AP Human Geo vocab

population distribution

The pattern of where people live.

population density

The number of people per unit of area.

arithmetic population density

Divide a region’s population by its total area

physiologic population density

divide a region’s population by the amount of arable land (land suitable for growing food) it has

agricultural population density

divide the number of farmers in a country by the amount of arable land

carrying capacity

The largest number of people that the environment of a particular area can support.

population pyramid

An age-sex composition graph that can provide information on birth rates

population pyramid showing rapid growth

Looks like a pyramid (base is the largest part by far and the shape tapers off as you approach the middle aged and older cohorts)

population pyramid showing stable/slow growth

Has a squared base that indicates stagnant or near-stagnant growth

population pyramid showing declining/negative growth

The base is smaller than the middle or upper sections and the shape looks almost like it could topple over

total fertility rate (TFR)

Average number of children who would be born per woman during her childbearing years.

crude birth rate (CBR)

The number of live births occurring in one year per 1

crude death rate (CDR)

The number of deaths occuring in one year per 1

infant mortality rate (IMR)

The number of children who die before one year of age.

emigration

The movement away (or exiting from) a location.

immigration

The movement into a location.

rate of natural increase (RNI) or Natural Increase Rate (NIR)

Does not account for migration.

Can be a negative number

indicating population decrease.

Usually expressed in a percentage

population doubling time

the period of time it takes for a population to double in size

Demographic Transition Model (DTM)

Model used by geographers to analyze and predict trends in population growth and decline including patterns of births

Epidemiologic Transitional Model (ETM)

Predictable stages in disease and life expectancy that countries experience as they develop which corresponds with the stages of the DTM.

Thomas Malthus

Lived in England in the 1700s.

Experienced the Industrial Revolution.

Rising life expectancy

lower death rates

1798 published An Essay on the Principles of Population Growth

Malthusian Theory

the idea that population growth outpaces food production

Neo-Malthusians

Concerns about sustainable use of the environment - the earth’s resources cannot only sustain a finite (limited) population.

Decreasing birth rates in developed countries

Strain on natural resources

Water insecurity

Desertification

Overconsumption

Famine & Starvation

Boserup Theory

Food supply is impacted directly by population growth. As population increases humans will develop new technologies to also increase production of food supply.

Pronatalist population policies

Programs aimed to increase the fertility rate of a place.

Antinatalist population policies

Programs aimed to decrease the fertility rate of a place.

Ravenstein's Laws of Migration

Ravenstein's Laws of Migration

Life expectancy

The number of years the average person will live.

Aging population

a demographic shift where an increasing proportion of a society's population reaches old age

Dependency Ratio

Oftentimes the young and the elderly are left behind.

Pull Factors

Positive conditions and circumstances of a location that encourages people to move to that place.

Push Factors

Negative circumstances

Forced migration

the involuntary movement of people away from their homes due to conflict

Refugee

Someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution

Asylum seeker

When people flee their own country and seek sanctuary in another country

Internally displaced person (internal refugee)

someone who has been forced to flee their home but never crosses an international border.

transnational migration

Migration from one country to another country.

internal migration

Migrants that travel within a country’s borders. Much more likely than transnational migration.

transhumance

Traditional migration of nomadic herders that move their livestock from high elevations in the summer and lower elevations in the winter.

chain migration

Immigrants migrate to a location based off of the recommendation of or reunification with family members

step migration

Migration typically occurs in steps

guest workers

Migrants who travel internationally in order to find work as temporary laborers - typically a short period of time because the jobs cannot be filled by a country’s own labor force.

rural-to-urban migration

Most typical kind of migration trend

arable land

land that is capable of being plowed and used to grow crops

ecumene

land that is permanently inhabited by humans

intervening obstacle in migration

Barriers that hold migrants back from continuing to travel.

intervening opportunity in migration

An opportunity that causes migrants to voluntarily stop traveling.

Replacement fertility level

Replacement fertility level

Age/sex ratio

the number of males per 100 females

Net migration

the difference between the number of people immigrating into and emigrating out of a specified area

Brain drain

Loss of trained or educated people to emigration.

urban neighborhoods with a high concentration of a minority ethnic group

urban neighborhoods with a high concentration of a minority ethnic group

Cohorts

Vertical axis shows age groups (Cohorts) in five year intervals from 0 to 100

Baby bust

The end of a baby boom