(i) People can make the best use of nature to create more resources when they have the knowledge, skill and technology to do so. This is why human beings are considered a resource. It is the abilities of human beings which help in transferring a physical material into a valuable resource.
(ii) The distribution of population in the world is uneven—some areas are very crowded while some are sparsely populated. Geographical, social, cultural and economic factors affect the distribution of population. The flatness of land, moderate climatic conditions, fertility of soil, availability of fresh water, presence of mineral deposits are the geographical factors that affect the population distribution.
The presence of good housing, educational and health facilities; proximity to centres of religious or cultural significance, and the presence of employment opportunities are some of the socio-economic factors that influence how different regions are populated.
(iii) The world population has grown very rapidly because the death rate has gone down as a result of the growth of food supplies and the improvement of medical facilities. Also, unlike the death rate, the birth rate has remained quite high.
(iv) The birth rate and the death rate are two factors that influence population change. The birth rate is the number of live births per 1000 people while the death rate is the number of deaths per 1000 people. These are the natural causes of population change. When the birth rate is higher than the death rate, population increases. When the death rate is more than the birth rate, population decreases. When the two rates are equal, the population remains constant. Thus, the birth and death rates affect the balance of population.
(v) Population composition refers to the structure of the population of a particular region. The composition of a population helps us to know the number of males and females comprising the population, their age groups, educational and technological skills, occupations, income levels, health conditions, etc.
(vi) The population pyramid or the age−sex pyramid is a graphical illustration that is used for studying the population composition of a country. It shows the present number of males and females in a country along with their age groups. The age-group distribution of population tells us the number of dependents and the number of economically active individuals present in the population.