Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Grey and I'm so excited that you've decided to look at geography with me today.

Today's lesson is in our unit of population, where do people live? And today's lesson is about population challenges, looking specifically at ageing populations.

So by the end of the lesson, you will be able to describe the features and impacts of ageing populations globally.

There are some keywords that we'll come across in today's lesson.

They are life expectancy, pension, economic and healthcare.

So life expectancy is the average number of years a person is expected to live.

Pension is a regular payment made during retirement from an investment fund.

Economic is anything to do with money, jobs and resources and healthcare are services provided to individuals to treat and prevent illness.

So our lesson today on ageing populations are split into three learning cycles.

First, we'll look at why has life expectancy increased globally? Then we'll move on to which countries have ageing populations? And finally, we'll look at what are the economic impacts of ageing populations? So let's have a look at why life expectancy has increased globally.

So life expectancy is the average number of years a person is expected to live and it varies across the world.

Now, if you have a look at this map, you can see this map shows life expectancy in different countries.

And the darker the colour, the higher the life expectancy.

The lighter the colour, the lower the life expectancy.

And you can see that the colours are all different across the world, and so life expectancy varies across the world.

Now, life expectancy across the globe has increased over time.

And if you have a look at this GIF, the colours get darker as it moves through time.

So we start off and the colours are lighter and as we move through time, those colours get darker and darker and darker, showing that life expectancy is increasing and has increased over time.

Okay, so let's have a little look and check what we've done so far.

What has happened to life expectancy over time? A, it has increased, B, it has stayed the same, or C, it has decreased? So have a think, write down, pause the video, write down your answer and then come back and let's see how you got on.

Okay, how did you get on? So what has happened to life expectancy over time? The answer is A, it has increased.

Well done.

So why has life expectancy increased in countries around the globe? It's increased for a number of reasons, such as better nutrition, improved education, vaccination and disease prevention and improvements in healthcare.

So we've got a variety of different reasons of why life expectancy has increased, and we're gonna look at those in a little bit more detail now, but before we do that, let's have a little check of what we've done so far.

So which of the following is not a reason for increased life expectancy? Is it improved healthcare, better nutrition or less education? What do you think? So pause the video and write down your answer and then come back and let's see how you got on.

Okay, so which of the following is not a reason for increased life expectancy? The answer is less education.

Well done.

Okay, so improvements in healthcare can increase life expectancy.

Medicines like antibiotics help to fight infections and important surgeries like heart transplants can prolong lives.

So if healthcare improves, then that's gonna mean people are gonna live longer.

More access to hospitals, clinics and doctors who specialise in different types of health problems, that's also gonna increase life expectancy.

But how does it increase life expectancy? How might these things increase life expectancy? What do you think? So Andeep deep thinks, "Improvements in healthcare means we can catch and treat illnesses earlier, helping people live longer and healthier lives." That's exactly right, well done.

So because healthcare improves, it just means we can treat the illnesses earlier and then people can live longer.

So vaccination and disease prevention, that increases life expectancy.

Vaccines have almost wiped out diseases like polio and smallpox.

So they were really problematic a long time ago, but now we've got vaccines against them that's almost wiped out those diseases completely, which has saved many lives, and that's increased life expectancy, because people aren't dying from those diseases.

Sam says, "Vaccination programmes around the world, especially in places where healthcare is limited, help keep whole communities safe and reduce the chances of disease spreading." And this is exactly right.

If we have more vaccinations, that means that people are gonna be safer and less likely to get those diseases and illnesses, and that's gonna increase life expectancy, because they won't die from those diseases and they'll live longer.

All right, so let's do another little check then.

So how do vaccinations affect life expectancy? Is it A, they're cure diseases, is it B, they prevent diseases, or is it C, they spread diseases? What do you think? So pause the video and write down your answer and then come back and let's see how you got on.

Okay, what do you think then? So how do vaccinations affect life expectancy? They prevent diseases, well done.

Right, so better nutrition, that also increases life expectancy.

Good nutrition, that means eating a balanced diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, proteins and important vitamins, and these foods keep our bodies strong and healthy.

Sophia says, "The nutrients in healthy foods make our immune system stronger, so we're less likely to get sick." And that's exactly right.

If we eat a balanced diet, that just means our bodies are gonna last longer, our bodies are doing better, which is gonna increase life expectancy, because people aren't gonna die from illnesses or from poor immune system.

They're gonna be able to live longer, which increases life expectancy.

Improved education also increases life expectancy.

Education helps people live longer by teaching them about healthy habits, like eating well and getting exercise.

It also helps people get better jobs so they can afford the good food, safe homes and healthcare.

Sophia says, "My parents teach me to stay healthy." So parents teaching people to stay healthy, that's gonna help people to live longer, because they're teaching them how to eat well and to exercise, and that's gonna increase life expectancy.

So we've come out to our first practise task of the lesson then, that is, explain three reasons why life expectancy has increased globally.

Three reasons.

So you have to explain those reasons, so give those reasons and explain why life expectancy has increased because of those reasons.

So pause the video, write down your answer and then come back and let's see how you got on.

Okay, how did you get on? So three reasons why life expectancy has increased globally.

So you might have written, improvements in healthcare.

So medicines, surgeries and easy access to doctors help prevent, stay healthy by treating illnesses early and saving lives.

Vaccination and disease prevention.

Vaccines have nearly eliminated diseases like polio, saving lives and protecting communities, especially where healthcare is harder to get.

And improved nutrition, eating a balanced diet with fruits, vegetables and proteins keeps our bodies strong and helps us avoid getting sick.

How many of those did you get? Well done.

Right, so we're ready to move on to the second cycle of the lesson, which is which countries have ageing populations? So an ageing population means that a large percentage of people are older, which is often 65 or above.

Now, we've got graphs there of four different countries.

We've got Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and China, and they show proportions of different ages.

So you can see the key.

The red is ages 65 plus, the blue is ages 25 to 64, the green, 15 to 24, the orange, five to 14, and the purple is under fives.

And all of those countries have got a relatively large portion of ages 65 and plus.

So a large percentage of people with that older population are an ageing population.

Not all countries have an ageing population.

It's more common in higher income nations where life expectancy is longer, and that makes sense, doesn't it? That if you're in a higher income country and you've got better access to all of the things that we've talked about, that's gonna increase life expectancy and mean that that population has got more older people in it and therefore an ageing population.

So the UK, Germany, China and Japan all have significant ageing populations and you can see that highlighted there.

So a large proportion of that red is ages 65 and plus, so an ageing population.

So let's have another little check then.

Which of these countries has an ageing population? Is it Uganda, Germany or Nigeria? What do you think? So pause the video, write down your answer and then come back and let's see how you got on.

Okay, how did you get on? Which of these countries has an ageing population? The answer is Germany.

Well done.

So the proportion of people aged 65 and plus has increased hugely in Japan since 1950.

So we can have a look at this graph in a little bit more detail.

You can see that since 1950, the proportion that that red is taking up, the red which is ages 65 and plus, is increasing over time.

So in 1950, 4.

9% of the population was aged 65 and above, but in 2003, 29.

49% was aged 65 and above.

So a huge increase from 1950 to 2023.

Changes to birth rates can cause an ageing population.

Have a look at this graph here, which is showing the birth rate in Japan from 1950 to 2023 and look at how the birth rate has rapidly dropped.

So Japan has a lower birth rate lower than the UK.

Fewer young people are being born, so there is relatively more older people, so because we haven't got as many young people being born, a large proportion of the population are therefore older.

If the birth rate falls below two, the population will decrease in size.

The population's actually gonna get smaller in size if the birth rate falls below two.

Now, changes to life expectancy can also cause ageing populations.

And look at this graph showing how life expectancy in Japan has changed from 1950 to 2021.

You can see life expectancy is increased.

It's increased there from 60 to over 80.

So Japan has a high life expectancy.

People are living longer, because of improvements in healthcare, vaccination and disease prevention, better nutrition and improved education.

So all of these things are meaning that people are living longer, increasing life expectancy, which therefore result in an ageing population, because people are living for longer.

So let's have another little check then.

True or false.

Japan has an ageing population.

Is that true or false? So pause the video, write down your answer and then come back and let's see how you got on.

Okay, what do you think then? What did you get? Japan as an ageing population, is that true or false? That's true, but why is it true? So in Japan, there's a low birth rate and high life expectancy, which leads to an ageing population.

Well done.

So a second practise task of the lesson then, we've got some questions for you to answer.

So question one, what is an ageing population? Question two.

List four countries that have an ageing population.

Question three A, describe the birth rate and life expectancy in Japan.

Three B, explain how Japan's birth rate has influenced its population.

And three C, explain how Japan's life expectancy have influenced its population.

So pause the video, write down your answers and then come back and let's see how you got on.

Okay, how did you get on? So you may have written this.

What is an ageing population? An ageing population means that a large percentage of people are older, often 65 or above.

List four countries that have an ageing population.

You could have written the UK, Germany, China and Japan.

So three A was, describe the birth rate and life expectancy in Japan.

So in Japan there's a low birth rate and a high life expectancy.

Three B was, explain how Japan's birth rate has influenced its population.

So fewer young people are being born, so there are relatively more older people.

This leads to an ageing population.

And three C, explain how Japan's life expectancy has influenced its population.

So people are living longer due to advances in healthcare and better living conditions.

This leads to an ageing population.

So how much of that did you write? Well done.

So let's move on to our final cycle of the lesson then.

What are the economic impacts of ageing populations? So the economic impacts of ageing populations can be both positive and negative, and some examples of economic impacts are, there's pensions to be paid, less people working paying tax and increased healthcare costs.

So an ageing population leads to the government having to invest more in state pension provision.

Aisha asks, "What are pensions?" What are pensions? Pensions are payments by the government to retired people to support them financially.

So if there are more older people and more people retired, then the government's gonna have to find that money to provide pensions to them.

So that's an economic impact, because that's to do with money.

As more people retire, the government has to spend more on pensions, because there are more older people who need financial support.

In the UK, the number of pensioners is expected to increase, leading to higher pension costs each year.

So the UK government are gonna have to spend more on pension costs each year.

Right, so let's do another little check then.

True or false.

Pensions are paid to everyone to support people financially.

Is that true or false? What do you think? So pause the video, write down your answer and then come back and let's see how you got on.

Okay, so true or false.

Pensions are paid to everyone to support people financially.

That's false, but why is it false? Pensions are payments by the government to retired people to support them financially.

So not everybody, retired people.

Well done.

Right, so let's have a look at healthcare.

So an ageing population leads to the government having to invest more in healthcare.

Aisha says, "Why is more money spent on healthcare?" What do you think? Why is more money spent on healthcare if there's an ageing population? So older people typically require more medical care due to age related health issues, such as heart disease, which means they're gonna spend more on healthcare if we've got more older people.

More elderly people lead to higher demand for hospitals, doctors and healthcare services, which increases government spending on the NHS and healthcare services.

So Laura asks, "Which countries face big healthcare spending challenges?" Which countries do you think are gonna face big healthcare spending challenges? So countries with large ageing populations, such as Japan and Germany, they face significant healthcare spending challenges, because they've got a lot of older people, they're gonna have to invest a lot more in healthcare.

So an ageing population means there are less people of working age to have jobs and pay taxes.

Sam asks, "What are the problems of having less tax?" What do you think, what are gonna be the problems of having less tax? If less tax is paid, the government has less money to spend on the things the country needs, such as improving roads and healthcare.

So we haven't got as much money in taxes and they're not gonna have as much money to spend on the things the country needs.

Okay, so let's do another little check then.

Which of these is a consequence of ageing populations? Is it decreased tax revenue, higher birth rates or increased government spending? What do you think? So pause the video, write down your answer and then come back and let's see how you got on.

Okay, how did you get on? So which of these is a consequence of ageing populations? The answer is decreased tax revenue and increased government spending.

Well done.

Okay, so we're on to our final task of the lesson then.

We've got three questions to answer here.

Question one, what are pensions and why are they important? Question two, why do ageing populations cause the government to spend more money on healthcare? And question three, what happens when fewer people are working and paying taxes? So have a think about your answers, pause the video, write down your answers and then come back and let's see how you got on.

Okay, let's see how you got on then.

So question one, what are pensions and why are they important? So your answer might look like this.

Pensions are payments made by the government to retired people to help them with money after they stop working.

They are important, because older people often don't earn money anymore and need help to pay for things like food and housing.

So question two was, why do ageing populations cause the government to spend more money on healthcare? And you might have written this.

As people get older, they often need more medical care, because of health problems like heart disease.

This means more hospitals, doctors and medicines are needed, which costs the government more money.

And question three was, what happens when fewer people are working and paying taxes? And you might have written this.

When fewer people work and pay taxes, the government has less money to spend on important things like fixing roads, schools and hospitals.

This is a challenge caused by ageing populations, because there are more retired people and fewer workers.

How much of that did you get? Well done.

Okay, so what have we learned in today's lesson? Life expectancy around the world is increasing due to better healthcare and disease prevention.

Many higher income countries such as the UK, Germany and Japan have ageing populations.

An ageing population has economic impacts and it leads to governments having to invest more in pensions and healthcare.

Thank you for joining me for today's lesson.

I've really enjoyed it, I hope you have too.