Population Geography: Mortality, Migration, and Distribution

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers essential demographic concepts including mortality measures, migration theories (Ravenstein, Lee, Malthus), population distribution metrics, and specific population trends in Kuwait as described in the lecture notes.

Mortality

The second most important element affecting population growth in societies after fertility, significantly impacting the age, gender, and occupational structure found in a population.

John Graunt

The first person to study mortality cases, specifically focused on the city of London during the $17^{th}$ century.

Death (UN Definition)

The permanent disappearance of all evidence of life at any time after a live birth has taken place.

Biological (Endogenous) Causes

Internal factors leading to death, such as birth defects, rapid changes in bodily functions, malignant tumors, circulatory system diseases, and aging (senescence).

External (Exogenous) Causes

Environmental factors outside the human body that lead to death, including malnutrition, infectious diseases, wars, natural disasters, and unhealthy housing conditions.

Crude Death Rate (CDR)

A general measure of mortality in a population, though it is criticized for not accounting for the specific age structure of the population.

Age-Specific Mortality Rate

A measure of the number of deaths within a specific age group per $1000$ individuals of that same age group.

Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)

The number of deaths of children under the age of $1$ per $1000$ live births in the same year, often serving as an indicator of a country's medical and developmental progress.

Early Neonatal Mortality

Deaths occurring within the first month of life, usually attributed to internal biological causes, congenital defects, or developmental weaknesses.

Late Infant Mortality

Deaths occurring after the first month but before the first year of life, typically caused by external environmental factors like infection or pollution.

Life Expectancy at Birth ($e^0$)

A term used to understand the average number of years a person is expected to live from birth, provided current mortality rates remains constant.

Life Tables

Detailed tables used to predict life expectancy and survival rates for different age groups; also known as mortality tables.

Edmund Halley

The inventor of the first life tables, which provided figures regarding the expected survival of different age groups.

Migration

The non-natural spatial movement of people, involving a permanent or semi-permanent change of residence and the crossing of geographical or administrative boundaries.

Ravenstein's Laws of Migration

A set of principles stating that migration is an organized movement influenced by distance (inverse relationship), step-migration patterns, and industrial development.

Everett Lee’s Theory

A migration model based on push factors (negative aspects of the origin) and pull factors (positive aspects of the destination), as well as intervening obstacles like distance.

Behavioral Theory of Migration

A theory linking migration to the human life cycle, suggesting that younger, single individuals are more likely to migrate and take risks than older individuals with family responsibilities.

Demographic Transition Theory

A theory expanded by Frank Notestein stating that economic and social development levels significantly influence population growth, fertility, and mortality rates.

Malthusian Theory

Thomas Malthus's theory predicting a 'population explosion' where population grows geometrically while food resources grow arithmetically, eventually leading to famine.

Lugano Report

A report from a $1999$ meeting in Switzerland suggesting that to maintain the global capitalist power structure, the global population should be reduced by one-third to reach $4$ billion.

Golden Billion Theory

A theory by Kara-Murza suggesting that Earth's resources can only sustain one billion people in a prosperous lifestyle, leading to ideologies of population reduction.

Arithmetic Density

The most common measure of population distribution, calculated by dividing the total population by the total land area.

Physiological Density

The ratio of the total population to the total area of arable (cultivatable) land, useful for understanding food security.

Reverse Migration (Kuwait)

Significant periods in Kuwait's history ($1990$ during the invasion and $2020$ during the COVID-19 pandemic) where large numbers of residents left the country.

Expatriate Population in Kuwait

A demographic group that currently makes up approximately $70\%$ of the total population, characterized by a high percentage of working-age males.