Demography and Migration Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering key demography, population, and migration concepts.

Demographic Transition Model

A model that demonstrates the transition from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates as a country develops from a pre-industrial to an industrialized economic system.

Epidemiology

The branch of medical science concerned with the incidence, distribution, and control of diseases and other factors relating to health.

Epidemiological Transition Model

A model describing the changing causes of death and disease patterns across different stages of demographic development.

Malthusian

Relating to the theory that population grows exponentially while food supply increases linearly, leading to inevitable famine and population collapse.

Over Population

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

Cornucopians

Futurists who believe that continued progress and technological innovation will overcome environmental limits and population pressures.

Boserup Effect

The theory that population growth stimulates agricultural innovation and technological advances to increase food production.

Antinatalist Policies

Government policies designed to encourage lower birth rates and slow down population growth.

Pronatalist Policies

Government policies designed to encourage childbirth and increase population growth.

Median Age

The age that divides a population into two equal numerical groups, half being younger and half being older.

Life Expectancy

The average number of years a person is expected to live based on current mortality patterns.

Spatial Mobility

The movement of individuals, goods, or ideas across physical space and geographical boundaries.

Social Mobility

The movement of individuals or groups between different levels in a social or economic hierarchy.

Migration

The permanent or semi-permanent movement of people from one place to another.

Immigration

The action of coming to live permanently in a foreign country.

Emigration

The act of leaving one's own country to settle permanently in another.

Migration Stream

A continuous movement of migrants moving from a specific origin to a specific destination.

Counter stream

A flow of migrants returning to their place of origin or moving in the opposite direction of a main migration stream.

Brain Drain

The large-scale emigration of highly trained, skilled, or educated individuals from a particular country.

Brain Gain

The net inflow of highly educated, skilled, or talented professionals into a nation or region.

IDP

Internally Displaced Person; someone who has been forced to flee their home but remains within their country's borders.

Step Migration

A migration process that occurs in a series of shorter steps or stages toward a final destination.

Chain Migration

The social process by which immigrants from a particular town or region follow others from that location to a specific new community.

Refugee

A person who has been forced to cross international borders to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster.