O Level Geography of Pakistan chapter 8: Population and employment MCQs with answers
By Team Megalecture · Updated 4 Nov 2026
55 exam-style questions on Population and employment, each with the answer and a short explanation. Ten of them are below to try. The chapter test draws ten fresh questions each time and is marked the moment you finish, with your score by topic.
Ten Population and employment questions with answers
Try each one, then open the answer. These ten stay the same; the test draws new ones every time.
1. What is meant by the rate of natural increase?
A
the birth rate plus the death rate
B
the number of immigrants minus emigrants
C
the birth rate minus the death rate
D
the total population divided by the area
Show answer
Answer: C. Natural increase is the growth caused by births exceeding deaths, ignoring migration. Population divided by area is density.
2. Which is an example of seasonal migration?
A
herders moving flocks down from high pastures each winter
B
a family moving for good from a village near Multan to Lahore
C
an engineer leaving Pakistan to settle permanently and work in Canada
D
refugees from Afghanistan settling in camps near Peshawar
Show answer
Answer: A. Seasonal migration is a temporary movement repeated each year, such as herders moving with the seasons or workers going to harvest crops. The other movements are permanent or long-term.
3. In Pakistan after 1947, death rates fell quickly but birth rates fell much more slowly. What was the result?
A
rapid population growth
B
a falling population
C
an ageing population with few children
D
a balance between births and deaths
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Answer: A. When deaths fall faster than births, the gap between them (natural increase) widens, so the population grows rapidly. Many developing countries pass through this stage.
4. Many young men leave a village in the Potwar Plateau to work in cities and abroad. What is a likely effect on the village?
A
fewer farm workers, but more income from money sent home
B
a rapid rise in the number of young men living in the village
C
overcrowding in the village school and the village health clinic
D
more new farmland being cleared by young workers
Show answer
Answer: A. Rural depopulation removes young workers, leaving women, children and older people to farm, so some land may be neglected. Remittances, however, can pay for better houses and education.
5. What is a katchi abadi?
A
an unplanned squatter settlement of poorly built homes
B
a planned housing scheme built for government staff
C
a temporary tent camp for people made homeless by floods
D
a rural village abandoned by all of its people
Show answer
Answer: A. Katchi abadis grow up on vacant land in and around cities as migrants build their own homes, often without water, sewers or legal title. Tent cities are temporary camps after disasters.
6. Pakistan has a large proportion of children under 15. What is a likely effect on the economy?
A
large sums must be spent on pensions and care for the elderly
B
the demand for primary school places falls rapidly each year
C
there is an immediate shortage of young workers
D
heavy spending is needed on schools and child health care
Show answer
Answer: D. A young population needs schools, teachers, vaccination and child health services, which is expensive. Spending on pensions is a bigger issue in countries with ageing populations.
7. The population pyramid for a large industrial city shows many more men than women in the 20–39 age groups. What is the most likely reason?
A
far more boys than girls are born in large cities
B
women in cities have a much shorter life expectancy than men
C
many young women emigrate from the city to the Gulf
D
young men move to the city for work and leave families behind
Show answer
Answer: D. Rural–urban migration is selective: mostly young men move to cities for jobs and send money home. This leaves a surplus of working-age men in the city and of women, children and older people in villages.
8. Which worker is best described as skilled labour rather than manual labour?
A
an electrical technician with a diploma
B
a porter carrying luggage at a station
C
a labourer mixing concrete on a site
D
a seasonal worker picking cotton
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Answer: A. Skilled labour means people with qualifications or training, such as professionals, managers and technicians. The other jobs mainly need physical effort rather than formal training.
9. Why are self-help schemes often more successful than moving katchi abadi residents to new flats far from the city?
A
flats far from the city are always cheaper to build and to run
B
self-help schemes need no local organisation or community leaders
C
people stay near their jobs and improve homes they can afford
D
people who are moved away get free transport to work
Show answer
Answer: C. Relocation often fails because people lose access to jobs and cannot afford rents or travel, so many drift back. Self-help schemes build on residents’ own effort and keep them near work.
10. Over the next twenty years, a very large number of young Pakistanis will reach working age. Which statement best evaluates this?
A
it will certainly end poverty because more people will work
B
it could boost growth, but only if enough jobs are created
C
it will cut the need for schools and colleges to zero
D
it will make the dependency ratio rise sharply almost at once
Show answer
Answer: B. A large working-age population can raise output (a ‘demographic dividend’), but without jobs and skills it leads to unemployment. More people entering working age tends to lower, not raise, the dependency ratio.
How many Population and employment MCQs are there?
55, each with the answer and a short explanation, across 4 topics: Population structure and growth, Movements of population, Distribution and density, Employment. Every chapter test draws ten of them, so you can take it many times.
Is the O Level Geography of Pakistan chapter 8 test free?
Yes. The test, the answers and the explanations are free and need no sign-up. Sign in only if you want your scores kept across devices.
How is the chapter test marked?
The moment you press Finish: your score, the right answer and an explanation for every question, and the ones you got wrong saved in My mistakes to retry.
