AP Human Geography Unit 2: Population and Migration

Spatial Mobility

refers to all forms of geographical movement, including people’s everyday commuting and travels.

Social (upward) Mobility

a change in socioeconomic status. An employee who gets promoted to a managerial position is a good example of upward social mobility, sometimes called “climbing the social ladder.”

Migration

the long-term or permanent relocation of individuals, families, or entire communities from one place to another

Migrant or Mover

a person who migrates

Non-Migrants or Stayers

people who do not migrate/move

Origin

the person’s location before migration

Destination

place to which migrant is going

Out-migration/ Emigration

The act of leaving one’s place of origin

In - Migration/ Immigration

The act of arriving to a migrant’'s destination

What is the difference between Out and In Migration and Immigration and Emigration?

Immigration and Emigration are international.

Migration Stream

All the migrants from an origin to a destination

Counterstream

those moving in the opposite direction of a migration stream

Net - Migration

the difference between the number of in-migrants and out-migrants. That number is positive when more people move into a place than out of it, leading to an increase in population. Net migration is negative when more people move out of a place than into it, leading to a net loss in population. Net migration therefore can indicate how big of an impact migration has on population distribution.

Net Migration Rate

Dividing NM by total population and then multiplying by 1000

What are Ravenstein’s 11 Laws of Migration

Migration and distance, Migration by stages, Long-distance migration, Stream and Counter stream, Urban - rural difference, Gender difference, Migrant characteristics, Migration and urban growth, Migration volume over time, Migration direction, and Migration motive.

Migration and distance

Most migrants move only a short distance.

Migration by stages

Migration proceeds geographically in a step-by-step fashion. Residents near a growing town may move to it. The gaps they leave behind are filled up by migrants from more remote locations. This goes on until the most remote corners of a country are reached.

Long - distance migration

Long-distance migrants generally move to one of the great centers of commerce and industry.

Stream and counterstream

Each main stream of migration produces a compensating counterstream.

Urban - rural difference

Urban dwellers are less migratory than rural people.

Gender difference

Women are more migratory than men within the country of their birth, but men more frequently venture beyond their country of birth.

Migrant Characteristics

Most migrants are adults, and families seldom move out of their country of birth.

Migration and urban growth

Large towns grow more by migration than by natural increase. (Recall that there is a natural increase in a country’s population when births exceed deaths.)

Migration volume over time

The volume of migration increases as industries and commerce develop and as transportation improves.

Migration direction

The major direction of migration is from agricultural areas to centers of industry and commerce.

Migration motive

Economic factors are the major cause of migration.

Which one of Ravenstein’s laws is and wasn’t true?

the 5th one: Urban - rural difference

Migration Age Profile/Schedule

stable relationship between migration and age across different countries. is shaped by important transition points in people’s lives, such as going to college, getting a full-time job, getting married, and retiring.

Brain Drain

Emigration, when people leave a country , therefore “losing” brain power

Brain Gain

places that receive migrants and therefore reap their creativity, skills, and experience.

Push-pull theory of migration

two contrasting sets of factors are at work in migration decisions

Push Factors

conditions that cause people to be dissatisfied with their present location and make them want to move somewhere else.

Pull Factors

the attributes of other places that make them appealing to potential migrants. Or factors that make them want to stay in a place,

What are the main pull factors?

Economic Opportunities/ Employment, Climate and Physical Amenities, and High Standards of Living and Better Housing.

Intervening Obstacles

The complications that potential migrants will need to overcome to reach their destination, like distance, legal environment (restrictions to migration), and inertia.

Inertia

The tendency of individuals to remain in their current situation due to various factors, such as comfort or resistance to change.

Intervening Opportunity

A favorable circumstance that can arise during migration, allowing individuals to stop en route to their final destination, often due to better economic prospects or social connections.

Voluntary Migration

migration that is done willingly. Voluntary migrants have made the choice to move because they want to, not because they have been forced to.

What are the 6 types of Voluntary Migration?

international migration, internal migration, step migration, chain migration, return migration, and seasonal migration.

International Migration (type of Voluntary)

When people cross national borders to live in another country

Guest Worker

a person with temporary permission to work in another country

Transnational Migration

some migrants move back and forth between their home countries and those to which they have migrated, or maintaining strong connections to their homeland. OR crossing borders when migrating. Country to country

Internal Migration or Interregional (type of Voluntary)

Migration within a country’s borders is

Residential Mobility

moves that occur within a metropolitan area. These moves often involve changes in residence but not necessarily jobs.

Step Migration (type of voluntary)

migration carried out in a series of stages.This type of migration involves moving from a rural area to a city in multiple steps, gradually progressing to larger urban centers.

Chain Migration (type of voluntary)

the process by which some people’s migration to a new place leads their family members, friends, and others to move to the same place.

Return Migration (type of voluntary)

migrants going back, or returning, to their previous place of residence or origin after living elsewhere.

Seasonal Migration (type of voluntary)

migration based on the time of year.

transhumance

the seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures, often involving the migration of herders with their animals.

Mobility Transition

As a country develops, the major types of migration that occurs will also change

What are the 5 types of Migration?

(1) movement toward the agricultural frontier, or newly developed agricultural areas; (2) rural-urban migration; (3) urban-urban or intra-urban migration; (4) circulation, or short-term and cyclical movement that occurs repeatedly on a regular basis; and (5) international migration.

Which type of voluntary Migration are the 1st 4 types of Migration considered as?

Internal Migration

What is the Mobility Transition Model

A model that describes how migration patterns change as a country undergoes economic and social development.

What are the 5 stages of the MTM?

Premodern traditional societies, Early Transitional societies, Late Transitional societies, Advanced societies, and Super advanced societies.

Premodern Traditional societies

This stage corresponds to the earliest stage of the demographic transition. Little migration occurs. If people do move, they usually move from village to village.

Early Transitional societies

This stage is characterized by increased circulation and by large-scale rural-urban migration, migration to agricultural frontiers, and emigration.

Late transitional societies

Emigration, migration to agricultural frontiers, and rural-urban migration decrease, but circulation continues to increase.

Advanced Societies

The amount of international migration varies. There is significant inter- and intra-urban mobility (inter- here means “between or among,” and intra- means “within”), with continued high circulation and lower rural-urban and frontier migration. Some people may move to rural areas from urban areas.

Super Advanced societies

Zelinsky predicted the rise of superadvanced societies in the future. These societies will have less residential mobility as advances in communication and delivery systems make physical movement unnecessary. Urban-urban and intra-urban migration will be common. Immigration by low- and semi-skilled workers may continue.

Forced Migration

when disasters, social conflicts, or development projects compel people to leave their homes.

Refugees

people who leave their country because of persecution based on race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, or political opinion.

How do you qualify as a Refugee?

the person must have crossed an international boundary. Otherwise, they are designated as an internally displaced person (IDP).

Internally Displaced Person

Someone who has been forced to leave home because of conflict, disasters, or persecution but stays inside the same country

Asylum Seekers

people who have left their country and are seeking protection from persecution and human rights violations in another country but have not yet been legally recognized as refugees.

Ethnic Cleansing

the forced removal of one ethnic group by another ethnic group to create an ethnically uniform territory. In order to achieve their purpose, dominant groups sometimes commit genocide — violence against members of a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, often intentionally killing a large number of them.

Repatriated

returned to their home country.

Demographic Effects of Migration

Migration changes a place's population size through net migration, alters its composition by age, sex, and education, and contributes to ethnic diversity and cultural regions.

Economic Effects of Migration

Migration impacts economies by improving migrant incomes, shifting labor supply and wages, and facilitating significant remittances to home countries. It can cause 'brain drain' and reduced property values in origin areas, while destination areas benefit from increased labor, demand, and rising property values.

Remittances

money that migrants send back to their home country, often to support family or community members, impacting the local economy.

Political Effects of Migration

Migration influences politics both internationally and nationally by altering cultural identities, causing social and political tensions, and shifting electoral outcomes and representation (e.g., changes in House seats due to internal migration affecting voting patterns).

Social Effects of Migration

Migration spreads culture, ideas, and sometimes diseases. It can either bring people together (social cohesion) or create conflicts and tensions within a society, often influencing debates about identity and belonging.

Diaspora

voluntary or involuntary mass dispersions of a population from its home territories.

Diaspora Cultures

Cultures formed by populations dispersed from their homelands, often due to conflicts or forced migration. These groups often face the challenge of establishing a coherent identity in new territories while maintaining ties to their origins.

Antinatalist Policies

Policies that aim to REDUCE population growth by lowering fertility rates. (ex. China’s one child policy)

What was China like before the One Child Policy?

high growth rates, and their culture taught them that having big families was good, so when someone proposed the policy they were condemned. Chinese women on average had more than 6 children.

What was China like after the One Child Policy?

people had to pledge to have only one child, and the government had to approve of you having a child. The fertility rate dropped form 5.44 to 1.2.

Consequences of China’s One Child Policy

Changed family structure, Unbalanced Sex Ratios, and an Aging Population

Changed Family Structure(consequence of one child policy)

4-2-1 4 grandparents, 2 parents and one child. This will create a heavy burden on these children having to care for 6 people. Parents and grandparents will also be hurt more if that child is hurt or dies. Also, children now have no siblings, cousins, aunts or uncl

Unbalanced Sex Ratios (consequence of one child policy)

It is culturally desired to have a male child over a female. So when couples could only have one kid they obviously wanted a boy. Some couples bribed their doctors into telling them the gender of the baby (wasn’t allowed) and if it was a girl they aborted it. Or when they had the kid they abandoned the girl, leading to higher number of female orphans. This created an unbalanced, with a LOT more boys than girls. It was harder for men to find spouses, and this led to more human trafficking and violence against women. This was called China’s demographic time bomb.

An Aging Population (consequence of one child policy)

China was aging faster than it developed, so the government has implemented a social security system and built retirement homes and assisted living centers.

The End of China’s One Child Policy

China relaxed the policy to 2 children at first having some exceptions only if your first child had a birth defect or you were an only child yourself, but when they saw it wasn’t working they increased it to 3 children. Now they are trying to boost fertility rates.

What other antinatalist policies are there?

Egypt “2 is enough” and India Forced Sterilization

Egypt “2 is Enough”

pomised to pay women as long as they didn’t give birth to a 3rd child.

India Forced Sterilization

National emergency, and started anti natalist policy. Very strict, like forced sterilization. Many died, and many riots occurred. Finally it stopped when the country was no longer in an “emergency.”

Pronatalist policies

designed to boost fertility rates and ultimately population growth.

What are the challenges of a shrinking population?

labor force shortages, changing demands for goods and services, reduced capacity for innovation due to fewer younger people, high dependency ratios, and the rapidly rising cost of retirement and medical expenditures. It could even threaten national power and security.

Women’s Status

position in society

Women’s empowerment

women’s freedom to make choices and shape their lives

Aging Population

the population of a country or place ages as the number or proportion of its elderly people increases.

What are the 2 ways to measure population aging?

Median age and Percenage of people who are at last 65 years old

Median Age

the age that divides a population into two halves so that one half is younger than this age and the other half is older.

Percentage of People Who Are at Least 65 Years Old

the proportion of a population that is aged 65 years or older, often used as an indicator of an aging population. If elderly is over 20% of population it is then super-aged

Age-Selective Migration

the process by which individuals of certain age groups move into or out of an area, affecting the demographic structure.

What are the 4 consequences of an aging population?

labor force shortage, a rising elderly dependency ratio, a changing economy, and population decline

what is the Japanese term for “lonely death”?

kodokushi

Population Distribution

how humans are spread out on Earth’s surface and the patterns shown.

Ecumene

the portion of Earth’s surface with permanent human settlement (from a Greek word meaning the inhabited world).

4 Population Clusters

South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Europe

South Asia

the largest of the four population clusters, is home to nearly one-quarter of the world’s people.Has rivers that are densely populated and has metacities and megacities. Has the lowest urbanization levels.

Metacities

Cities with more than 20 million residents