APHG Unit 2 Vocab

Demography

The scientific study of population characteristics.

Population Density

The number of people living per unit of area (e.g., arithmetic, physiological, agricultural).

Carrying Capacity

The maximum population size an environment can sustainably support.

Ecumene

The portion of Earth’s surface that is permanently inhabited by humans.

Population Distribution

The pattern of where people live.

Crude Birth Rate (CBR)

The number of live births per 1,000 people per year.

Crude Death Rate (CDR)

The number of deaths per 1,000 people per year.

Natural Increase Rate (NIR)

The percentage by which a population grows in a year (CBR - CDR).

Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

The average number of children a woman will have in her lifetime.

Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)

The number of infant deaths (under 1 year) per 1,000 live births.

Life Expectancy

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

Demographic Transition Model (DTM)

A model that describes population change over time through 5 stages.

Epidemiologic Transition Model

Focuses on distinctive causes of death in each stage of the DTM.

Malthusian Theory

Thomas Malthus’s theory that population growth would outpace food supply.

Neo-Malthusians

Modern supporters of Malthus’s ideas, emphasizing sustainability issues.

Pro-natalist Policy

A government policy that encourages population growth (e.g., France, Japan).

Anti-natalist Policy

A government policy that discourages population growth (e.g., China’s One Child Policy).

Dependency Ratio

The ratio of people not in the labor force (young and old) to those who are working-age.

Migration

A permanent move to a new location.

Immigration

Moving into a country.

Emigration

Moving out of a country.

Net Migration

The difference between immigration and emigration.

Push Factor

A negative condition that drives people away from a location (e.g., war, famine).

Pull Factor

A positive condition that attracts people to a location (e.g., jobs, safety).

Voluntary Migration

Migration based on one’s free will and initiative.

Forced Migration

Migration compelled by conflict, disasters, or authority (e.g., slavery, refugees).

Refugee

A person forced to flee their country due to conflict or persecution.

Internally Displaced Person (IDP)

Someone who is forced to flee their home but stays within the country.

Asylum Seeker

A person seeking international protection from persecution.

Step Migration

Migration to a distant destination that occurs in stages.

Chain Migration

Migration of people to a specific location because relatives or members of the same nationality previously migrated there.

Transnational Migration

When people move and maintain ties to more than one country.

Intervening Obstacle

A factor that hinders migration (e.g., physical barriers, laws).

Intervening Opportunity

A nearby opportunity that diminishes the attractiveness of farther away options.

Remittances

Money sent by migrants to their home country.

Brain Drain

Large-scale emigration by talented or educated people.

Guest Worker

A foreign laborer living and working temporarily in another country.

Zelinsky’s Migration Transition Model

Links migration patterns to the demographic transition stages.

Ravenstein’s Laws of Migration

A set of principles about migration patterns and tendencies.