AP Human Geography Unit 2: Population and Migration Patterns and Processes

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts, demographic measures, theories, and migration dynamics in AP Human Geography Unit 2.

Population Distribution

The pattern of human settlement across the Earth, highlighting areas that are crowded, sparsely settled, or empty.

Population Density

A measure of the average population per square mile or square kilometer of an area, indicating how crowded a place is.

Midlatitudes

The climate regions located between $30^\text{o}$ and $60^\text{o}$ north and south of the equator, where most of the world's population resides due to moderate climates and fertile soils.

Social Stratification

The hierarchical division of people into social groups based on factors such as economic status, power, and ethnicity.

Even Distribution

A spatial pattern in which people or households are dispersed evenly throughout an area on similar-sized plots of land.

Clustered Distribution

A spatial pattern in which people are gathered or nucleated in one specific part of an area, often around a central feature like a church or for defensive purposes.

Linear Distribution

A spatial pattern in which houses and communities stretch out in a line along a natural or human-made feature such as a river, road, or transit route.

Arithmetic Population Density

The measure of population calculated by dividing a region's total population by its total land area.

Physiological Population Density

The measure of population calculated by dividing total population by the amount of arable land.

Arable Land

Land that is suitable for growing crops.

Agricultural Population Density

The measure of population efficiency calculated by comparing the number of farmers to the total area of arable land.

Carrying Capacity

The maximum population size that an environment or region can support without suffering significant environmental deterioration.

Overpopulation

A state in which a region contains more people than its resource base and environment can support.

Redistricting

The redrawing of electoral district boundaries every ten years based on census data to maintain equal population representation per district.

Infrastructure

The physical facilities and foundational structures required for a society to function, such as sewer systems, electrical grids, roads, and bridges.

Age-Sex Composition Graph

A bar graph, commonly called a population pyramid, that displays the distribution of a population by age groups and gender.

Cohorts

Five-year age brackets displayed along the vertical axis of a population pyramid.

Birth Deficit

A significant slowdown or reduction in births during a period of warfare or major conflict.

Baby Boom

A temporary, significant surge in birth rates, often occurring after the end of a war or during periods of economic abundance.

Baby Bust

A period of lower birth rates following a baby boom that lasts until the boomer generation reaches childbearing age.

Echo (Population Pyramid)

A visible bulge on a population pyramid representing a temporary rise in births when a previous baby boom generation reaches childbearing age.

Potential Workforce

The segment of a population comprising people ages $15$ to $64$ who are expected to form the labor force.

Dependent Population

The segment of a population comprising people under age $15$ and over age $64$ who rely on the workforce for economic support.

Dependency Ratio

A value comparing the working to nonworking parts of a population, calculated by dividing the dependent population by the potential workforce.

Demographic Balancing Equation

A formula for calculating future population: $\text{Future Population} = \text{Current Population} + (\text{Births} - \text{Deaths}) + (\text{Immigrants} - \text{Emigrants})$.

Crude Birth Rate (CBR)

The total number of live births per year for every $1,000$ people in a population.

Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

The average number of children a woman would give birth to during her childbearing years ($15$ to $49$) based on current birth rates.

Life Expectancy

The average number of years an individual is expected to live, measured from birth or another given age.

Infant Mortality Rate

The number of children who die before reaching their first birthday per $1,000$ live births.

Crude Death Rate (CDR)

The total number of deaths per year for every $1,000$ people in a population.

Rate of Natural Increase (RNI)

The percentage rate at which a population grows or declines without accounting for migration, calculated as $\text{RNI} = \frac{\text{CBR} - \text{CDR}}{10}$.

Population Doubling Time

The estimated number of years required for an exponentially growing population to double, calculated using the Rule of 70 ($\text{Doubling Time} = \frac{70}{\text{Growth Rate}}$).

Demographic Transition Model (DTM)

A model illustrating five predictable stages of population growth and change that countries undergo as they transition from agrarian to industrial economies.

Demographic Momentum

The tendency for a population to continue growing for $20$ to $40$ years after fertility rates drop because large youth cohorts mature and produce children.

Epidemiological Transition Model

A model created by Abdel Omran identifying predictable stages of disease patterns and causes of death that societies experience as they develop economically.

Malthusian Theory

The theory created by Thomas Malthus stating that food production grows arithmetically while human population grows exponentially, leading inevitably to famine and overpopulation.

Boserup Theory

The theory proposed by Ester Boserup stating that population growth stimulates agricultural innovation, technology, and increased food production.

Neo-Malthusians

Modern theorists who accept Malthus's premise and warn that modern population growth threatens nonrenewable resources, the global environment, and societal stability.

Antinatalist Policies

Government programs designed to reduce national birth rates, such as China's former One-child policy.

Pronatalist Policies

Government programs designed to increase fertility rates by offering incentives such as paid parental leave, cash bonuses, and subsidized childcare.

Migration

The permanent or semi-permanent relocation of people from one geographic location to another.

Voluntary Migration

Relocation made by choice when a migrant weighs push factors at home against pull factors in a destination.

Push Factors

Negative conditions, events, or circumstances at a place of origin that compel individuals to leave.

Pull Factors

Positive conditions, circumstances, or opportunities at a potential destination that attract migrants.

Immigrant

A person who moves across an international border with the intent of settling permanently in a new country.

Emigrant

A person who leaves their home country to permanently settle in another.

Migration Transition Model

Wilbur Zelinsky's theory stating that countries in Stages 2 and 3 of the DTM experience overcrowding that pushes migrants toward Stage 4 or 5 countries.

Intervening Obstacles

Environmental, economic, political, or social barriers that hinder migrants from reaching their intended destination.

Intervening Opportunities

Favorable economic or social circumstances encountered along a migration route that cause a migrant to settle before reaching their original destination.

Distance Decay

The geographical principle stating that interaction and migration between two places decrease as the distance between them increases.

Gravity Model of Migration

A model stating that spatial interaction and migration between two locations are directly proportional to their populations and inversely proportional to the distance between them.

Step Migration

A process in which a migrant reaches an ultimate long-distance destination through a series of shorter, incremental relocations.

Counter Migration

A flow of migrants moving in the opposite direction of an established primary migration stream.

Return Migration

The movement of immigrants back to their original country or place of origin.

Forced Migration

Involuntary movement where individuals are compelled to relocate due to war, persecution, or environmental disasters.

Internally Displaced Person (IDP)

A forced migrant who has been compelled to flee their home but remains within the national boundaries of their home country.

Refugee

A forced migrant who crosses international borders due to a well-founded fear of persecution, war, or violence.

Asylum

Official protection granted by a host country to a foreign national who faces potential harm or persecution in their home country.

Transnational Migration

International movement in which individuals relocate permanently or semi-permanently from one nation to another.

Chain Migration

A process in which migrants move to a specific destination because relatives, friends, or members of their ethnic group previously settled there.

Guest Workers

Transnational migrants permitted to temporarily reside and work in a foreign host country to fill labor shortages.

Transhumance

The seasonal movement of livestock and pastoralists between higher mountain pastures in summer and lower valleys in winter.

Xenophobia

An irrational fear, hatred, or prejudice against people from other cultures or foreign nations.

Remittances

Money earned by foreign workers that is transferred back to family members and friends in their home country.

Brain Drain

The large-scale emigration of highly educated, skilled, or professional individuals from a developing country to a wealthier nation.

Ethnic Enclaves

Neighborhoods within urban areas predominantly populated by immigrants sharing a common ethnic heritage and culture.