Unit 2 - Population Vocabulary

Agricultural density

The ratio of number of farmers to the total amount of land suitable for agriculture.

Arithmetic density

The total number of people divided by the total land area.

Carrying capacity

The number of organisms an ecosystem can sustainably support.

Census

A complete enumeration of a population.

Crude birth rate (CBR)

The total number of live births in a year for every 1,000 people alive in the society.

Crude death rate (CDR)

The total number of deaths in a year for every 1,000 people alive in the society.

Demographic transition

The process of change in a society's population from high crude birth and death rates to low rates and higher total population.

Demography

The scientific study of population characteristics.

Dependency Ratio

The number of people under age 15 and over age 64 compared to the number of people active in the labor force.

Doubling time

The number of years needed to double a population at a constant rate of natural increase.

Ecumene

The portion of Earth’s surface occupied by a permanent human settlement.

Elderly Support Ratio

The number of working-age people (15-64) divided by the number of people 65 and older.

Epidemiologic transition

The process of change in the distinctive causes of death in each stage of demographic transition.

Industrial Revolution

A series of improvements in industrial technology that transformed manufacturing processes.

Infant mortality rate (IMR)

The total number of deaths in a year among infants under 1 for every 1,000 live births in a society.

Life Expectancy

The average number of years an individual can be expected to live.

Maladaptation

An adaptation that has become less beneficial and more harmful over time.

Malthus/Boserup Population Theories

Theories on population growth and its relationship to food production and agricultural innovation.

Maternal Mortality Rate

The annual number of female deaths per 100,000 live births related to pregnancy or its management.

Medical revolution

Medical technology from Europe and North America that improved practices in poorer countries.

Natural increase rate (NIR)

The percentage growth of a population in a year, calculated as crude birth rate minus crude death rate.

Overpopulation

A situation where the number of people exceeds the environment's capacity to support life at a decent standard of living.

Pandemic

A disease that occurs over a wide geographic area and affects a high proportion of the population.

Physiological density

The number of people per unit area of arable land suitable for agriculture.

Population pyramid

A bar graph representing the distribution of population by age and sex.

Restrictive population policies

Government policies aimed at reducing the rate of natural increase (NIR).

Sex ratio

The number of males per 100 females in the population.

Stationary population level

The level at which a national population ceases to grow.

Total fertility rate (TFR)

The average number of children a woman will have throughout her childbearing years.

Zero population growth (ZPG)

A decline in the total fertility rate to the point where the natural increase rate equals zero.