Demography – Vocabulary Flashcards (Lecture 2)

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering key demography terms and concepts from the notes.

Demography

The scientific study of the size, composition, and distribution of human populations and how they change over time due to fertility, mortality, and migration, plus the factors and consequences of those changes.

demos

Greek root meaning 'population'.

graphia

Greek root meaning 'description' or 'writing'.

Demos + graphia

Literally 'writing about population'.

Achille Guillard

Belgian statistician who first used the term 'demography' in 1855.

Population processes

Fertility, mortality, and migration—the three primary ways populations change.

Fertility

The rate at which births occur in a population; a key component of population change.

Mortality

The rate of deaths in a population; a component of population change.

Migration

Movement of people into or out of a population; a component of population change.

The Demographic Equation

Pop(t2) − Pop(t1) = Natural Change + Net Migration (Births − Deaths; In-migrants − Out-migrants).

Natural Change

Births minus deaths in a given period.

Net Migration

In-migrants minus out-migrants in a given period.

Demography is destiny

A phrase indicating demographic forces shape social outcomes and the future.

We are all population actors

A phrase meaning everyone participates in and is affected by population dynamics.

Population size

The number of people in a given geographic area.

Population distribution

How a population is spread across space (urban vs rural, regional).

Population structure

The age and sex composition of a population; includes age-sex pyramid and sex ratio.

Age-sex pyramid

A graphical representation of a population’s distribution by age and sex.

Sex ratio

The number of males per 100 females in a population.

Population density

The number of people per unit area; population density = population / area.

Center of population

The mean center or balancing point of the population distribution across geography.

Mean center of population

The geographic 'balance point' representing the distribution of every person.

Index of Dissimilarity

A measure of residential segregation; 0 means no segregation, 100 means complete segregation.

Population change components

Births, deaths, and net migration determine population change.

Center of population shift

The historical westward movement of the U.S. mean population center over time.

Population distribution maps

Visual representations of how populations are spread across space.