Tags & Description
agricultural density
The ratio of the number of farmers to the total amount of land suitable for agriculture.
agricultural revolution
The time when human beings first domesticated plants and animals and no longer relied entirely on hunting and gathering.
anti-natalist
Concerned with limiting population growth.
arithmetic density (population density)
The total number of people divided by the total land area.
carrying capacity
The ability of the land to sustain a certain number of people.
crude birth rate (CBR)
The total number of live births in a year for every 1,000 people alive in the society.
crude death rate (CDR)
The total number of deaths in a year for every 1,000 people alive in the society.
demography
The scientific study of population characteristics.
dependency ratio
The number of people under the age of 15 and over the age of 54 compared to the number of people active in the labor force.
doubling time
The number of years needed to double a population, assuming a constant rate or natural increase.
ecumene
The portion of Earth’s surface occupied by permanent human settlement.
brain drain
Large-scale emigration by talented people.
chain migration (migration ladder)
Migration of people to a specific location because relatives or members of the same nationality previously migrated there.
channelized migration
The tendency for migration to flow between areas that are socially and economically allied by past migration patterns, by economic and trade connections.
counter migration
The return of migrants to the regions from which they earlier emigrated.
counter-urbanization
Net migration from urban to rural areas in more developed countries.
demographic equation
Equation that summarizes the amount of growth or decline in a population during a certain period of time, also taking into account net migration and natural increase.
emigration
Migration from a location
epidemiology
Branch of medical science concerned with the incidence, distribution, and control of diseases that are prevalent among a population at a special time and are produced by some special causes not generally present in the affected locality.
forced migration
Permanent movement compelled by usually compelled by cultural factors.
guest workers
Workers who migrate to the more developed countries of Northern and Western Europe, usually from Southern and Eastern Europe or from North Africa, in search of higher-paying jobs.
immigration
Migration to a new location.
industrial revolution
A series of improvements in industrial technology that transformed the process of manufacturing goods.
infant mortality rate (IMR)
The annual number of deaths of infants under 1 year of age for every 1,000 live births.
life expectancy
The average number of years an individual can be expected to live, given current social, economic, and medical conditions.
mortality rate
The number of deaths in a population during a given time or place
medical revolution
Medical technology invented in Europe and North America that is diffused to the poorer countries of Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Improved medical practices have eliminated many of the traditional causes of death in poorer countries and enabled more people to live longer and healthier lives.
nonecumene
Portion of the Earth’s surface unoccupied by permanent human settlement.
natural increase rate (NIR or RNI)
The percentage growth of a population in a year, computed as the crude birth rate minus the crude death rate.
intervening obstacle
An environmental or cultural feature of the landscape that hinders migration.
internal migration
Permanent movement within a particular country.
internally displaced person (IDP)
Someone who has been forced to migrate for similar political reasons to a refugee but has not migrated across an international border.
international migration
Permanent movement from one country to another.
interregional migration
Permanent movement from one region of a country to another.
intraregional migration
Permanent movement within one region of a country.
migration
A form of relocation diffusion involving a permanent move to a new location.
migration selectivity
The tendency for certain types of people to migrate.
migration transition model
The type of migration that occurs within a country depends on its development level and its society type.
voluntary migration
Permanent movement undertaken by choice.
overpopulation
The number of people in an area exceeds the capacity of the environment to support life at a decent standard of living.
pandemic
Disease that occurs over a wide geographic area and affects a very high proportion of the population.
physiological density
The number of people per unit of arable land.
population agglomeration
A cluster of people living in the same area.
population (demographic) momentum
The tendency for population growth to continue despite stringent family planning programs because of a relatively high concentration of people in the childbearing years.
population projection
A statement of a population's future size, age, and sex composition based on the application of stated assumptions to current data.
pro-natalist
An attitude or policy that encourages childbearing
replacement level
The number of children per woman that will supply just enough births to replace parents and compensate for early deaths, with no allowance for migration effects.
sex ratio
The number of males per 100 females in the population.
total fertility rate
The average number of children a woman will have throughout her childbearing years.
zero population growth (ZPG)
A decline in the total fertility rate to the point where the natural increase rate equals zero.
net migration
The difference between the level of immigration and the level of emigration.
pull factor
A factor that induces people to move to a new location.
push factor
A factor that induces people to leave old residences.
quotas
In reference to migration, laws that place maximum limits on the number of people who can immigrate to a country each year.
refugees
People who are forced to migrate from their home country and cannot return for fear of persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a social group, or political opinion.
step migration
Gradual migration to a distant destination that occurs in stages, for example, from farm to nearby village and later to a town and city.
undocumented immigrants
People who enter a country without proper documents.
urbanization
An increase in the percentage of the number of people living in urban settlements.