• 86 questions

AP Human Geography Population and Migration Practice Test

Unofficial multiple-choice practice for Unit 2 of AP Human Geography, Population and Migration Patterns and Processes.

A country has 50 million people and 250,000 square kilometers of land. What is its arithmetic density?

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the College Board. Bank checked October 11, 2026.

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All 86 questions

Topics 2.1 and 2.2: Distribution and density 13

  • A country has 50 million people and 250,000 square kilometers of land. What is its arithmetic density? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 2.10, "Key Terms Defined"; course topic 2.1
  • A desert country has a low arithmetic density and a very high physiological density. What explains the gap? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 2.6, "Measuring the Impact of Population"; course topic 2.1
  • A map by state shows a country's people spread fairly evenly. A map of one state by county shows most of its people in two cities. What does the pair of maps show? AP Human Geography Course and Exam Description, essential knowledge PSO-2.A.2; course topic 2.1
  • A thinly settled region has one hospital for an area the size of a small country. Which consequence of population distribution does this show? AP Human Geography Course and Exam Description, essential knowledge PSO-2.D.1; course topic 2.2
  • By the textbook's definition, when is a place overpopulated? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 2.3, "Population and Development"; course topic 2.2
Show all 86 questions (81 more)

Topics 2.1 and 2.2: Distribution and density, continued

  • The course description sorts the influences on where people live into physical and human factors. Which of these is a human factor? AP Human Geography Course and Exam Description, essential knowledge PSO-2.A.1; course topic 2.1
  • Irrigation and improved seeds let a valley feed twice as many people as it did a century ago. What has changed? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 2.6, "Measuring the Impact of Population"; course topic 2.2
  • Physiological density divides a country's population by which area? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 2.6, "Measuring the Impact of Population"; course topic 2.1
  • Two countries have the same physiological density, but the first has a far higher agricultural density. What does this suggest about the first? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 2.6, "Measuring the Impact of Population"; course topic 2.1
  • The United Kingdom has not grown enough food to feed itself for over a century, yet it is not called overpopulated. Why, according to the textbook? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 2.2, "Thinking about Population"; course topic 2.2
  • What did the ancient Greeks call the habitable part of the Earth, a word geographers still use? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 2.2, "Thinking about Population"; course topic 2.1
  • Which measure of density counts only farmers on each unit of arable land? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 2.10, "Key Terms Defined"; course topic 2.1
  • Which measure shows how much pressure a population puts on the farmland it has? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 2.6, "Measuring the Impact of Population"; course topic 2.1

Topics 2.3 and 2.4: Composition and dynamics 14

  • A country had 20 million people in 1990 and 40 million in 2025. What do the 35 years measure? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 2.10, "Key Terms Defined"; course topic 2.4
  • A country's sex ratio is given as 105. How is that read? Population Reference Bureau, Glossary of Demographic Terms, "Sex Ratio"; course topic 2.3
  • A demographer speaks of the cohort aged 20 to 24 in a country. What is a cohort? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 2.10, "Key Terms Defined"; course topic 2.3
  • A maker of baby strollers studies a country's population pyramid before opening stores there. Which use of the pyramid is this? AP Human Geography Course and Exam Description, essential knowledge PSO-2.F.1; course topic 2.3
  • A population has a growth rate of zero. By the glossary's definition of zero population growth, which two sums are equal? Population Reference Bureau, Glossary of Demographic Terms, "Zero Population Growth"; course topic 2.4
  • A population pyramid has a wide base and narrows quickly toward the top. What does the shape indicate? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 2.4, "Population Is Dynamic"; course topic 2.3
  • A population pyramid looks like a column, with bars of about equal length from childhood to late middle age. What kind of population is it? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 2.4, "Population Is Dynamic"; course topic 2.3
  • A rich country with good hospitals has a higher crude death rate than a much poorer country. What is the most likely reason? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 2.4, "Population Is Dynamic"; course topic 2.4
  • In a preindustrial society, what economic part do children play, by the textbook? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 2.2, "Thinking about Population"; course topic 2.4
  • The United States has fertility below replacement level, yet its population keeps growing. What does the textbook credit? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 2.4, "Population Is Dynamic"; course topic 2.4
  • What is the natural human sex ratio at birth, worldwide? Wikipedia, "Human sex ratio"; course topic 2.3
  • Which country should expect population momentum to keep it growing for decades? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 2.4, "Population Is Dynamic"; course topic 2.4
  • Which statistic does the textbook call a near-universal sign of underdevelopment? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 2.4, "Population Is Dynamic"; course topic 2.4
  • Which three demographic factors decide whether a place's population grows or declines? AP Human Geography Course and Exam Description, essential knowledge IMP-2.A.1; course topic 2.4

Topics 2.5 and 2.6: Demographic transition and Malthus 14

  • A country had very large families a generation ago. Why does it now send many emigrants abroad? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 3.4, "Demographic Transition, Migration and Political Policy"; course topic 2.5
  • At which point of the demographic transition do countries tend to send out the most emigrants? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 3.4, "Demographic Transition, Migration and Political Policy"; course topic 2.5
  • Books of the middle and late 1900s warned that unchecked population growth would bring mass starvation. What are such writings called? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 2.2, "Thinking about Population"; course topic 2.6
  • Clean water, sanitation and medical care reach a society, while families stay as large as before. Which stage of the demographic transition model is this? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 2.5, "The Demographic Transition"; course topic 2.5
  • The demographic transition model tracks birth and death rates. What does the epidemiological transition track? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 2.8, "Geography of Health"; course topic 2.5
  • The epidemiological transition was first set out in 1971 in three phases. Which phase comes last? Wikipedia, "Epidemiological transition"; course topic 2.5
  • How does Stage Four of the demographic transition model compare with Stage One? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 2.5, "The Demographic Transition"; course topic 2.5
  • In one country most deaths come from cancer, diabetes and heart disease in old age. In another, infectious disease and deaths of infants lead. What separates the two? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 2.8, "Geography of Health"; course topic 2.5
  • Karl Marx took issue with Malthus. What did Marx blame when a population could not feed itself? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 2.2, "Thinking about Population"; course topic 2.6
  • The Population Reference Bureau's glossary sums up Malthus's theory. Which of these did he name as a way to control fertility? Population Reference Bureau, Glossary of Demographic Terms, "Malthus, Thomas R."; course topic 2.6
  • What marks Stage Three of the demographic transition model? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 2.5, "The Demographic Transition"; course topic 2.5
  • Which assumption behind Neo-Malthusian forecasts of famine has proved wrong so far, according to the textbook? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 2.2, "Thinking about Population"; course topic 2.6
  • Which thinker drew nearly the opposite conclusion from Malthus, holding that human ingenuity would keep ahead of demand for food? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 2.2, "Thinking about Population"; course topic 2.6
  • Why is the population of a pre-modern society, Stage One of the model, low and stable? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 2.5, "The Demographic Transition"; course topic 2.5

Topics 2.7 to 2.9: Policies, women and aging 15

  • A country's dependency ratio rises as its share of people over 65 grows. What is the likely effect on its workers? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 2.4, "Population Is Dynamic"; course topic 2.9
  • A government learns that its dependency ratio is shifting from children toward the elderly. Which need will grow? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 2.4, "Population Is Dynamic"; course topic 2.9
  • A government limits most couples to one child and fines those who have more. What kind of policy is this? Population Reference Bureau, Glossary of Demographic Terms, "Antinatalist Policy"; course topic 2.7
  • A government pays a cash bonus for each birth and lengthens paid parental leave, hoping to raise its birth rate. What kind of policy is this? Population Reference Bureau, Glossary of Demographic Terms, "Pronatalist Policy"; course topic 2.7
  • A population policy, as demographers define it, can aim to influence a population's size and growth. What else? Population Reference Bureau, Glossary of Demographic Terms, "Population Policy"; course topic 2.7
  • According to the course description, wider access to which four things has reduced fertility in most parts of the world? AP Human Geography Course and Exam Description, essential knowledge SPS-2.B.1; course topic 2.8
  • Australia, Canada and New Zealand score would-be immigrants on skills, language and education. What is this kind of immigration policy called? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 3.2, "Definitions and Data"; course topic 2.7
  • By the textbook, which change makes birth rates fall dramatically as a society industrializes? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 2.2, "Thinking about Population"; course topic 2.8
  • By the United Nations' projection, when will people aged 65 and older outnumber children under 18 worldwide? United Nations, Global Issues, "Ageing"; course topic 2.9
  • China's one-child policy, in force between 1979 and 2015, restricted many families to a single child. What was it meant to do? Wikipedia, "One-child policy"; course topic 2.7
  • Ravenstein wrote in 1885 that females migrate more than males. What does the textbook say of this law for international moves in 2018? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 3.2, "Definitions and Data"; course topic 2.8
  • What share of the world's international migrants are female, by the United Nations' figure? United Nations, Global Issues, "International Migration"; course topic 2.8
  • Which ages count as dependent in the dependency ratio? Population Reference Bureau, Glossary of Demographic Terms, "Dependency Ratio"; course topic 2.9
  • Which pair of trends makes a population age? Population Reference Bureau, Glossary of Demographic Terms, "Aging of Population"; course topic 2.9
  • Why does the textbook expect Germany, Italy, Russia and Japan to draw more immigrants in the years ahead? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 3.6, "The Future of Human Movement"; course topic 2.9

Topics 2.10 and 2.11: Causes and kinds of migration 21

  • A country admits foreigners to do a particular kind of work for a set time, without permanent legal status. What are they called? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 3.7, "Key Terms Defined"; course topic 2.11
  • A family flees a civil war and settles in another province of its own country. What is the family's status? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 3.7, "Key Terms Defined"; course topic 2.11
  • A family has members in two countries, speaks both languages and moves back and forth as work allows. What does it illustrate? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 3.5, "Culture, Globalization and Economics of Migration"; course topic 2.11
  • A family sets out for a distant capital city and is stopped at a closed border on the way. In the terms of the course description, what is the closed border? AP Human Geography Course and Exam Description, essential knowledge IMP-2.C.2; course topic 2.10
  • A hurricane destroys homes and jobs on an island, and hundreds of thousands of residents leave. What kind of factor is the hurricane? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 3.4, "Demographic Transition, Migration and Political Policy"; course topic 2.10
  • A woman crosses a border and asks the new country to recognize that she faces persecution at home. No decision has been made. What is she? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 3.4, "Demographic Transition, Migration and Political Policy"; course topic 2.11
  • A woman leaves Peru to live in Spain. How does each country count her? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 3.2, "Definitions and Data"; course topic 2.11
  • About how many Africans were loaded onto slave ships bound for the Americas in the Atlantic slave trade, by current estimate? Wikipedia, "Atlantic slave trade"; course topic 2.11
  • By Ravenstein's laws of migration, how far do most migrants move? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 3.2, "Definitions and Data"; course topic 2.10
  • By the law of intervening opportunities, what reduces the number of migrants who travel a given distance? Wikipedia, "Intervening opportunity"; course topic 2.10
  • Close to 200 million people have moved from China's interior to seek work in its eastern cities. Which kinds of voluntary migration is this? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 3.3, "Global, National, Regional and Local Patterns"; course topic 2.11
  • Factory jobs in coastal cities pay several times what a farmer earns inland, and farmers move to the coast. What are the factory wages? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 3.7, "Key Terms Defined"; course topic 2.10
  • In one year 80,000 people move into a country and 110,000 move out. What is its net migration? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 3.2, "Definitions and Data"; course topic 2.11
  • Members of a faith move to a region where their faith is already strong. Which kind of pull factor is at work? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 3.4, "Demographic Transition, Migration and Political Policy"; course topic 2.10
  • Up to one quarter of the Europeans who moved to the United States in the late 1800s later went back to Europe. What is this flow called? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 3.2, "Definitions and Data"; course topic 2.11
  • Wages are higher in the big city, yet many rural people do not leave. What does the textbook say holds them? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 3.2, "Definitions and Data"; course topic 2.10
  • What did Ravenstein name as the main reason people migrate? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 3.2, "Definitions and Data"; course topic 2.10
  • What protection does refugee status give under international agreement? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 3.4, "Demographic Transition, Migration and Political Policy"; course topic 2.11
  • Which age group makes up most international migrants? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 3.4, "Demographic Transition, Migration and Political Policy"; course topic 2.10
  • Which of these movements is forced, not voluntary, in the lists of the course description? AP Human Geography Course and Exam Description, essential knowledge IMP-2.D.1; course topic 2.11
  • Workers stream from a rural province to the capital, and a smaller stream of people moves from the capital back to the province. Which of Ravenstein's laws does the second stream fit? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 3.2, "Definitions and Data"; course topic 2.10

Topic 2.12: Effects of migration 9

  • A nurse working abroad wires part of each paycheck to her parents in her home country. What is the money called? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 3.4, "Demographic Transition, Migration and Political Policy"; course topic 2.12
  • A poor country trains doctors, and many of them leave for better-paid posts in rich countries. What is the loss to the home country called? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 3.7, "Key Terms Defined"; course topic 2.12
  • According to the United Nations, what share of the world's people are international migrants? United Nations, Global Issues, "International Migration"; course topic 2.12
  • An engineer with a foreign degree drives a taxi because employers in her new country do not recognize the degree. What is this called? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 3.2, "Definitions and Data"; course topic 2.12
  • How do remittances affect the countries that send workers abroad, by the textbook? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 3.4, "Demographic Transition, Migration and Political Policy"; course topic 2.12
  • People who share a historical and ethnic tie to a homeland but no longer live there, some for generations, form what? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 3.7, "Key Terms Defined"; course topic 2.12
  • What can heavy emigration do to the places that migrants leave? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 2.1, "Introduction"; course topic 2.12
  • What general pattern do geographers find in global migration? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 3.2, "Definitions and Data"; course topic 2.12
  • Which economic effect of immigration on a receiving country does the textbook report? Dorrell and Henderson, Introduction to Human Geography (University of North Georgia Press, open textbook), section 3.4, "Demographic Transition, Migration and Political Policy"; course topic 2.12

How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to Unit 2 (Population and Migration Patterns and Processes) of the College Board's AP Human Geography Course and Exam Description, effective fall 2020, https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/ap-human-geography-course-and-exam-description.pdf, read 2026-10-11. Each fact was read on 2026-10-11 in the public page named under its question: an open college textbook of human geography (Dorrell and Henderson, University of North Georgia Press, on LibreTexts), the Population Reference Bureau's glossary of demographic terms, the United Nations' Global Issues pages, the essential knowledge statements of the course description, and Wikipedia. Licence: Own work. Short quotations from the public documents named under each question.

How it works

This AP Human Geography population and migration practice test has 86 questions of our own on Unit 2, Population and Migration Patterns and Processes. It is unofficial; the College Board, owner of AP, has no part in it.

Read the full guide

What Unit 2 covers

The College Board's course description, effective fall 2020 and read October 11, 2026, gives Unit 2 twelve topics and no weights among them, so the spread is ours: distribution and density (13 questions), composition and dynamics (14), the demographic transition and Malthus (14), policies, women and aging (15), causes and kinds of migration (21) and effects of migration (9).

Sources you can open

Definitions come from an open college textbook, Dorrell and Henderson's Introduction to Human Geography, and from the Population Reference Bureau's glossary. World counts come from the United Nations. A few answers cite the course description or a Wikipedia article.

  • Three densities, three sums: arithmetic divides people by all land, physiological by farmland, and agricultural counts only farmers on farmland.
  • Place a country on the demographic transition by which rate has fallen: deaths fall first, births later.
  • Sort every move twice: forced or voluntary, and across a border or within one.

Questions and answers

What is Unit 2 of AP Human Geography?

Population and Migration Patterns and Processes: twelve topics, from population distribution and density through the demographic transition model, Malthusian theory and population policies to the causes, kinds and effects of migration.

How much of the AP Human Geography exam is Unit 2?

Between 12 and 17%, by the exam weighting in the College Board's course description. Units 3 to 7 carry the same range, and Unit 1 carries 8 to 10%.

Is there an AP Human Geography population practice test without migration?

Yes, within this page. The first four sets in the topic list hold population only: 56 questions on density, pyramids, the demographic transition, Malthus, policies and aging.

Does this APHG practice test cover migration as well as population?

Yes, both halves of the unit. Thirty questions are on migration: push and pull factors, Ravenstein's laws, refugees and internally displaced people, guest workers, remittances, brain drain and diasporas. APHG is short for AP Human Geography.

Are these real AP Human Geography exam questions?

No. The College Board owns the real questions, and none appears here, even in other words. Every question was written for this page from the Unit 2 topic list.

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