Geography and Demography Vocabulary

Vocabulary terms and definitions related to Chinese geography, demography, and global economics as described in the lecture notes.

Population distribution

The distribution of people across a country or area.

Relief

Differences in elevation within the landscape.

Tundra

A treeless area in polar regions with vegetation consisting of grasses, mosses, and low shrubs.

Highland / Plateau

A flat or gently rolling area located more than $500\,m$ high.

Lowland

An area without significant elevation differences that is lower than $500\,m$.

Delta

An area just before the mouth of a river where the river branches into multiple courses.

Population policy

Government measures intended to influence the size and distribution of the population.

One-child policy

A policy where families are not allowed to have more than one child.

Population diagram

A bar chart showing the age structure of the population.

Aging population (Vergrijzing)

An increase in the proportion of elderly ($65+$) in the total population.

Life expectancy

The average number of years a person is expected to live from a certain age.

Culture

Everything that you have been taught or learned.

Migration

Moving from one place of residence to another.

Population density

The average number of inhabitants per square kilometer ($inw/km^2$).

Age structure

The composition of the population across different age groups.

Communism

A political form in which the state owns all companies and determines which products are manufactured.

Knowledge-intensive

A process where a high level of specialized knowledge is required to manufacture products.

Urbanization rate

The percentage of people in a country who live in cities.

Mechanization

The process of replacing human labor with machines.

Migrant

Someone who moves from one place of residence to another.

Floating population

Migrants in China who live in a place other than where they are officially registered.

Infrastructure

All facilities required for the transport of people, goods, and information.

Urbanization

The process by which an increasing number of people move to live in cities.

Housing density

The number of homes per $km^2$.

Push factor

A reason to leave an area.

Push factor (Afstotingsfactor)

Another word for a push factor.

Pull factor

A reason that makes an area attractive to migrants.

Pull factor (Aantrekkingsfactor)

Another word for a pull factor.

Rural-urban migration

Migration from the countryside to the city.

Urbanization pace

The speed at which the urbanization rate is increasing.

Regional inequality

Differences in prosperity between different areas.

Social inequality

Differences in wealth and development opportunities between groups of people.

Special Economic Zone (SEZ)

An area where foreign companies can establish themselves freely and pay low taxes.

Colony

An area in another part of the world that is owned by another country.

Labor-intensive

A type of company or process that requires a large amount of labor.

Low-wage country

A country with low labor costs.

Megacity

A city with more than $10$ million inhabitants.

Labor migrant

Someone who moves specifically to find work elsewhere.

Export

The shipment of goods and services to another country.

Sales market

The number of customers available to purchase products.

High-tech industry

An industry based on advanced technical knowledge.

Assembly

The process of putting a product together.

Globalization

The process of international exchange involving people, goods, money, and information.

Multinational corporation

A company with branches located in several different countries.

International division of labor

The distribution of work activities across different countries.

Newly Industrializing Countries (NIC's)

Countries where industry has emerged and grown rapidly.

Production shift (Uitschuiven)

The relocation of parts of production to a cheaper country.