers the male population in Nepal (100:94.2). Population density
in Nepal stands at 180 people per square kilometer. According to national population census
2011 (2068 BS), 85.26% of the total population live in their houses while 12.81% people live
in rented residence. 38.17% of the total population in Nepal does not have their own toilet
in the house. Male literacy rate in Nepal stands at 75.1% which is significantly higher than

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female literacy rate 57.4%. These are some of the indicators which shed light on quality of
life of Nepali people in general.
Human needs are closely placed with quality of life. After fulfilling all the essential human
needs, another set of needs such as education, health and other different needs which
enhance our quality of life arise. Most essential needs for preserving human body are food,
house and cloth. Food keeps us biologically alive, roof protects us from weather and cloth
covers our body. But, just this is not the end because human beings are social beings who
need family and society to live in and grow socially and emotionally. Only meeting with
biological needs at physical level does not give satisfaction to human beings. Psychological
needs are more important for realizing the full potentials of being humans. Therefore, human
beings look for expansion of mind and consciousness through education. Quality education
is the top most priority to add quality to human life and create better human personality. Not
only this, human beings require participation in various cultural festivals which give them
identity. Such cultural participation allows them to understand social processes and stand
for their own society. Human life is all about interaction and expression. Therefore, social
mobilization and cultural participation fulfill the needs of recognition and acceptance in the
social groups. Just a biological life without social acceptance and psychological fulfillment
keeps the humans dissatisfied and dissociated (disconnected).

Words and terms you would like to know

Quality of Life: Quality of life is the general well-being of individuals and societies. It has a wide range
of contexts like healthcare, politics, employment and development. Quality of life must not be confused
with the concept of standard of living which is primarily based on income. Quality of life is not just the
wealth and employment but also includes physical and mental health, education, recreation and leisure
time, environment and social belonging.

Learning Guideline
Explain various dimensions of quality of life to students through chart and other methods. Make sure that
students don’t develop inferiority complex while talking about quality of life.

Activities

1. Prepare a list of those needs which have not been fulfilled on daily basis in your community.
Consult your community members to know about it. Prepare the list in class.

2. Discuss several elements and factors which affect the quality of life.

Exercise

1. Describe several factors which influence quality of life at social and cultural level.
2. Explain the factors which affect standard of life of human beings.
3. Introduce the basic essential needs of individuals.
4. Match the following:

Item (National Census, 2011 AD or 2068BS) Data in percentage (%)
A. People living in rented accommodation a. 57.4
B. People not having toilets of their own b. 1.35
C. Female literacy rate c. 38.17
D. Annual population Growth d. 12.8

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Lesson Measures for
Population-Management
2

Human population of a country or any society is never static and it keeps on changing.
Under normal circumstances, human population grows upward but at some places or
in some countries, we can find reduction in the population size each passing year. A fair
number of the European countries like Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, Romania, Latvia, Portugal,
Belarus, Greece, Norway and Sweden are witnessing negative population growth. Japan
is the only country in Asia where one finds negative population growth rate. There are
several countries in the world having population growth rate less than one but above zero
(0). In these countries too, population is decreasing. Examples of such countries are United
Kingdom, United States of America, Brazil, Argentina, Belgium, Finland, France, Iceland,
Slovenia, China and others. There are still many countries around the world particularly
in Asia and Africa whose population is increasing because population growth rate is above
1%. Planet Earth has become overpopulated now. And its effects are being seen in poverty,
environmental degradation and political instability and so on. Of course, individual countries
are free to decide about increasing and decreasing their population according to their need.
But, most of the countries whose population growth rate is more than 1% need to manage
their population in the best interest of their own countries.
Population management is all about population planning for a country with a goal to
increase or decrease the rate of population growth for development of a country and bringing
improvement in quality of life of the people. Therefore, population management may or may
not include ways of controlling human population. In this way, population management is
different from population control. Population management stresses on building up human
resource with an aim to improve quality of life and for overall development. On the other
hand, population control simply means checking (or stopping) the natural population
growth in a country for whatever reasons. It is artificially reducing the rate of growth of
human population. Population management brings balance between available resource and
means for development on one side and population structure and distribution with fertility,
mortality and migration on the other side. Population management makes it sure that all
the people in a region get their basic essential needs like food, shelter and cloths along with
other needs like education, health, infrastructure and so on. This is the reason population
management keeps on analyzing ‘population change’ in different regions. And, pattern
of population change is not same in all the regions. It means different things for different
regions based on the needs and requirements of the region. For example, Japan is looking
for rise in population now because the number of young people is decreasing compared
to the ageing population. Japan needs young people more than ever to run the country.
Ageing population beyond a level become liability rather than productive asset. Therefore,
to balance the ageing dependent population, countries with negative population growth
look for an increase in the population of young ones to help improve their economy. In India,
it is just opposite. India has more percentage of productive population and the country is
trying to check further increase in population for improving the economy and quality of life.
There are many countries which do not like to increase the population through migration
but United States does not mind it. This is how population management looks at the present

277<< Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8

population from several angles (dimensions) to make decisions in the best interest of the
country as well as for the planet.
Any imbalance between population growth and available resources in the country shall
bring different kinds of problems and challenges. Least developed countries around the
world must check and manage their population growth in order to avoid poverty, diseases
and illiteracy. Population management is the necessity for developing and least developed
countries. Measures for population management in the least developed countries include
young education, quality education, increasing the age for marriage (no child marriage),
difference between birth of two children, breast-feeding the child, women participation
in decision making, etc. Similarly, reduction in crude birth-rate, improvement in health
conditions for mother and child are other areas of population management. Other measures
for population management are awareness campaign on issues related to population,
emphasis on women employment, women empowerment, providing ownership of women
over local resources and launching several programs for women-centric enterprises.

Learning Guideline
Let the students understand various measures for population management. Explain various dimensions
of quality of life to students through chart and other methods. Make sure that students must strive for
quality of life by using this tool of education.

Activities
Select any ten families from your community. Make a list of population related problems after
having consulted the heads of the family. Discuss those problems in the class.

Exercise

1. What do you understand by population change? Make a list of the factors which affect the
pattern of population change in a region (or in a country)?

2. Define population management. How does it differ from population control?
3. Outline the main features of population management.
4. Explain the major goals to be achieved for population management.
5. Do you think Nepal requires population management? Give reasons for your answer.
6. Highlight the major aspects of your community population to be considered while going for

population management.
7. Look at the following table which shows the difference between Spain and Tanzania related

with their population.
Population status of developed and least-developed countries, 2011 AD

Country Popula- Birth Death- Natural Infant Total Popu- Popu- PCI
tion Rate (in Rate (in Growth- Mortal- Fertility lation lation (US$ in
1000) 1000) Rate (%) ity Rate Rate (below (above 2009)
Spain (mil- 15 years 65 years
Tanza- lions) 11 8 0.2 3.5 1.4 in %) in %) 31490
nia 46.2 40 11 2.9 51 5.4 15 17 360
46.2 45 3

278 Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8 >>

A. Summarize (analyze) the differences on population data given here for Spain and Tanzania
with conclusion. Mention the areas where both the countries require population management
by their respective government.

B. Fill up the blanks on the basis of information given in above table:
a) Spain requires improvement in ……………..
b) The reason behind high rise in Tanzania’s population size is …………..
c) Population above 65 years of age is……………in Spain.
d) Total fertility rate in Tanzania is …………than that of Spain.

279<< Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8

Lesson The Problems of Population
Management in Nepal
3

According to National Population Census 2068 BS, Population of Nepal reached 26494504.
The population distribution in Nepal is uneven. More than 50% of the total population
in Nepal lives in the Tarai region. National population census 2068 BS has shown annual
population growth of 1.35% (percent). The annual population growth stood at 2.25% in
2058 BS. Although Nepal has reported decline in population growth rate, yet this country is
considered as having high population growth. Population growth rate must strike a balance
with available resources in the country.
The total population of Nepal stood at 5638749 in the first population census conducted
in 1968 BS. In 2028 BS, the total population of Nepal rose up to 11555983 and in 2058 BS it
touched the mark of 23151423. Population growth rate had been constantly rising up from
2028 BS to 2058 BS but it declined relatively by 2068 BS.
Population growth rate requires intelligent management. Unchecked population growth
without proper management would risk human lives. The rise in human population must
match with available natural and economic resources in the country. The size of population
keeps on changing. Generally, population size increases but there are countries where total
size of the population is decreasing. Developed countries in the world have shown reduction
in their total population size with marked improvement in individual’s standard of life and
quality of life.
There are following problems on the way of population management in Nepal:
1. Low Literacy Rate and Educational Standard: As per the National Population Census

2068 BS, Nepal’s literacy rate is 65.9%. For counting literacy rate, people with minimum
6 years of their age were taken up. Female’s literacy rate is way below compared to
men’s literacy rate in Nepal. According to Population Census 2068 BS, literacy rate for
male population in Nepal is 75.1% while female literacy rate is just 57.4%. Low literacy
rate has caused low consciousness in women and most of the social evils revolve around
them.
2. Prevalent Child Marriage: Marriageable age is another factor which affects population
management in Nepal. Nepal’s Population Census 2068 BS reports that 48.9% of the total
marriages in Nepal happen between the age-group 15 to 19 years.
3. Early Birth of Child after Marriage: One of the greatest challenge before population
management in Nepal is to have child just after the marriage. There is a lot of social and
family pressure behind this trend of having child immediately after the marriage.
4. Less Time Gap between two Children: In Nepalese society, children are born in quick
succession. This is the reason for population growth and this also affects the upbringing
of children.
5. Strong Desire for Sons: Our society follows patriarchy. Head of the family is the male
member. Therefore, parents want son to be born. And in many cases, this desire increases
the size of family because son is born after 3-4 daughters in a family.

280 Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8 >>

6. High Infant and Child Mortality Rate: Nepal is a least developed country. High death
rate exists for infants and children in Nepal. According to World Population Data 2011
AD, infant mortality rate stands at 53 on 1000 live births while it is just 15 in Sri Lanka
and 11 in the Maldives. Parents decide to have more children as they fear death of their
children.

7. Age Composition of Population: The Population Census 2068 BS reveals that 34.91%
people in total population of Nepal belong to the age-group of 0-14 years. Government
of Nepal has to provide better facilities for such young groups in terms of education,
nutrition and health. It is a complex and challenging issue at present.

8. Less Decisive Roles for Women: Women do not play decisive roles in determining the
size of the family and they do not have economic independence too. Decisions about
their reproductive health are being taken by the male members or in-laws. Women’s
rights must include the right over their body so that they can decide about the size of the
family.

Learning Guideline
Involve the students in the project work which enhances their knowledge and understanding about
problems of population management with the solutions to remove those problems.

Activities
Select any 10 families from your community. Ask the head of a family as to when s/he was
married and at what age. Prepare a report on early marriage and number of children they have.
Present the report in the class.

Exercise
1. Explain the problems being faced by Nepal in population management.
2. Describe what effects education of parents has on population management.
3. Analyse the trend of population growth in Nepal.
4. Discuss any three problems of population management in Nepal with recommended

(suggested) measures to solve them.
5. How does high infant mortality rate affect population management? Explain with appropriate

examples.

281<< Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8

Lesson Roles of International

4 Organizations

United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA)

United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) is an international organization.
It was established in 1969 AD. It publishes the report every year on the state of World
Population. UNFPA extends support and help to different nations in conducting national
population census and other kinds of population surveys. This organization provides all the
necessary details and data related to population at global and regional level to the concerned
country for making laws and policies on population control and population management.
UNFPA has based its activities on work-plans agreed in the International Conference on
Population and Development held in 1994 in Cairo (Egypt).

The headquarters of UNFPA is located in New York (the USA). This organization has been
working in many countries of the world. The UNFPA supports programs in more than
150 countries. UNFPA is the world’s largest multi-lateral source of funding for population
and reproductive health programs. This organization has worked for poverty elimination,
empowerment for both men and women and has influenced the policies on population
by giving valuable suggestions (inputs) to countries. The work of the UNFPA influences
population management all over the world directly or indirectly.
Following are the major objectives of UNFPA:
1. To make sexual and reproductive health accessible (available) to all at global level
2. To protect, preserve and promote reproductive right of a person
3. To reduce infant mortality rate as far as possible
Above stated objectives (goals) of the UNFPA engage this organization in doing several works
like avoiding unwanted pregnancies, going for safe pregnancy and child-birth, stopping
sexually transmitted infections, ending violence against women, promoting equality of
women and providing opportunity to every young man and woman to show their talent. All
these works done by the UNFPA relate to the right of “reproductive health”. Reproductive
health refers to physical, mental, and social health in matters related to reproduction and
the reproductive system. The UNFPA is trying to create a world where every pregnancy

282 Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8 >>

is wanted, every child-birth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled. UNFPA
makes a comparative study of development based on annual population growth in each
country. It suggests measures to countries on population control and population management
based on this comparative study.

Learning Guideline
Allow the students to discuss several organizations and institutions working in areas of children and
women rights and population management. Besides, discuss about the organizations like UNICEF in the
class.

Activities
1. Prepare a chart to show the important functions of the UNFPA.
2. Make more than two groups of students and create a logo of the UNFPA and slogans to

reflect the true spirit of this organization.

Exercise
1. Give a brief introduction to the United Nations Fund for Population Activities.
2. Make a list of main functions carried out by UNFPA.
3. Explain how the UNFPA helps the countries and what are the areas of help.
4. Highlight the goals (objectives) of the UNFPA.
5. Outline the work of the UNFPA in areas of population management.
6. Fill up the blanks below:

a) The UNFPA has based its activities on work-plans agreed in ………..held in …….in
…………..

b) The headquarters of the UNFPA is located in…………
c) UNFPA is the world’s largest …………..funding for ……………..
d) Reproductive health refers to …………….
e) It was established in…………..

RECAPITULATION EXERCISE
1. Organize a debate on the topic, “Role of youth in population management”. Select judge,

time-keeper, chair-person, and moderator from amongst yourself.

2. Read the following text and then answer the questions based on it:

Senior Citizens in Population Management

A person above 60 years of age is called senior citizen. Improved health facilities, supply of
medicine, improvement in public health care institutions and more number of doctors have a
direct impact on longevity of people and, therefore, number of senior citizens increases. More
emphasis on education and family planning reduces the birth-rate as a result of which the number
of children in a country reduces and the number of senior citizens increases. Reduced number of
children will result in less number of workers tomorrow. Less the workforce, slow will be the
economic development. We have to face this challenge together in coming days.

All the senior citizens in the present time were active youth in yester (past) years. Their
contributions are being reflected in form of several kinds of inventions, discoveries,
development works and social constructions and so on. Senior citizens deserve protection

283<< Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8

and respect for what they have contributed in the past to society and they can still contribute
if we allow them to do so. They have experience and wisdom to guide us and make us learn
from their errors and mistakes. They are the asset for a country and for a society. Any kind
of neglect to them would directly plunge the society into the pit of chaos and disorganized
state. They are the pillars of our moral force. We must learn from their experience. It is our
duty to provide them good environment for living.
Now answer the following questions:
a) Make a list of challenges to be faced in future due to increasing population of senior

citizens.
b) Organize a debate on the topic “Increasing population of senior citizens: Is it good or

bad for a country?”
c) Explain what kind of behavior and facilities senior citizens expect from family,

neighborhood, government, service providing institutions such as hospitals,
transportation, etc.
d) Collect the adage and proverb on old age and senior citizens.
3. Prepare a list on how to maintain quality of life.

284 Nova Social Studies And Population Education Grade-8 >>