AP Human Geography: Population and Migration Patterns and Processes

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering key definitions, demographic measures, models, theories, and migration patterns from Unit 2 of AP Human Geography.

Population Distribution

The pattern of human settlement, highlighting crowded, sparsely settled, or empty areas across the earth.

Midlatitudes

Regions between 30 and 60 degrees north and south of the equator, often preferred for human settlement due to moderate climates and better soils.

Arithmetic Population Density

The most commonly used population density, calculated by dividing a region's total population by its total land area.

Physiological Population Density

A measure calculated by dividing a region's total population by the amount of arable land, indicating pressure on land to produce food and carrying capacity.

Agricultural Population Density

A measure comparing the number of farmers to the area of arable land, reflecting agricultural efficiency and level of development.

Arable Land

Land suitable for growing crops.

Carrying Capacity

The maximum population size that an environment can support without significant environmental deterioration.

Overpopulation

A condition of having more people than a region can support.

Population Composition

The makeup of ages and sexes in a population, which influences culture and economic potential.

Sex Ratio

A comparison of males to females in a population.

Population Pyramid (Age-Sex Composition Graph)

A graphic representation that displays the age and sex structure of a country or area, showing age cohorts on the vertical axis and male/female populations on the horizontal axis.

Cohorts

Age groups used to organize populations in population pyramids.

Birth Deficit

A slowdown of births, often evident in population pyramids as shorter bars for cohorts born during periods of conflict or hardship.

Baby Boom

A significant increase in the birth rate, often occurring after a war or during times of economic abundance.

Baby Bust

A period of lower birth rates following a baby boom, continuing until the baby boomers reach childbearing age.

Echo

A bulge on a population pyramid representing a significant increase in births that reflects children born to an earlier baby boom generation.

Dependency Ratio

A value comparing the economically dependent population (under 15 and over 64) to the potential workforce (15-64).

Potential Workforce

People ages 15-64, considered to be a society's labor force.

Dependent Population

People who are considered too young (under 15) or too old (over 64) to work full-time and rely on the economically active workforce.

Demographic Balancing Equation

A formula used to predict future population: Future population = Current population + (births - deaths) + (immigrants - emigrants).

Crude Birth Rate (CBR)

The number of live births per year for each 1,000 people in a population.

Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

The average number of children who would be born per woman during her childbearing years (15-49).

Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)

The number of children who die before their first birthday per 1,000 live births.

Crude Death Rate (CDR)

The number of deaths per year for each 1,000 people in a population.

Rate of Natural Increase (RNI)

The percentage at which a country's population is growing or declining, calculated as $\frac{\text{CBR} - \text{CDR}}{10}$, excluding migration.

Population Doubling Time

The time it takes for a population to double in size, given a constant growth rate, calculated using the Rule of 70.

Demographic Transition Model (DTM)

A model showing five typical stages of population change that countries experience as they industrialize and modernize, based on birth and death rates.

Demographic Momentum

The tendency for population growth to continue for 20-40 years after fertility rates have declined, due to a large existing young population living longer.

Epidemiological Transition Model (ETM)

A model describing predictable stages in disease and life expectancy that countries experience as they develop, explaining changing death rates and causes of death.

Malthusian Theory

Thomas Malthus's 1798 theory that population grows exponentially while food production grows arithmetically, leading to overpopulation and catastrophe.

Boserup Theory

Ester Boserup's theory that population pressure stimulates invention, leading to increased food production based on the idea that 'necessity is the mother of invention.'

Neo-Malthusians

Modern adherents of Malthusian theory who argue that population growth depletes not only food but also nonrenewable resources and causes widespread pollution.

Anti-natalist Policies

Government programs and policies designed to decrease the number of births and slow population growth.

Pronatalist Policies

Government programs and policies designed to increase fertility rates and encourage population growth.

Migration

The permanent or semi-permanent relocation of people from one place to another.

Voluntary Migration

Movement made by choice, typically in search of a better life.

Forced Migration

Involuntary migration where individuals have no choice but to move due to political events, policies, or environmental crises.

Push Factor

A negative condition or circumstance at a person's current location that compels them to leave.

Pull Factor

A positive condition or circumstance at a destination that attracts migrants.

Kinship Links

Ties with relatives who have already settled in a place, influencing a migrant's choice of destination.

Intervening Obstacles

Barriers that make reaching a desired migration destination more difficult, such as political laws, environmental features, or economic costs.

Intervening Opportunities

Opportunities encountered en route that disrupt a migrant's original plan, causing them to settle in a location prior to their intended destination.

Ravenstein's Laws of Migration

Observations made by German geographer E.G. Ravenstein in the 1880s outlining patterns of human movement, such as short distances, rural-to-urban shifts, and urban destinations.

Distance Decay

The principle that the further apart two places are, the less likely it is that people will migrate or interact between them.

Gravity Model of Migration

A model assuming that the size and distance between two cities or countries dictate migration flows, with larger populations exerting a greater pull that weakens with distance.

Step Migration

A process in which migrants reach their eventual destination through a series of smaller, intermediate moves.

Counter Migration

A movement of people in the opposite direction of a primary migration flow.

Return Migration

Immigrants moving back to their former home country.

Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)

Migrants who are forced to leave their homes and move to another part of the same country without crossing international borders.

Refugee

A person who has crossed an international border to flee persecution, war, or natural disaster.

Asylum

Protection granted by one country to an immigrant from another country who has a legitimate fear of harm or death if they return home.

Transhumance

The seasonal movement of livestock herders with their animals between different pastures.

Chain Migration

A process in which migrants follow relatives or friends who have previously migrated to a new location.

Guest Workers

Transnational migrants who relocate to a new country temporarily to provide labor that is not available locally.

Brain Drain

The emigration of a large number of highly skilled or highly educated people from their home country.

Remittances

Money sent by migrants to family and friends in their country of origin.

Migration Transition Model

Wilbur Zelinsky's theory connecting migration patterns to the Demographic Transition Model, suggesting overcrowding in Stages 2 and 3 pushes migrants to Stages 4 and 5.

Xenophobia

A strong dislike or fear of people from other cultures.

Zero Population Growth (ZPG)

A state in Stage 4 of the DTM where the crude birth rate and crude death rate are equal, resulting in a natural increase rate of zero.

Redistricting

Adjustments to electoral district boundaries based on census data to maintain equal representation and similar numbers of voters per district.