Population, Urbanization and Social Problems MCQs 2026

Demography is the scientific study of

1. A Political parties ✓
2. B Religious rituals only ✓
3. C Human population ✓
4. D Court procedure ✓

A common push factor behind migration from rural areas is

1. A Rural unemployment or land pressure ✓
2. B High urban wages ✓
3. C Urban universities ✓
4. D Better city hospitals ✓

The Chicago School is especially known for early sociological study of

1. A Kinship terms in tribes ✓
2. B Pure mathematical proofs ✓
3. C Urban ecology and city life ✓
4. D Laboratory chemistry ✓

A common pull factor in rural-urban migration is

1. A Drought in villages ✓
2. B Land fragmentation ✓
3. C Rural indebtedness ✓
4. D Better employment opportunities in cities ✓

Urban sprawl refers to

1. A A fall in city population ✓
2. B A complete return to villages ✓
3. C Outward low-density expansion of cities ✓
4. D Only vertical apartment growth ✓

Slums are generally characterized by

1. A High-quality planned housing only ✓
2. B Poor housing and inadequate services ✓
3. C Absence of poverty ✓
4. D Unlimited municipal facilities ✓

A megacity is commonly defined as an urban area with at least

1. A 10 million inhabitants ✓
2. B 100,000 inhabitants ✓
3. C 500,000 inhabitants ✓
4. D 1 million inhabitants ✓

A social problem is a condition that is

1. A Only a private preference ✓
2. B Biologically fixed in every person ✓
3. C Never recognized by society ✓
4. D Harmful and seen as needing collective action ✓

Absolute poverty means inability to secure

1. A Luxury goods only ✓
2. B Political office ✓
3. C Basic necessities of life ✓
4. D A high-status title ✓

Relative poverty is measured with reference to

1. A Only biological needs ✓
2. B Living standards of the society ✓
3. C The speed of migration ✓
4. D The number of courts ✓

Unemployment refers to a person in the labour force who is

1. A Without work but available and seeking work ✓
2. B Too young to work ✓
3. C Retired permanently ✓
4. D Not interested in any job ✓

Underemployment is best described as

1. A Refusal to join labour force ✓
2. B Complete retirement ✓
3. C Absence from school ✓
4. D Work below skills, hours or capacity ✓

Literacy is generally understood as the ability to

1. A Own agricultural land ✓
2. B Read and write with understanding ✓
3. C Win an election ✓
4. D Migrate to a city ✓

Juvenile delinquency refers to

1. A Adult migration only ✓
2. B Old-age dependency ✓
3. C Law-violating acts by minors ✓
4. D Urban planning rules ✓

Drug abuse means

1. A Harmful or nonmedical use of substances ✓
2. B Any prescribed medicine use ✓
3. C Normal nutrition ✓
4. D Vaccination campaigns ✓

Crime is behaviour that violates

1. A Only table manners ✓
2. B Every folkway ✓
3. C Personal preference ✓
4. D Criminal law ✓

Environmental pollution means

1. A A rise in literacy ✓
2. B Contamination of air, water or soil ✓
3. C A change in kinship terms ✓
4. D A census operation ✓

Gender inequality refers to

1. A Unequal rights or opportunities by gender ✓
2. B Equal access to all resources ✓
3. C Only biological difference ✓
4. D Population density ✓

Social disorganization in urban settings often means

1. A Perfect community regulation ✓
2. B Absence of migration ✓
3. C Weakening of institutions and norms ✓
4. D A fall in city size only ✓

Rapid urbanization commonly creates pressure on

1. A Only village rituals ✓
2. B Ocean tides ✓
3. C Genetic inheritance ✓
4. D Housing, transport and sanitation ✓

Family planning refers to

1. A Compulsory migration ✓
2. B Voluntary regulation of births and spacing ✓
3. C Counting houses only ✓
4. D A court punishment ✓

Infant mortality rate measures deaths of children under age one per

1. A 1,000 live births ✓
2. B 100 women ✓
3. C 10,000 households ✓
4. D 1,000 migrants ✓

Maternal mortality ratio is usually expressed as maternal deaths per

1. A 1,000 total population ✓
2. B 1,000 households ✓
3. C 100,000 live births ✓
4. D 100 school-age children ✓

Urbanism as a way of life is associated especially with

1. A Ibn Khaldun ✓
2. B Louis Wirth ✓
3. C Auguste Comte ✓
4. D Talcott Parsons ✓

A census is best defined as

1. A Official enumeration of a population ✓
2. B A private opinion survey only ✓
3. C A court record of crime ✓
4. D A family ritual ✓

Crude birth rate is usually expressed as live births per year per

1. A 100 persons ✓
2. B 1,000 population ✓
3. C 10,000 households ✓
4. D 100,000 women only ✓

Crude death rate measures deaths in a year per

1. A 100 children ✓
2. B 10 households ✓
3. C 100 families ✓
4. D 1,000 population ✓

Fertility in population studies refers to

1. A Actual reproductive performance ✓
2. B Death rate only ✓
3. C Movement across borders ✓
4. D Ageing of institutions ✓

Mortality means the occurrence of

1. A Births in a society ✓
2. B Marriage ceremonies ✓
3. C Deaths in a population ✓
4. D School enrolment only ✓

Migration is population change caused by

1. A Only births ✓
2. B Movement of people between places ✓
3. C Only deaths ✓
4. D Marriage rules only ✓

Emigration means

1. A Leaving a country to live elsewhere ✓
2. B Entering a country from abroad ✓
3. C Counting all households ✓
4. D Recording infant deaths ✓

Immigration refers to

1. A Leaving a country permanently ✓
2. B A fall in fertility ✓
3. C Ageing of population ✓
4. D Entering a country to reside ✓

Population density means

1. A Births per woman ✓
2. B Persons per unit area ✓
3. C Deaths per thousand ✓
4. D Males per family only ✓

Dependency ratio compares dependent age groups with

1. A Only married women ✓
2. B Only urban residents ✓
3. C The working-age population ✓
4. D School teachers only ✓

Sex ratio describes the population composition by

1. A Males and females ✓
2. B Income and wealth ✓
3. C Religion and sect only ✓
4. D Occupation and class only ✓

Life expectancy at birth means the average number of years a newborn is expected to

1. A Stay in school ✓
2. B Remain unemployed ✓
3. C Live in one city ✓
4. D Live under current mortality conditions ✓

A population pyramid displays

1. A Only income classes ✓
2. B Age and sex structure ✓
3. C Court hierarchy ✓
4. D Religious sects only ✓

A broad-based expansive population pyramid usually indicates

1. A High birth rate and young population ✓
2. B Zero migration ✓
3. C Very old population only ✓
4. D No children in society ✓

The first stage of demographic transition is marked by

1. A Low birth and high death rates ✓
2. B High migration only ✓
3. C High birth and high death rates ✓
4. D Low birth and low death rates ✓

Rapid population growth in demographic transition usually occurs when

1. A Birth and death rates both stay high ✓
2. B Death rate falls while birth rate remains high ✓
3. C Birth rate falls below death rate ✓
4. D Both rates are zero ✓

The final stage of demographic transition generally has

1. A High birth and high death rates ✓
2. B High birth and low death rates ✓
3. C No age structure ✓
4. D Low birth and low death rates ✓

Malthus argued that unchecked population tends to grow

1. A Geometrically while food grows arithmetically ✓
2. B Arithmetically while food grows geometrically ✓
3. C Only when death rate rises ✓
4. D Only through immigration ✓

In Malthusian theory, a preventive check is

1. A Famine ✓
2. B Epidemic disease ✓
3. C Delayed marriage ✓
4. D War ✓

In Malthusian theory, a positive check is

1. A Late marriage ✓
2. B Famine or epidemic ✓
3. C Family planning education ✓
4. D Voluntary celibacy ✓

Overpopulation exists when population size

1. A Is always above one million ✓
2. B Has more males than females ✓
3. C Has no migration ✓
4. D Exceeds available resources and services ✓

Urbanization means an increase in the

1. A Proportion of population living in urban areas ✓
2. B Number of court cases only ✓
3. C Rural birth rituals ✓
4. D Share of nomadic groups only ✓

Population policy consists of government measures intended to influence

1. A Only weather forecasts ✓
2. B Population size, growth or distribution ✓
3. C The chemical composition of soil ✓
4. D Planetary motion ✓

Brain drain refers to

1. A Increase in infant mortality ✓
2. B Return of all migrants ✓
3. C Rural birth rate decline ✓
4. D Emigration of skilled people ✓

Assimilation of migrants means they

1. A Maintain complete separation forever ✓
2. B Only change occupation ✓
3. C Avoid all language learning ✓
4. D Adopt the dominant culture over time ✓

Integration differs from assimilation because integration allows groups to

1. A Reject all participation ✓
2. B Disappear culturally at once ✓
3. C Keep identity while joining wider society ✓
4. D Avoid every institution ✓

Thomas Malthus argued that population tends to grow

1. A geometrically while food supply grows arithmetically ✓
2. B arithmetically while food grows geometrically ✓
3. C never at all ✓
4. D only in cities ✓

Malthusian checks on population include

1. A famine, disease and war ✓
2. B unlimited resources always ✓
3. C zero mortality ✓
4. D infinite food technology instantly ✓

Crude birth rate measures

1. A births per woman lifetime only ✓
2. B deaths per 1000 only ✓
3. C migrants per city only ✓
4. D live births per 1000 population in a given year ✓

Crude death rate measures

1. A deaths per 1000 population per year ✓
2. B births per woman only ✓
3. C only infant deaths ✓
4. D only urban murders ✓

Natural increase of population equals

1. A immigration minus emigration ✓
2. B crude birth rate minus crude death rate ✓
3. C births times deaths ✓
4. D GDP growth rate ✓

Total fertility rate estimates

1. A births per 1000 people ✓
2. B deaths per 1000 people ✓
3. C median age only ✓
4. D average number of children a woman would bear over her lifetime ✓

Replacement level fertility is roughly

1. A 0.5 children per woman ✓
2. B 2.1 children per woman in low-mortality societies ✓
3. C 10 children per woman ✓
4. D exactly 1.0 always ✓

Life expectancy at birth indicates

1. A only years already lived by elderly ✓
2. B maximum possible age always ✓
3. C average years a newborn is expected to live ✓
4. D number of children born ✓

Age-sex pyramid with a wide base suggests

1. A low birth rates and aging ✓
2. B zero children ✓
3. C high fertility and a young population ✓
4. D only elderly cohorts ✓

Demographic transition theory describes movement from

1. A high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates ✓
2. B low-low to high-high only ✓
3. C stable infinity ✓
4. D no mortality change ✓

Urbanization is defined as

1. A decline of all cities ✓
2. B only rural population growth ✓
3. C increasing proportion of population living in urban areas ✓
4. D abandonment of agriculture always ✓

A megacity is commonly defined as having

1. A under 1000 people ✓
2. B only 50 000 people ✓
3. C over 10 million inhabitants ✓
4. D exactly one million always ✓

Push factors in rural-urban migration include

1. A poverty, landlessness and lack of rural employment ✓
2. B abundant rural jobs only ✓
3. C perfect rural services only ✓
4. D zero population pressure ✓

Pull factors in migration include

1. A forced exile only ✓
2. B natural disasters only ✓
3. C complete lack of opportunity in cities ✓
4. D urban jobs, education and better services ✓

Overurbanization occurs when

1. A rural life is perfect ✓
2. B infrastructure always precedes migrants ✓
3. C zero slums exist ✓
4. D cities grow faster than jobs and infrastructure can support ✓

Pakistan's population policy challenges include

1. A high fertility, youth bulge and pressure on education/jobs ✓
2. B declining population crisis ✓
3. C zero growth since 1947 ✓
4. D no urbanization ✓

Census data are vital for

1. A only astrology ✓
2. B planning schools, hospitals and electoral districts ✓
3. C only fiction writing ✓
4. D ignoring migration ✓

Dependency ratio compares

1. A only exports to imports ✓
2. B only births to deaths in one day ✓
3. C only city to village size ✓
4. D non-working-age population to working-age population ✓

Environmental degradation as a social problem links to

1. A population pressure, industrialization and unequal access to resources ✓
2. B only individual hobbies ✓
3. C only ancient history ✓
4. D zero human activity ✓

Food insecurity means

1. A unreliable access to sufficient safe and nutritious food ✓
2. B only gourmet dining ✓
3. C only urban elites ✓
4. D abundance for all ✓

Human Development Index combines

1. A only military spending ✓
2. B life expectancy, education and income indicators ✓
3. C only population size ✓
4. D only urban land area ✓

Informal sector employment in cities often means

1. A secure multinational careers only ✓
2. B only government pensions ✓
3. C only unionized factories ✓
4. D jobs without legal protection, benefits or stable wages ✓

Rapid urbanization without industrial jobs can produce

1. A universal middle-class comfort ✓
2. B zero migration ✓
3. C balanced housing for all instantly ✓
4. D underemployment, crime and informal settlements ✓

Microfinance and social safety nets address poverty by

1. A abolishing all banks ✓
2. B ignoring the poor ✓
3. C providing credit, cash transfers or food support to vulnerable groups ✓
4. D only military spending ✓

Infant mortality rate measures

1. A deaths of infants under one year per 1000 live births ✓
2. B deaths of all ages ✓
3. C only maternal deaths ✓
4. D only migration ✓

Demographic dividend occurs when

1. A elderly dependency is highest ✓
2. B child dependency is highest ✓
3. C a large working-age population can boost economic growth ✓
4. D no education exists ✓

Neo-Malthusians emphasize

1. A unlimited growth without consequences ✓
2. B ignoring ecology entirely ✓
3. C population control to protect environment and resources ✓
4. D zero family planning ✓

Overpopulation debates concern whether

1. A population is always optimal ✓
2. B resources are infinite ✓
3. C population size exceeds carrying capacity or resources ✓
4. D migration never occurs ✓

Underemployment includes

1. A only CEOs with high pay ✓
2. B workers in jobs below their skills or with insufficient hours ✓
3. C only full productive employment ✓
4. D only students in school ✓

Unemployment as a social problem involves

1. A willing workers unable to find suitable jobs ✓
2. B voluntary leisure only ✓
3. C zero labour force ✓
4. D only retired persons by definition ✓

Social stratification and inequality are linked because

1. A all societies are perfectly equal ✓
2. B unequal distribution of resources creates ranked social layers ✓
3. C class does not exist ✓
4. D wealth is random only ✓

Income inequality measures such as the Gini coefficient show

1. A only total GDP size ✓
2. B how evenly income is distributed in a population ✓
3. C only population density ✓
4. D only rainfall ✓

Functional literacy means

1. A memorizing classics without understanding ✓
2. B ability to read and write for everyday tasks and work ✓
3. C only calligraphy skill ✓
4. D only oral tradition ✓

Illiteracy as a social problem hampers

1. A economic opportunity, civic participation and health awareness ✓
2. B only book collecting ✓
3. C only urban architecture ✓
4. D only sports performance ✓

Relative poverty means

1. A identical income worldwide ✓
2. B zero comparison ✓
3. C living standards far below the average of one's society ✓
4. D only historical famine ✓

Brain drain is a social problem when

1. A all emigrants are unskilled ✓
2. B migration never happens ✓
3. C skilled emigrants leave and reduce national human capital ✓
4. D education is universal instantly ✓

Poverty as a social problem means

1. A only luxury consumption ✓
2. B only rural weather ✓
3. C only individual taste ✓
4. D inability to meet basic needs relative to societal standards ✓

Social problems are conditions that

1. A everyone enjoys equally ✓
2. B only biologists study ✓
3. C never affect policy ✓
4. D a significant number of people view as undesirable and needing remedy ✓

Squatter settlements are associated with

1. A informal housing on land without secure tenure in growing cities ✓
2. B planned suburban estates only ✓
3. C rural feudal estates only ✓
4. D national parks only ✓

Refugee populations generate social problems around

1. A only military strategy ✓
2. B housing, legal status, employment and social integration ✓
3. C only sports leagues ✓
4. D only luxury tourism ✓

Urban sprawl contributes to social problems through

1. A compact walkable neighbourhoods always ✓
2. B zero traffic ✓
3. C more farmland in city centres ✓
4. D long commutes, environmental stress and weak community ties ✓

Maternal mortality reflects

1. A only male life expectancy ✓
2. B only urban traffic deaths ✓
3. C deaths related to pregnancy and childbirth ✓
4. D only old-age disease ✓

Ageing population creates social problems of

1. A pension costs, health care demand and elder care ✓
2. B zero elderly people ✓
3. C infinite youth forever ✓
4. D no policy concern ✓

Gender inequality appears in demography as

1. A identical status everywhere ✓
2. B only male illiteracy globally ✓
3. C son preference, unequal education and higher female mortality in some contexts ✓
4. D no fertility difference ✓

Street children in megacities illustrate

1. A universal suburban comfort ✓
2. B family breakdown, poverty and inadequate child protection ✓
3. C zero urban poverty ✓
4. D only rural issues ✓

Child labour is a social problem because

1. A all work builds equal skills ✓
2. B it harms education, health and exploits minors ✓
3. C laws never matter ✓
4. D only affects wealthy families ✓

Slum upgrading programs aim to

1. A demolish all cities ✓
2. B ban migration forever ✓
3. C ignore water supply ✓
4. D improve housing, services and tenure security in informal settlements ✓