Population Geography

birthrate

the number of live births each year per 1,000 population

fertility rate

the average number of children that would be born to a woman over her lifespan

mortality rate

also called the death rate, the number of deaths per thousand people

infant mortality rate

shows the total number of deaths among infants under the age one per thousand live births

6: rate of natural increase

determined by subtracting mortality rate from birth rate; population growth rate

population pyramid

a graphic device that shows sex and age distribution of a population

Function of the population pyramid

Geographers use it to examine how events in a society such as war, famine, and epidemics affect a population of a region or country

Factors that influence where people live

climate, altitude, access to water, economic stability, government financial support, available jobs, safety, travel time, and strategic location

push-pull factors

reasons for migrating

Push Factors

those that cause people to leave their homeland and migrate to another region

pull factors

draw or attract people to another location

Examples of push factors

War, Famine, extreme types of climate, negative environment, high crime rate, high gas prices, high prices of goods

Examples of pull factors

More available jobs, moderate and comfortable climate, low crime rates, low prices of goods, and several support from the government

population density

the average number of people who live in a measurable area, such as a square mile

finding population density

the number is reached by dividing the number of inhabitants in an area by the total amount of land they occupy

carrying capacity

the number of organisms a piece of land can support

example of carrying capacity

a region with fertile land may be able to support far more people than one with land with poor quality or with little land available cultivation

1: fact about the world population

the earth's population is increasing at a rapid rate

2: fact about the world population

almost 90% of the world's population lives in the Northern Hemisphere

3: fact about the world population

almost 2/3 of the world's population lives in the zone between 20-60 degrees N latitude bc they have lands that have suitable climate and vegetation

4: fact about the world population

more than half of the world's population lives in rural areas bc more food, less expensive

5: fact about the world population

Asia is the continent with the greatest population density

Densely populated areas

suitable climate and vegetation; warm and wet enough for agriculture; coastal regions and river valleys

lightly populated areas

polar regions, heavily mountainous regions, and desert regions

Demography

the study of statistics of births, deaths, income, or incidence of disease, which illustrate the changing structure of human population

developing countries

poor, high birthrate, high fertility rate, high IMR

developed countries

Rich, low birthrate, low FR, low IMR

why must the population density figures for a country be used with caution

because population isn't distributed evenly across the land, the number could be misleading for an entire nation. Also population density can change over time.

fertility of land

a region with fertile land may be able to support far more people than one with land of poor quality.

level of technology

Improved farming techniques, such as irrigation, use of fertilizers and mechanized farm equipment, will generally increase food production or the carrying capacity of the land.

economic activities

In some regions that are not based in agriculture the wealth of the county is based in other economic activities. This allows people to import food to support millions of people even though it has little farmable land.