Demography Overview

Flashcards covering key concepts and vocabulary related to demography and population studies.

Demography

The systematic and scientific study of human populations, their growth, decline, and movement.

Demographer

A specialist who studies population dynamics.

Population

The collection of persons alive at a specified point in time meeting certain criteria.

Population size

The total number of people in a given geographic area.

Population growth

The increase in the number of persons in a population over time.

Population decline

A decrease in the number of persons in a population over time.

Population density

The number of people living in a given area relative to its size, often measured as people per square kilometer.

Natural increase

The difference between the number of births and the number of deaths in a population.

Open population

A population that can increase or decrease through births, deaths, and migration.

Closed population

A population that can only change in size through births and deaths, with no migration.

Demographic transition

A theory describing the transition from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates as a country develops industrially.

Crude birthrate

The number of live births per year per 1,000 people in a population.

Fertility rate

The average number of live-born children produced by a woman over her lifetime.

Crude death rate

The number of deaths per year per 1,000 people in a population.

Life expectancy

The average number of years a person can expect to live.

Infant mortality rate

The number of infants who die within the first year of life per 1,000 live births.

Dependency ratio

The ratio of economically dependent individuals (under 15 or over 65) to economically active individuals.