AP Human Geography: Population Geography and Demographic Transition

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering population geography basics, density measures, population growth and fertility statistics, formulas, and stages of the Demographic Transition Model (DTM).

Site Factors

Physical characteristics of a location, such as climate, landforms, and water supply.

Situation Factors

A location's connections to surrounding places, such as nearby cities, roads, and trade routes.

Distribution

The way people or things are spread across an area.

Density

The number of people or things in a specific area.

Arithmetic Density

Total population divided by total land area ($\text{Total population} \div \text{Total land area}$).

Physiological Density

Total population divided by the amount of arable (farmable) land ($\text{Total population} \div \text{Arable land}$).

Agricultural Density

Number of farmers divided by the amount of arable land ($\text{Number of farmers} \div \text{Arable land}$).

Carrying Capacity

The maximum population an environment can sustainably support with its available resources.

Overpopulation

When a population exceeds the resources available to support it sustainably.

ESPEN

Environmental sustainability, population, and economic development — a framework connecting population, the environment, and development.

Demography

The statistical study of human populations, including births, deaths, and migration.

Population Pyramids

Graphs showing a population's age and sex structure.

Dependency Ratio

The number of dependents (usually ages $0-14$ and $65+$) compared with the working-age population (usually ages $15-64$).

Sex Ratio

The number of males compared with females in a population, often expressed as males per $100$ females.

Life Expectancy at Birth

The average number of years a newborn is expected to live under current mortality conditions.

Crude Birth Rate (CBR)

Number of live births per $1{,}000$ people per year.

Crude Death Rate (CDR)

Number of deaths per $1{,}000$ people per year.

Natural Increase Rate (NIR)

Population growth rate from births minus deaths, excluding migration ($\text{NIR} = \text{CBR} - \text{CDR}$; when expressed as a percentage, divide the difference by $10$).

Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)

Number of deaths of infants under age one per $1{,}000$ live births per year.

Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

Average number of children a woman is expected to have during her lifetime.

Replacement Rate

Fertility rate needed for a population to replace itself from one generation to the next, about $2.1$ children per woman in many developed countries.

Doubling Time

Number of years it takes a population to double in size at its current growth rate, calculated approximately as $\text{Doubling time} \approx 70 \div \text{annual growth rate}$ (as a percentage).

Demographic Transition Model (DTM)

Model showing how birth and death rates change as a country develops economically.

Stage 1: Low Growth (DTM)

High birth rates and high death rates keep population growth low.

Stage 2: High Growth (DTM)

Death rates fall while birth rates stay high, causing rapid population growth.

Stage 3: Moderate Growth (DTM)

Birth rates fall, death rates remain low, and population growth slows.

Stage 4: Low Growth (DTM)

Both birth and death rates are low, resulting in slow or stable population growth.