Unit 2 Where are People Distributed

Agricultural density

The ratio of the number of farmers to the total amount of arable land (land suitable for agriculture)

Antinatalist policy

Government policy that supports lower birth rates.

Arable land

Land suited for agriculture

Arithmetic density

The total number of people divided by the total land area

Carrying capacity

The population size of a species that the environment can sustain indefinitely, given the available resources

Census

A complete enumeration of a population

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

Demographic transition

The process of change in a society’s population from a condition of high crude birth and death rates and low rate of natural increase to a condition of low crude birth and death rates, low rate of natural increase, and higher total population

Demography

The scientific study of population characteristics

Dependency ratio

The number of people under age 15 and over age 64 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 of natural increase

Ecumene

The portion of Earth’s surface occupied by permanent human settlement

Epidemic

A widespread occurrence of an infectious disease in a community at a particular time

Epidemiologic transition

The process of change in the distinctive causes of death in each stage of the demographic transition

Epidemiology

The 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

Industrial Revolution

A series of improvements in industrial technology that transformed the process of manufacturing goods

Infant mortality rate (IMR)

The total number of deaths in a year among infants under 1 year of age for every 1,000 live births in a society

Life expectancy

The average number of years an individual can be expected to live, given current social, economic, and medical conditions. Life expectancy at birth is the average number of years a newborn infant can expect to live

Maternal mortality rate

The annual number of female deaths per 100,000 live births from any cause related to or aggravated by pregnancy or its management (excluding accidental or incidental causes).

Medical revolution

Medical technology invented in Europe and North America that has diffused to the poorer countries in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Improved medical practices have eliminated many traditional causes of death and enabled more people to live longer and healthier lives

Natural increase rate (NIR)

The percentage growth of a population in a year, computed as the crude birth rate minus the crude death rate

Overpopulation

A situation in which the number of people in an area exceeds the capacity of the environment to support life at a decent standard of living

Pandemic

An epidemic that occurs over a wide geographic area and affects a very high proportion of the population at the same time

Physiological density

The number of people per unit area of arable land, which is land suitable for agriculture

Population pyramid

A bar graph that represents the distribution of population by age and sex

Potential support ratio (or elderly support ratio)

The number of working-age people (ages 15 to 64) divided by the number of persons 65 and older

Pronatalist policy

Government policy that supports higher birth rates

Sex ratio

The number of males per 100 females in the population

Total fertility rate (TFR)

The average number of children a woman will have throughout her childbearing years

Zero population growth

A decline of the total fertility rate to the point where the natural increase rate equals zero

Geospatial Data Analysis

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