Population A i

Contents & notes: what this topic covers

Under Population A i, the JAMB Geography syllabus expects you to study:

• A. Population A i i. World population with particular reference to the Amazon Basin, N.E.
• U.S.A., India, Japan and the West Coast of Southern Africa.
• ii. Characteristics – birth and death rates, ages/sex structure.
• iii. Factors and patterns of population distribution;
• iv. Factors and problems of population growth.
• v. Types, causes and effects of migration B Settlement with particular reference to B Western Europe, the USA, Middle East and West Africa: i. Types and patterns: rural and urban, dispersed, nucleated and linear;
• ii. Rural settlement: classification, factors of growth and functions;
• iii. Urban settlement – classification, factors of growth and functions.
• iv. Factor of settlement location v. Problems of urban centres vi. Interrelationship between rural and urban settlements.
• C Selected economic activities C
• i. Types of economic activities: primary, secondary, tertiary and quartnary;
• ii. Agriculture: types, system, factors and problems iii. Manufacturing industries, types, locational factors, distribution and socio-economic importance and problems of industrialization in tropical Africa.
• iv. Transportation and Communication types, roles in economic development and communication in tropical Africa.
• v. World trade: -factors and pattern of world trade, major commodities (origin, routes and destinations).
• vi. Tourism: definition, importance, location, problems and solutions.
• IV. REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY Ca A Broad outline of Nigeria A i. Location, position, size, political division (states) and peoples;
• ii. Boundaries and neighbours iii. Physical setting: geology, relief, landform, climate and drainage, vegetation and soils;
• iv. Population: size, distribution, migration, (types, problems and effects);
• v. Natural resources: types (minerals, soils, water, vegetation, etc.) distribution, uses and conservation.

Study notes & guidance

Study Population A i using a recommended Geography textbook that follows the JAMB syllabus. Work through the contents listed above one by one, make brief notes in your own words, and then practise as many questions on this topic as you can — in Geography, understanding and steady practice matter far more than memorising. Use the objectives below as a checklist: if you can do each one confidently, you have mastered this topic.

Objectives — candidates should be able to

After studying Population A i, you should be able to:

1. Identify the characteristics of population (growth rates and structure);
2. Determine the factors and the patterns of population distribution;
3. Identify the factors and problems of population growth;
4. Relate the types of migration to their causes and effects;
5. Account for the ways population constitute a resource.
6. Differentiate between types of settlements; (rural and urban);
7. Classify the patterns and functions of rural settlements;
8. Classify the patterns and functions of urban settlements;
9. Identify the factors of settlement location
10. Identify the problems of urban centres;
11. Establish the interrelationship between rural and urban settlements. identify the types of economic activities;
12. Differentiate between the types of economic activities;
13. Assess the importance and problems of agriculture as an economic activity;
14. Compare the types of manufacturing industries;
15. Identify the factors of industrial location;
16. Examine the socio-economic importance of manufacturing industries;
17. Give reasons for the problems of industrialization in tropical Africa;
18. Differentiate between the modes of transportation and communication;
19. Assess the economic importance of transportation;
20. Give reasons for the problems of transportation in tropical Africa;
21. Relate the factors to the pattern of world trade;
22. Classify the major commodities of trade in terms of their origins, routes and destination;
23. Analyse tourism as an economic activity;
24. Identify the problems of tourism and their solutions. ndidates should be able to:
25. Describe the location, size and political divisions of Nigeria;
26. Identify the boundaries and neighbours of Nigeria;
27. Identify the ethnic groups and their distributions;
28. Relate the components of physical settings to their effects on human activities;
29. Account for the pattern of population distribution;
30. Examine the types of migration, their problems and effects;
31. Identify the types of natural resources and their distribution;
32. Indicate the uses and conservation of natural resources.

These objectives are from the official JAMB syllabus. Use them as a checklist — if you can do each one confidently, you have mastered this topic.

Source: official JAMB UTME Geography syllabus (IBASS, jamb.gov.ng). Reproduced for study use. Last checked: 17 Sept 2026. Always confirm the current syllabus on the official portal.