Unit 2: Population and Migration

Agricultural Density

The ratio of the number of farmers to the amount of arable land

arable land

land suited for agriculture

Arithmetic Density

The total number of people divided by the total land area.

Boserup, Esther

Boserup is an economist known for her theory of agricultural intensification, also known as Boserup's theory, which posits that population change drives the intensity of agricultural production. Her position countered the Malthusian theory that agricultural methods determine population via limits on food supply.

-Emphasized the positive aspects of a large population

-As population increases, more pressure is placed on the existing agricultural system, which stimulates invention

-Changes in technology allow for improved crop strains and increased yields; hence population will not exceed resources

-Argued that the changes in technology allow for improved crop strains and increased yields

carrying capacity

Largest number of individuals of a population that a environment can support

Census

A complete enumeration of a population.

Child Mortality Rate

the number of deaths of children under age 5 per 1,000 live births

Contraception

birth control

Crude Death Rate (CDR)

The total number of deaths in a year for every 1,000 people alive in the society.

Crude Birth Rate (CBR)

The total number of live births in a year for every 1,000 people alive in the society.

demographic equation

summarizes the contribution made to regional population by the combination of natural change (births to deaths) and net migration

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 a 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.

non-ecumene

An area of Earth that does not have permanent human settlements

epidemic

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

Pandemic

Disease that occurs over a wide geographic area and affects a very high proportion of the population.

Epidemiologic Transition

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

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 one year of age for every 1,000 live births in a society.

J-curve

a growth curve that depicts exponential growth

life expectancy (longevity rate)

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.

Malthus, Thomas

British economist of late 1700's. considered the first to predict a population crisis

Maternal Mortality Rate

annual number of deaths of women from pregnancy-related causes per 100,000 live births

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.

pronatalism/natalist policies

government policies that encourage child birth such as tax breaks and flexible work hours

antinatalism (antinatalist policies)

programs to decrease the number of births

Natural Increase Rate (NIR)

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

Neo-Malthusians

group who built on Malthus' theory and suggested that people wouldn't just starve for lack of food, but would have wars about food and other scarce resources

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

Physiological Density

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

population agglomerations

When populations come together to form a collective group

population center (of a region)

a geographical point that describes a center point of the region's population

Population Pyramid

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

Age Distribution

a model used in population geography that describes the ages and number of males and females within a given population; also called a population pyramid

potential support ratio

A measure that represents the extent that people of working age can support the older population

replacement fertility

The total fertility rate at which women would have only enough children to replace themselves and their partner.

S-curve

a curve that depicts logistic growth; shape of an "S." The leveling off of a J-Curve exponential growth.

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.

asylum seeker

Someone who has migrated to another country in the hope of being recognized as a refugee

brain drain/gain

a large scale emigration by talented people (or immigration = gain)

chain migration (migration ladder)

A stream of people out of an area as first movers communicate with people back home and stimulate others to follow later.

Circular Migration

The temporary movement of a migrant worker between home and host countries to seek employment.

circulation migration

The temporary movement of a migrant worker between home and host countries to seek employment; Short-term, repetitive, or cyclical movements that recur on a regular basis.

Diaspora

A dispersion of people from their homeland

Emigration

Migration from a location

Immigration

Migration to a new location

ethnic enclave

A place with a high concentration of an ethnic group that is distinct from those in the surrounding area

Floodplain

The area subject to flooding during a given number of years according to historical trends.

Forced Migration

Permanent movement compelled usually by cultural factors.

Voluntary Migration

Permanent movement undertaken by choice.

Guest Workers

Workers who migrate to the more developed countries of Northern and Western Europe, usually from Southern of Eastern Europe or from North Africa, in search of higher-paying jobs.

Internally Displaced Person (IDP)

Someone who has been forced to migrate for similar political reasons as a refugee but has not migrated across an international border

Internal Migration

Permanent movement within a particular country.

International Migration

between or among the nations of the world

Interregional Migration

Permanent movement from one region of a country to another.

Intraregional Migration

Permanent movement within one region of a country.

intervening obstacle

An environmental or cultural feature of the landscape that hinders migration.

intervening opportunity

The presence of a nearer opportunity that greatly diminishes the attractiveness of sites farther away.

Lee's Migration Model

Model based on Lee's migration theory, that people migrate due to push and/or pull factors, and intervening obstacles are factored

migration stream

A constant flow of migrants from the same origin to the same destination

migration selectivity

Only people exhibiting certain characteristics in a population choosing to migrate

Migration Transition

Change in the migration pattern in a society that results from industrialization, population growth, and other social and economic changes that also produce the demographic transition.

mobility

All types of movement between location

net migration

The difference between the level of immigration and the level of emigration.

push factors

Factors that induce people to leave old residences.

pull factors

Factors that induce people to move to a new location.

Migration (Quotas)

laws that place maximum limits on the number of people who can immigrate to a country each year

Ravenstein's Laws

a series of laws that describe voluntary migration patterns

refugee

A person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster

Remittances

Transfers of money/goods by foreign workers to their home countries.

step migration

migration to a distant destination that occurs in stages

time-contract workers

A person recruited for a fixed period of time to work somewhere, usually a mine or plantation

Urbanization

An increase in the percentage and in the number of people living in urban settlements.

suburbinization

Movement of upper and middle-class people from urban core areas to the surrounding outskirts to escape pollution as well as deteriorating social conditions (perceived and actual). In North America, the process began in the early nineteenth century and became a mass phenomenon by the second half of the twentieth century.

Counterurbanization

Net migration from urban to rural areas in more developed countries.

Unauthorized immigrants

A person who enters a country without proper documents to do so

xenophobia

fear of foreigners