AP Human Geography: Unit 2 Vocabulary: Population & Migration Patterns & Processes

Agricultural Density

The number of farmers per unit of arable land

Antinatalist policy

Designed to curtail population growth by reducing fertility rates

Arithmetic (crude) density

The average number of people per unit of land area (usually per square mile or kilometer)

Brain drain

A phenomenon where a country or a place loses young, more educated, and skilled people through migration

Brain gain

A phenomenon where a country or a place gains young, more educated, and skilled people through migration

carrying capacity

the number of people a particular environment or Earth as a whole can support on a sustainable basis

chain migration

The process by which some people’s migration to a new place leads their family members, friends, and others to move to the same place

Child mortality

Deaths of children under five years of age

Cornucopians or anti-Malthusians

People who disagree with the Malthusian view of population and resources

Crude birth rate (CBR)

The average number of births per 1000 people; traditional way of measuring birth rates

Crude death rate (CDR) or mortality rate

The number of deaths per year per 1000 people

degenerative disease

A disease that causes deterioration over time, such as cancer, heart disease, and stroke

demographic transition model (DTM)

How crude birth rate (CBR) and crude death rate (CDR) as well as the resulting rate of natural increase (RNI) change over time as countries go through industrialization and urbanization

demography

The statistical study of population and its change

Dependency ratio

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

doubling time

The number of years it takes for a population to double in size

ecumene

The portion of Earth’s surface with permanent human settlement

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

Emigrant or out-migrant

A person who leaves their country of origin

Emigration or out-migration

The act of a migrant leaving their place (country) of origin

Epidemiological transition theory

Seeks to explain how changes in health services and living standard affect patterns of disease

forced migration

Migration caused by forces out of one’s control, such as disasters, social conflicts, or developmental projects.

gender roles

Culturally specific notions of what it means to be a man or woman

Great migration

The twentieth-century movement of 6 million African Americans from the rural southern states to the cities of the midwestern and northeastern states

Guest worker

A person with temporary permission to work in another country

Immigrant or in-migrant

A person who arrives at their destination country

immigration or in-migration

The act of a migrant arriving at their destination country

infant mortality rate (IMR)

A measure of how many infants die within the first year of their life per 1000 live births

Infanticide

The practice of killing infants

Internally displaced person (IDP)

Someone who remains within his or her country’s borders despite being persecuted by their home country

intervening obstacle

A complication that potential migrants will need to overcome to reach their destination

Intervening opportunity

A nearby attractive locale where migrants may decide to settle instead of going to the intended destination farther away

Life expectancy

The number of years a person can expect to live from birth

Malthusian

A term derived from the name Thomas Robert Malthus, an English economist and cleric, to mean either “of or relating to Malthus’s theory” or “a follower of Malthus”

Migration

The long-term or permanent relocation of individuals, families, or entire communities from one place to another

neo-Malthusians

People who today subscribe to the Malthusian view of population

net migration

The difference between the number of in-migrants and out-migrants

Overpopulation

Occurs when the human population exceeds the food supply

Physiological density

The average number of people per unit area (a square mile or kilometer) of arable land

Population density

The average number of people per unit of land area

population distribution

The patterns in which humans are spread out on Earth’s surface

Population pyramid

A very useful graphic device for comparing age and sex structure

pronatalist policy

Designed to boost fertility rates and ultimately population growth

pull factors

The attributes of other places that make them appealing to potential migrants

push factors

Factors that cause people to be dissatisfied with their present locales and want to move somewhere else

Rate of Natural Increase (RNI)

The difference between the number of births and deaths in a given year, when expressed as a percentage of total population

Refugees

A person who leaves their country because of persecution based on race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, or political opinion

Rule of 70

A tool for calculating the doubling time of a population by dividing 70 by a country’s rate of natural increase (RNI)

Rural-to-urban migration

When people move from the countryside to cities

Seasonal migration

Migration based on the time of year

Sex ratio

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

Step (or stepwise) migration

Migration carried out in a series of stages, usually from nearby to bigger and more distant places

Total fertility rate (TFR)

The average number of children born per woman during her reproductive lifetime, considered to be from 15 to 49 years of age

Voluntary migration

Migration that is done willingly

Women’s empowerment

The increased autonomy of women to make choices and shape their lives

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

zero population growth

When a country has the same number of births and deaths in a given year, its rate of natural increase (RNI) is zero.