Demography
the statistical study of human populations
Ecumene
the regions of the world that are permanently inhabited
Characteristics of the Ecumene
near an ocean
near a river w/ access to the ocean
in low-lying areas
areas of fertile soil
areas w/ temperate climates
Characteristics of the non-Ecumene
dry lands (30 degrees N & S)
wet lands (0-20 degrees N & S)
cold lands (too far N & S)
high lands (mountains)
5 Major Population Concentrations
East Asia
Southeast Asia
South Asia
Western Europe
Northeastern United States
Arable land
land that can be used for agriculture
Political Consequences of Dense Population
civil war
political upheaval
rise of dictators
political corruption
lack of freedom/democracy
Economic Consequences of Dense Population
poverty
high levels of crime
low paying jobs
lack of jobs
difficulty fulfilling basic needs
hard to raise children & have high standard of living
Social Consequences of Dense Population
many uneducated
females often have a lower status
jobs require manual labor & long hours
hunger is common
lack of healthcare
large family sizes
Environmental Consequences of Dense Population
air, water, physical pollution
depletion of natural resources
poor sanitation
destruction of farmland/natural areas
Carrying capacity
the maximum number of people an area can support without environmental degradation
Population pyramid
a graphical illustration that shows the distribution of various age groups in population
Traits
males always on the left, females on the right
division from 0-90 years
*wider the base = more children being born
Sex ratio
proportion of males to females in a given population, usually expressed as the # of males per 100 females
Age distribution
the percentage of the total population at each age level
Baby boom
a significant/rapid increase in the birth rate (Ex: in the U.S. following WWII)
Baby boom echo
the children of a baby boom population, creating a secondary bulge in the population pyramid
Dependency ratio
the number of dependents per each 100 people in their productive years
Dependent
someone who relies on another physically/financially
What are the 2 ways population can grow?
more births than deaths
positive net migration
Fertility
factors that affect reproduction
Crude birth rate (CBR)
the total number of live births per 1000 in a society over a 1 year period
MDCs → low
LDCs → low status of women = high
highest in Sub-Saharan Africa
Total fertility rate (TFR)
the average # of children a woman will have through her childbearing years
MDCs → low
Mortality
factors that affect the number of deaths in a population
Crude death rate (CDR)
the total number of deaths per 1000 in a society over a 1-year period
Europe → high; lots of old people
Sub-Saharan Africa → high
Afghanistan → high
Infant mortality rate (IMR)
the number of infants born alive, but die within their 1st year of life, divided by the total number of live births
Africa & Afghanistan → high
U.S. → not universal healthcare = high
Maternal mortality rate
the number of women who die from birth related causes per 100,000 live births
Africa & South Asia → highest
Natural increase rate (NIR)
the difference between CBR & CDR (not including migration)
NIger → highest (3.78%)
Bulgaria → lowest (-2.79%)
Population doubling tune
the number of years that a current population will take to double in size if growth rates remain constant
Rule of 70: used to calculate doubling time; divide 70 by the growth rate
Overpopulation = want high doubling times
Malthusian Theory
Made by Thomas Malthus, right around the Industrial Revolution
Theory:
Population grows exponentially/geometrically
Food supplies increase arithmetically/linearly
Population grows faster than food supply because opposite genders will always be attracted to each other & humankind needs food
Natural checks on population = a decrease (poverty, famine, warfare)
Life expectancy
the average age of death in a population, based on current conditions
Replacement rate
the average number of children necessary to maintain zero population growth
Sub-Saharan Africa → quite high because not a lot of children survive
Population explosion
the rapid increase in the world’s population due to an increasing birth rate, a decrease in infant mortality, & and an increase in life expectancy
Human J-Curve
a graph of human population growth, usually of the past 2,000 years, showing exponential growth in the last 300 years
Overpopulation
too many people compared to resources; population exceeds the carrying capacity of the land
Problems (Malthus’ Checks on Population)
overcrowding
lack of adequate shelter
lack of water
famine
warfare over resources
Neo-Malthusians
contemporary believers that believe overpopulation is a huge global problem & we need zero population growth
Why was Malthus wrong?
He didn’t know that England’s growing population would migrate to colonies, increasing the amount of land dedicated to farming
New farming practices/technology = food has surpassed global population (though it’s not evenly distributed)
How do some criticize Malthus?
believe that high birthrates are better (more brains to solve issues, make new inventions/businesses, & provide goods/services)
*growing economies need growing populations
What are the social, political, & economic factors that influence population growth rates?
lack of contraceptives
lack of knowledge about birth control methods
need for labor
elder care
high IMR (more kids as compensation)
religious beliefs
preference for sons
Anti-Natalist policies
government policies that seek to discourage births
used in LDCs (Ex: China, Singapore) w/ high birth/population rates
Examples:
education on family planning
government provided birth control
propaganda
positive/negative incentives
laws forbidding larger families
forced sterilizations
*Raising the status of women = most effective method of reducing birth rates
Pro-Natalist Policies
government policies that seek to discourage births
used in MDCs (done with the demographic transition, low birth rates, & negative growth rates)
Ex: Russia, Canada, Singapore (after 1981)
*Women have high status = less kids; not enough children to replace elders; slow economy
Examples:
ensuring paid maternity/paternity leave off of work
free daycare & education
reduced taxes per child (U.S. → Child Tax Credit)
Migration
a permanent/semi-permanent move from one location to another
Migrant
a person who moves from one location to another
Immigrant
a person arriving to a new location
Emigrant
a person leaving their current location
Net migration
add the number of immigrants, subtract the number of emigrants to the population
Positive net migration (net-in)
the # of immigrants exceeds the # of emigrants (more people coming in)
Negative net migration (net-out)
the # of emigrants exceeds the # of immigrants (more people coming out)
Inter-__ migration
from one place to another (international, interstate, interregional)
Intra-__ migration
within a place (intra-national, intra-state, intra-regional)
Rural to urban migration
movement from rural farmland to cities
occurs in the 2nd Stage of Migration
=s urbanization
interregional migration
Suburbanization
movement from inner city to the outskirts of the city
occurs in 3rd & 4th Demographic Transition stages
urban to suburban
What’s the number 1 reason for migration?
job opportunities/economic reasons in general
Push factors
traits in the current location that make people want to leave their home
(chest list for examples)R
Pull factors
positive traits that draw people to a new location
(check list for examples)
Ravenstein’s Laws of Migration
most migration is over a short distance
migration occurs in steps
long-range migrants usually move to urban areas
counter migration → each migration produces a movement in the opposite direction (although not necessarily the same volume)
rural to urban migration → rural dwellers are more migratory than urban dwellers
within each country, females are more migratory; males are more migratory over long distances
most migrants are adults
large towns grow more by migration than by natural increase
migration increases with economic development
migration is mostly due to economic causes
Forced migration
migration in which an element of coercion exists, including threats to life/livelihood, whether arising from natural or man made causes
(Ex: floods, hurricanes, persecution, slavery)
Reluctant relocation
migration in which people are not forced to leave, but feel it’s necessary due to poor conditions at home
Refugee
a person who has been forced to leave their country to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster
usually warfare
hope to return
often women, elderly, or children
Most Come From: Colombia, Venezuela, Afghanistan, East Africa, Syria
Most Go To: U.S., Turkey, & Lebanon
Internally displaced persons
someone forced to flee their home but remains within their country’s borders
Top Countries: Pakistan, Syria, Iraq, South Sudan
Asylum seeker
someone who is seeking international protection, but whose claim for refugee status has not yet been decided
held in detainment camps & sent back if found for economic opportunity
Voluntary migration
based on one’s free will & initiative, moving for a variety of reasons, looking at the push/pull factors before making a decision
Transnational migration
movement & settlement across international borders in which individuals maintain/build multiple networks of connection to their country of origin while at the same time settling in a new one
Internal migration
movement of households from 1 address to another within the same town, city, county, state, or between states without leaving the country
Chain migration
a series of migration within a family, beginning with one family member sending money to bring other members over to a new location
Step migration
a series of short, less extreme migrations from a person’s home eventually to a final destination
Guest workers
a foreign laborer working temporarily in an industrialized country & will return home
European countries → normally the receiving country (want guest workers due to low birth rates)
will never become legal citizens & have programs rather than a citizenship
Worldwide, what is the main type of migration?
Rural to urban, mainly in developing countries for economic advancement
What are the effects of migration on home countries?
helps to alleviate unemployment/increase the income of remaining workers
send remittances to family that remained in the country
Top Senders to the U.S.: Mexico, China, & India
young, healthy workers leave the elderly = economic drain
brain drain = progress in country undermined
emigrants may return to assist the home country (if they left for education)
What are the effects of immigration in receiving countries?
rapid population growth = strain on services
immigrants often do jobs native citizens won’t
immigrants provide workers, consumers, & employers in economies that might have slowed
create diversity, enriching a culture
diversity can cause ethnic conflicts
increased demands for goods/services = cost increasing
increased crowding
worker positions not filled by native citizens
Non-Ecumene Dry Lands
20% of Earth’s surface
too dry for farming
most oil reserves
Ex: Sahara, Arabian, Thar, Taklamakan, & Gobi deserts
Non-Ecumene Wetlands
high precipitation = can be inhospitable
rain & heat = bad for agriculture
Ex: interior of South America, Central Asia, & Southeast Asia
Non-Ecumene Cold Lands
perpetually covered in ice/permafrost
in poles
Non-Ecumene High Lands
high elevations
steep & snowy
Exception: Latin America & Africa
Where are NIR, CBR, TFR, IMR, CDR, & life expectancy repetitious?
MDCs → low rates of CBR, TFR, IMR, & NIR & high life expectancy
LDCs → high rates of CBR, TFR, IMR, & NIR & low life expectancy
CDRs → lower for LDCs than MDCs
Demographic Transition Model
a process of change in a society’s population, diffusing to individual countries at different rates, due to local/economic conditions, producing variations of natural increase, fertility, & mortality
DTM Stage 1
low growth
high CBR & CDR = no long-term changes in NIR
food, disease, & war
hunting & gathering
die of contagious outbreaks of disease/lack of meds
daily/seasonal migration
DTM Stage 2
rapid growth
high CBR & decreasing CDR = rapid change in NIR
due to the invention of agriculture (early Stage 2) & the Industrial Revolution (late Stage 2)
less famine & industrialization
same number of babies but more are living
rural to urban migration
receding pandemics
common child labor
DTM Stage 3
moderate growth
lower CBR & continued decreasing CBR
urban to suburban migration
die of old age/degenerative diseases
too many expenses = less kids = slower growth
economic development = high status of women/less time for kids = slower growth
DTM Stage 4
zero population growth
CBRs & CDRs → about equal
die at an even older age (high life expectancy)
continued urban to suburban migration
DTM Stage 5
negative population growth
CDR higher than CBR
inverted population pyramid
most of the population is old people
return of pandemics
viruses adapting to vaccines/medicines
improved transportation = easy spread
Epidemiology
branch of medical science concerned with incidence, distribution, & control of diseases prevalent among population at special times & produced by causes not normally present in localities
Epidemiologic Transition Stage 1
stage of pestilence & famine
principal causes of death: infectious/parasitic disease, accidents, attacks of humans/animals
Epidemiologic Transition Stage 2
stage of receding pandemics
Industrial Revolution = reduced infectious diseases
improved sanitation, medicine, & nutrition
struggle in poorer areas
Epidemiologic Transition Stage 3
stage of degenerative & human created diseases
high CBR from chronic disorders of aging
cardiovascular, cancer
decrease in infectious diseases
Epidemiologic Transition Stage 4
stage of delayed degenerative diseases
degenerative diseases still exist but delayed through medical advances
Possible Epidemiologic Transition Stage 5
stage of reemergence of infectious/parasitic diseases
reasons:
evolution (of microbes)
poverty
improved travel
Mobility
general term that covers all types of movements from 1 place to another
Circulation
short term, repetitive movements that recur on a regular basis (daily, monthly, annually)
Floodplain
the area of a river subject to flooding after a specific number of years, based on historical trends
(Ex: 100 year floodplain, flooding on an average of once a century)
Migration transition
coinciding with other transitions, the change of migration pattern in a society that results from social/economic changes that also produce the DTM
Migration Transition Stage 1-4
Stage 1: daily/seasonal mobility; no permanent migration
Stage 2: international/interregional migration due to technological advances
Interregional → rural to urban
International → migration to industrialized countries
Stage 3 & 4: international migrants coming from Stage 2 countries for economic reasons
internal migration → from cities to suburbs
Gender of Migrants
19th/20th cent: 55% male migrants (more likely to find work)
90s/21st cent: 55% female migrants
Family Status of Migrants
mostly young adults seeking work
little elderly
increasing percentage of kids
Global Net Migration
Net-Out: Asia, Latin America
Net-In: North America, Europe, Oceania
*Asia → Europe; Asia/Latin America → North America
1st Main American Era of Immigrants
initial settlements of colonies
main migrants: Europeans/African slaves
forced migration for Africans
economic/persecution for Europeans
2nd Main American Era of Immigrants
mid-19th to early 20th cent.
main migrants: nearly all Europeans (by far, most German)
peaked at certain points
1840s/50s: mainly from Germany (political unrest) & Ireland (economy)
1870s: west Europeans after a decline during the Civil War
1880s: Industrial Revolution = Scandinavia
1900-1914: South/East Europe → coinciding with diffusion of Industrial Revolution
3rd Main American Era of Immigrants
1970s to today
main migrants: Latin Americans & Asians
dropped sharply during the Depression & WWII
surged in the 1st decade of the 21st cent.
Principal Obstacles of Migrants
Formerly: environmental
Currently: cultural (getting permission to enter/hostilities from current citizens)
2 Systems to Control Migrants
Quota system
Temporary work
Quota system
limits the # of foreign citizens who can migrate permanently, used by the U.S., designed so most migrants are European, w/ global quotas