Section 6 Key Terms

Vocabulary flashcards covering demographic models, stages, and related historical and geographical terms from the study notes.

DTM

Demographic Transition Model; a model describing population change from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates as a country develops.

DTM Stage One

The pre-industrial stage characterized by high birth rates and high death rates, resulting in low or stagnant population growth.

DTM Stage Two

The stage of industrialization where death rates drop rapidly due to improved sanitation and medical care while birth rates remain high, leading to rapid population growth.

DTM Stage Three

The stage characterized by falling birth rates and continued low death rates, resulting in a slowing rate of population growth.

DTM Stage Four

The stage where low birth rates match low death rates, leading to a stable population or zero population growth.

S-shaped Curve

A logistic population growth curve showing initial rapid growth that slows and levels off as a population reaches carrying capacity.

ETM

Epidemiologic Transition Model; a model explaining changing causes of death and disease pattern shifts that parallel the stages of the Demographic Transition Model.

NICs

Newly Industrializing Countries; developing nations undergoing rapid industrial economic growth and urban migration.

MDCs

More Developed Countries; industrialized nations with higher average incomes and advanced demographic stages.

Carrying Capacity

The maximum population size of a species or human population that a specific environment can sustainably support.

Hunter-gather

A member of a society reliant on foraging wild plants and hunting wild animals for subsistence rather than farming.

Kinship Bands

Small, nomadic social groups organized around extended family ties, characteristic of hunter-gatherer societies.

Subsistence Farming

Agricultural practices designed primarily to produce enough food to feed the farmer and their family rather than for commercial sale.

Primate City

The dominant city in a country or region that is disproportionately larger—more than twice as large—than the second-largest city.

Industrial Revolution

A major economic and technological transformation starting in the 18th century that drastically reduced mortality rates and initiated DTM Stage Two.

Joseph Bazalgette

19th-century civil engineer who designed London's central underground sewer system, transforming urban sanitation and public health.

Otto von Bismarck

Prussian statesman who unified Germany and introduced pioneer social safety net programs like health insurance and old-age pensions.

One Child Policy

A strict Chinese population control program enacted in 1979 limiting urban families to a single child to curb population growth.

Gender Imbalance

A significant disparity between the male and female population ratios, often resulting from sex selection practices or policy impacts.

Zero Population Growth

A condition in which birth and immigration rates equal death and emigration rates, resulting in a unchanging overall population size.