APHUG - Unit 2 - Population and Migration Patterns and Processes

Physical factors

Natural elements that influence human behavior, settlement patterns, and migration

Ex. climate, landforms, water bodies

Human factors

The various social, cultural, economic, and political elements that influence the behavior and decision-making of individuals and groups within a population

Ex. cultural norms, economic opportunities, history, political stability

Arithmetic density

Number of people per land area

Can be misleading because it treats all land equally, failing to distinguish between arable land, deserts, or urban areas

High density: lot of people, little land (ex. India, Bangladesh, Japan)

Low density: little people, lots of land (ex. Canada, Greenland, Australia)

Physiological density

Number of people supported by a unit of arable land

Shows how many people are relying on a certain area of land —> more reflective of population pressure on arable land

High density: lot of people, little arable land (ex. Singapore, Hong Kong, Egypt) great pressure to produce enough food, more stress on land

Low density: less people, lot of arable land (ex. Canada, USA)

Agricultural density

Ratio of the number of farmers to the amount of arable land

Measures agricultural efficiency

High density: lot of farmers for available farmland; suggests labor-intensive, subsistence farming (ex. Egypt, Bangladesh)

Low density: lot of farmland, little farmers; indicates industrialized, machine-based farming (ex. US, Canada, Western Europe)

Carrying capacity

The maximum, sustainable population size an environment can support indefinitely without environmental degradation

Little correlation between population density…

…and economic development (ex. Bangladesh and Japan have similar population densities but Japan has a much higher GDP per capita)

Greater intellectual capital

Rising population leads to greater chance society will produce entrepreneurs and innovators

Improved technology and business

Helps improve living standards

Environmental concerns

Global warming, deforestation, decreasing biodiversity

Green-belt land

A policy and land-use designation

Used in planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighbouring urban areas

It is a critical tool for managing urban growth, sustainability, and land-use patterns

Ex. farmland, forests, natural habitats

Population pyramids

Graphical illustration showing the distribution of various age groups divided by gender

Used to assess population growth and decline

Predict markets for goods and services

Expanding expansive

Wide base

Birth rates are high —> many children and young people

People are dying earlier, but rapid population growth

Stage 2

Developing country

Stable stationary

Slow growth

Birth rate is constant

Future: graying population —> many old dependents

Strain on resources to fund elderly care, people will have to be in workforce longer

May need more immigrants to provide labour

Declining constrictive

Low birth rate

Small numbers of young people

Graying population —> large number of dependents

Stage 4/Stage 5, developed countries

Decline in growth —> encouraging migration or pro-natalist policies

Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

The average number of children per woman

A TFR of about 2.1 is generally considered necessary for a population to replace itself in developed countries, taking into account mortality rates

Mortality rate

The number of deaths per 1000 individuals

Migration

The movement of people from one place to another with the intention of settling temporarily or permanently in a new location

Economic opportunities, environmental conditions, and social dynamics

Natural Increase Rate (NIR)

Percentage by which a population grows in a year

EXCLUDES MIGRATION

CDR - CBR

Doubling time

The number of years needed to double a population, assuming a constant rate of natural increase

Factors that influence birth rate

Technology (birth control methods, etc.)

Social (more wealth and leisure time, education, etc.)

Cultural (birth control methods, more women in the workforce, etc.)

Economic (costs of supporting a bigger family in MDCs, more children is better for tending to farms and agriculture in LDCs, etc.)

Government policies (China’s one child policy, etc.)

Factors that influence mortality rate

Increased food supplies and distribution

Better nutrition

Improvements in medical and public health technology (immunizations, antibiotics, etc.)

Improved sanitation and personal hygiene

Safer water supplies

Factors that influence migration

Age, sex, marital status, education, occupation, employment

The demographic transition model

Stage 1: high birth rate and high death rate, NIR is close to zero, pre-industrial and least developed

Stage 2: high birth rate, declining death rate (modern medicine, sanitation, vaccinations, and improved nutrition), NIR is very high (Niger, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia)

Stage 3: birth rate goes down, death rate remains low, population continues to grow slower, women gain education and access to contraception, costs of living rise, reduced child labour, increased family planning

Stage 4: low birth rate, low death rate, strong contraceptive use, high female education, expensive childcare, NIR is close to zero, the wealthy and urbanized world

Stage 5: both very low, CBR may drop below CDR, extremely low fertility rates and aging populations, promote pro-natalist policies, incentivize childbirth

Agricultural revolution

More food, sustain a bigger population, steady growth, high birth rates

Industrial revolution

More wealth —> more food, more money spent on sanitary conditions, CDR decreases

Medical revolution

Diffusion of medical technologies lower death rate in LDCs

African countries: CBR remains high but CDR decreases

Epidemiological Transition Model

Explains causes of changing death rates

The age of pestilence and famine, the age of receding pandemics, the age of degenerative diseases, and the age of delayed degenerative diseases

Stage 1: The Age of Pestilence and Famine: Mortality is high and fluctuating, causing low population growth. Primary causes of death are infectious diseases, plagues, and famine (e.g., Black Plague).

Stage 2: The Age of Receding Pandemics: Mortality drops rapidly as pandemics become less frequent due to improved sanitation, nutrition, and medicine. Population growth is sustained (e.g., Industrial Revolution).

Stage 3: The Age of Degenerative and Man-Made Diseases: Mortality continues to decline but at a slower rate. Infectious diseases decrease, while chronic, lifestyle-related diseases (e.g., heart disease, cancer) become the primary causes of death.

Stage 4: The Age of Delayed Degenerative Diseases: Mortality is low, and life expectancy peaks. Cardiovascular diseases and cancers are delayed to older ages due to advanced medical technology and better lifestyles.

Stage 5 (Proposed/Modern): The Age of Re-emergence: Some argue for a fifth stage where infectious diseases, previously controlled, return due to antibiotic resistance, urbanization, and rapid global travel.

Malthusian Theory

Population growth (exponential/geometric) will outpace food production (linear/arithmetic)

Neo-Malthusians Arguments

Believe population growth is worse than Malthus predicted

Failed to anticipate that poor countries wood have the most rapid population growth because of the transfer of medical technologies (but not wealth) from MDCs

Gap between population growth and resources

Population growth outpaced economic development

Critics of Malthusian Arguments

Population growth is not a problem

World’s supply of resources is not fixed

Human action and new technology can expand the supply of food and resources

More people —> more chance to invent good ideas for improving life

Poverty, hunger, and social welfare problems are a result of unjust social and economic problems

Pro-natalist

Encouraging the bearing of children

Government support of a higher birthrate

Ex. financial incentives, tax breaks, “sex day” in RussiaA

Anti-natalist

Policies aimed at reducing the number of children per family

Effort to curb serious overpopulation concerns and heavy strain on national resources

Ex. education on family planning, increase access to contraceptives by law, China’s One Child Policy