Unit 2: Population and Migration

population distribution

pattern of human settlement

population density

measure of average population per square mile

arithmetic population density

divides region’s population by total area

doesn’t tell population distribution

physiological population density

divides population by amount of arable land

determines carrying capacity

agricultural population density

compares number of farmers to area of arable land

higher number of farmers = poor country, vice versa

population composition

demographic characteristics of a region

population pyramid

show birth/death rates, average life expectancy, etc.

echo on population pyramid

boom generation has a normal amount of kids, but it still appears abnormal

demographic transition model

shows how a country moves from an agrarian to an industrial economy

no time prediction

stage 1

high birth and death rate

stationary population growth

stage 2

high birth rate and declining death rate

rapid population increase

stage 3

birth and death rates decline

young population

stage 4

birth rates decreasing steadily and death rates are low

stationary population growth and older population

stage 5

birth rates decrease

ageing population

crude birth rate (cbr)

number of live births per year for each 1,000 people

total fertility rate (tfr)

average number of children per woman 15-49

anti-natalist policies

government attempts to lower population

pro-natalist policies

government attempts to up the population

dependency ratio

compares working to non-working parts of a population

15-64 are the potential workforce

rate of natural increase

subtracting deaths from births divided by 10

rni <1% = more developed, rni >1% = less developed

total population change / demographic balancing equation

births - deaths + immigrants - emigrants

population doubling time

estimated using “rule of 70” where growth rate is steady and doubling time will be 70 divided by growth rate per year

malthusian theory

population growth is exponential and agriculture growth is arithmetic

didn’t realize one generation of starvation can change in the future behaviorally

didn’t take technological change, reduced fertility rates, and the actual cause of famine (poorly allocated food) into account

neomalthusian theory

believe global warming, nuclear weapons, overcrowding, weird weather patterns, etc., will result in a “population boom” where cities are bursting at the seams and if drought, etc., occurs, billions will die

paul ehrlich

wrote “population bomb” which reshaped malthusian theories

ester boserup

critiqued that humans could solve any problem and there’s no limit to problem-solving abilities

believed humans could solve overpopulation problem (population decreased, food production increased)

ravenstein’s laws of migration

explain patterns in migration tendencies

distance-decay (ravenstein)

the further away a location is for the migrant, the less likely they’ll go there

gravity model (ravenstein)

migrants are pulled to large, urban areas

step migration (ravenstein)

migrants reach their eventual destinations through a series of smaller steps along the way

rural to urban (ravenstein)

migrants move from rural to urban areas

counter migration (ravenstein)

as people move to one place, other moves out normally to where they were originally from

return migration

people move to where they were originally from

youth (ravenstein)

most migrants are usually young (20-45)

gender patterns (ravenstein)

most international migrants are men, most internal migrants are women

migration

long term move of a person from one place to another

voluntary migration

movement made by choice, often in search of a better life

push factor

negative conditions that push people away from an area

pull factor

positive conditions that pull people in from an area

what are the general push/pull factors

economic, social, political, environmental, demographic

intervening obstacles

barriers migrants might face when migrating

examples of intervening obstacles

economic, social, political, environmental

intervening opportunities

if a migrant encounters an opportunity, they might choose to stay there rather than continuing on their original path

forced migration

people migrate due to threats of violence

internally displaced person

migrants who flee to another area of their country

refugee

migrants that cross international borders and believe they’ll be harmed if they return home

asylum seeker

migrant who requests protection

chain migration

migrants move with their family to create ethnic enclaves

ethnic enclaves

populations group together in demographically homogenous clusters

migration limits

xenophobia, quotas, difficult processes/red tape

internal migration

movement within one country

interregional migration

movement between regions

intraregional migration

movement within a region, usually rural to urban

transnational migration

when many people migrate at once

cyclic migration/pastoral nomads

seasonal migration for agricultural reasons, pasture to pasture

transhumance

moving livestock around to access food, usually low to high elevation, vice versa, pasture to pasture