Hildebrant, Human Geography for the AP® Course 1e - Module 8

population composition

The makeup of the population by age and sex as well as by ethnic, racial, income, and educational background

age structure

Refers to the breakdown of a population into different age groups or cohorts

dependency ratio

The number of dependents in a population, that each 100 working-age people (ages 15 to 64 years) must support

youth dependency ratio

The number of young dependents in a population (usually people younger than 15 years of age) that every 100 working-age people must support

elderly dependency ratio

The number of elderly dependents in a population (usually people older than 64 years of age) that every 100 working-age people must support

generations

Groups of people who were born around the same time and share some common traits due to the cultural and societal influences they shared as they grew up

Baby Boomers

People born from 1946 to 1964 during the post-World War II uptick in birth rate

Generation X

People born between 1965 and 1980 and are now in their prime working years

Generation Y

People who were born between 1981 and 2000; often referred to as millennials

Generation Z

People born after the turn of the twenty-first century

sex ratio

The ratio of the number of men to number of women in a population

androcentrism

A phenomenon in which a culture demonstrates a marked preference for males

infanticide

The practice of killing infants

population pyramid

A very useful graphic device for comparing age and sex structure