Population and Migration Patterns and Processes

Population Geography (geodemography)

Division of human geography concerned with spatial variations in distribution,growth, and movements of population

Doubling time

Time periods required for a population experiencing exponential growth to double in size.

Demography

The study of human populations

demographers

People who study population

Total fertility rate (TFR)

The average number of children born to a woman during her childbearing years

Infant mortality Rate

Percentage of children who die before their first birthday

Child mortality Rate

number of deaths per thousand children within the first five years of life

Maternal mortality Rate

number of deaths per thousand of women giving birth

Life expectancy

average length of someone’s life

Crude birth rate (CBR)

Number of life births per year per thousand people

Crude death rate (CDR)

number of deaths per year per thousand people

Natural Increase rate (NIR)

Difference between the number of births and number of deaths within a country

Economic development

profound implications on available healthcare, employment opportunities, nutrition, and other factors that affect population growth

Education

populations with better education tend to have lower fertility rates and lower rates of natural increase

Gender Empowerment

relative status and opportunities available to women in a given population

Demographic accounting equation

Summarizes the amount of growth or decline in a population within a country during a particular time period, taking into account both natural increase and net migration

Migration

long term movement of a person from one political jurisdiction to another

Emigrate

people who leave their homelands to live in another country

Immigrate

People who move INTO a country

Push factors

Anything that would cause someone to want to move from somewhere

Pull factors

induce people to move to someplace because that place has something enticing to offer them

Voluntary migration

Someone CHOOSES to leave a place

Chain Migration

Type of voluntary migration where people follow others in succession from one place to another

Involuntary migration

Someone is removed from his or her home and must leave the area without any choice

Intervening obstacles

any forces or factors that may limit human migration

Internal migration

permanent or semi-permanent movement of individuals within a particular county

Rust belt

Northern industrial states of the United States, including Ohio,Michigan, and Pennsylvania. These areas lost much of their economic base to economically attractive regions of the United States and to countries where labor was cheaper, leaving old machinery to rust in the moist northern climate

Cotton belt

term by which the American south used to be known as, as it was dominated by agricultural economy.

Sun belt

US region mainly southeastern and southwestern states, which has grown since WWII

Suburbanization

migration from the inner city to outlying neighborhoods near the perimeters of urban areas

Cohort

population group identified by a specific common characteristic, such as age

Baby Boom

Born between 1946 and 1964 which was just after WWII in a time of peace and prosperity. These conditions allowed for better education and job opportunities, encouraging marriage and fertility

Generation X

Born between 1965 and 1980. They support the Boom babies into their retirement years

Baby bust

Period during 1960s and 1970s when fertility rates in the US dropped as large number of women were seeking education. Thus fertility rates dropped

Dependency Ratio

percentage of people in a population who are either too old or too young to work, and have to be supported by others

Population density

measurement of the number of persons per unit of land area

Physiologic density

compares human population to the area of cropland in less developed countries, where production is geared mainly towards subsistence agriculture

Carrying capacity

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

zero population growth

proposal to end population growth through a variety of official and nongovernmental family planning programs