AICE Geography Study Materials - Unit 4: Human Geography Concepts

Natural Increase Rate (NIR)

the balance between births and deaths in any year and is expressed as a percentage of the total population size at the beginning of that year

birth rate

the number of live births in a year per 1000 people alive at the beginning of that year

death rate

the number of deaths in a year per 1000 people alive at the beginning of that year

fertility rate

the number of children that would be born alive to a woman if she were to live to the end of her child bearing years

Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)

the number of children who die before the age of one per 1000 children born

life expectancy

the number of years an infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life

epidemiologial transition model

a sudden increase in population due to improvements of medicines

dependency ratio

the ratio of dependents (people younger than 15, older than 64) to the working age (people 15-64 years old) population

population pyramids

bar graphs of a population age with the population divided by gender. the number of people in any age group will always be affected by the combined effected of death rates, immigration, and emigration

demography

the study of human populations using births, deaths, income, and diseases.

demographic transition model

a line graph that shows population trends between birth rates and death rates to suggest a country's total population growth rate cycles through stages as that country develops economically

Less industrialized countries (LICs)

countries with a smaller population and little industry (less developed)

More industrialized countries (MICs)

countries with a larger population and lots of industry (highly developed)

Thomas Malthus' Theory

malthus claimed that populations would always tend to rise to a level where they exceed resources able to support them

Ester Boserup's Theory

if yields began to decline after a couple of years, the farmers would move on and clear another area of forest

Overpopulation

a situation where the population of an area exceeds the carrying capacity of that area

Underpopulation

a situation where the population level is too low to make full use of the resources it possesses

Optimal population

a theoretical state where any increase or decrease in population might lead to a lower standard of living or lower quality of life

Carrying capacity

the maximum number of species that the resources in an environment in a given area can sustain

Doubling time

the number of years required for a specified population to double in size

Anti/Pro Natalist Policies

the argument between many countries over whether they should or shouldn't limit birth rates