Unit 2: Population and Migration - AP Human Geography Review Notes

Population Distribution and Density

• Population distribution: How people are spread out across an area.

• Population density: How many people are in a particular area.

• Factors influencing population distribution:

  • Climate

  • Landforms

  • Water bodies

  • Culture

  • Economics

  • History

  • Politics

• Site and situation impact the location of settlements.

Population Densities

• Three types of densities to be familiar with:

  • Arithmetic Density: Total population divided by total land area. (Population Density)
    Arithmetic\ Density = \frac{Total\ Population}{Total\ Land\ Area}

  • Physiological Density: Total population divided by arable land. Physiological\ Density = \frac{Total\ Population}{Arable\ Land}

    • Arable land: Land suitable for farming or agricultural production.

    • A low physiological density implies less stress on the environment and easier food production.

    • A high physiological density suggests more pressure on land resources to feed the population.

  • Agricultural Density: The number of farmers divided by arable land. Agricultural\ Density = \frac{Amount\ of\ Farmers}{Arable\ Land}

    • A low agricultural density indicates advanced agricultural practices and technology use, allowing people to work in other sectors.

    • A high agricultural density suggests less efficient techniques and more farmers needed per unit of land.

    • Connection to economic development: Less economically developed countries tend to have a higher agricultural density and more jobs in the primary sector.

Carrying Capacity

• Definition: The maximum number of individuals that the environment can sustain.

• Impact on political, social, and economic aspects:

  • Density and distribution influence politics, laws, and taxes.

  • Social pressures and opportunities vary based on population density.

  • Urban areas offer more services like healthcare and public transportation.

  • Rural areas may have more green spaces and less traffic but longer commute times.

Sex Ratio

• Definition: The number of males per 100 females in a population.

  • Ratio \< 100: Fewer males than females.

  • Ratio > 100: More males than females.

  • Ratio = 100: Equal number of males and females.

• Changes over time: As societies age, the sex ratio may become imbalanced due to men engaging in riskier behaviors and women tending to live longer.

Dependency Ratios

• General definition: Measures the proportion of people who are not in the labor force (i.e., children and the elderly) compared to those who are.

• Age dependency ratio: Focuses on people who are retired.

• Child dependency ratio: Focuses on people too young to work.

• High elderly dependency ratio: The working population may face a higher tax burden, job shortages, and potential social and cultural shifts.

• High child dependency ratio: Increased need for preschools and childcare services.

Aging Societies

• Consequences:

  • Population decrease

  • Increased need for elderly homes

  • Government shifts in funding priorities

  • Decreasing birth rates

  • Fewer people working

  • Increased medical costs

  • Potential implementation of pronatalist policies

Population Pyramids

• Organization:

  • Cohorts: Age groups (e.g., 0-4, 5-9).

  • Population: Numbers or percentages, always read the units.

  • Title, Legend, Keys: Important to fully understand Pyramids

• Components:

  • Pre-reproductive years

  • Reproductive years

  • Post-reproductive years

• Shape Significance:

  • A large base in the reproductive years indicates a high birth rate (Stage 2).

  • A large top indicates more people in the post-reproductive years, indicating an aging population.

• Elderly dependency ration indicated by a larger top.

• Child dependency ratio indicated by a a wider base.

• Can also see Sex Ratio via pop. pyramids.

• Insights gained:

  • Economic conditions, what sectors they are working in Primary, Secondary, Tertiary ect.

  • Stage of demographic transition (Stage 2 or Stage 4)

  • Services needed (child care, elder care)

Population Dynamics

• Key Terms:

  • Crude Birth Rate (CBR): Total number of births.

  • Crude Death Rate (CDR): Total number of deaths.

  • Rate of Natural Increase (RNI): CBR minus CDR (migration not factored in).

  • Total Fertility Rate (TFR): Average number of children a woman will have.

  • Infant Mortality Rate (IMR): Total number of deaths under one year of age.

  • Doubling Time: Time it takes for a population to double.

Demographic Transition Model

• Stage 1:

  • High birth and death rates cancel each other out, resulting in low population growth.

  • Jobs in the primary sector

• Stage 2:

  • Death rates fall due to the industrial and medical revolutions.

  • Birth rates remain high.
    Industrial revolution is tied to this stage

  • People still expecting many of their children to die, so they continue to have larger families.
    *Medical revolution is tied to this stage

• Stage 3:

  • Population increase slows down as cultural and economic changes take effect.

  • Women gain more opportunities and delay childbirth.

  • Urbanization continues.

• Stage 4:

  • Birth and death rates are essentially the same, leading to zero population growth (ZPG).

  • Countries may implement pronatalist policies.

  • International migration becomes more common.

  • Countries are starting to implement pronatalist policy.

• Stage 5:

  • Birth rates dip lower than death rates, resulting in a population decline.

  • Very developed population leads to less kids.

  • Total Fertility Rate: 2.1. If below 2.1 will cause a population to shrink.

Epidemiologic Transition Model

• Connects to the demographic transition model and focuses on causes of death.

• Stage 1: Dying from nearly everything:
  *Animal attacks
  *Famine

• Parasitic diseases

• Stage 2: Receding Pandemics:
  *Decreased diseases due to Sanitation increase
  *More nutritious foods
  *Medical revolution impact
  *More urbanization

• Stage 3: Degenerative Diseases:

  • Due to living longer they start to die from human created diseases like: Cancer rates, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimers.
    *As people continue to start living longer cancer start's to affect the population more.

• Stage 4: Delaying Degenerative diseases:
  *This is where people start to actively fight or push back against diseases.
  *People start to eat healthier, exercise and stop consuming as much toxic substances.

• Stage 5:Reemergence of infectious diseases
  *Disease evolution
  *Increased poverty and urbanization
  *Globalization
  *COVID is an example of Stage 5.

Malthus

• Malthus' Theory: Population grows exponentially, while food production increases arithmetically, leading to a Malthusian catastrophe.
  *There will inevitably be a clash that leads to wide spread war, or the crumbling of the earth.
  *Population is growing at an exponential rate as food goes up constantly.

• Neo-Malthusians: Updated version focusing on resources in general and the Earth's carrying capacity.
  *Critiques to Malthus:
  *As the demographic transition model continues the birth rate starts to decrease.
  *There are Agricultural revolutions can increase food production.
  *Technological advanced in farming creates more food (hydroponics).
  *Environmental possibilism (Humans impacting the environment).

Government Policy

• Impacts:
  *Governmental Policy can impact birth rates via:
  *Immigration restrictions
  *Immigration policies.

• Pronatalist Policies: Incentivize people to have more children. *Can offer tax incentives, Child tax credits, or pay for day care/preschool.

  • Antinatalist Policies: Reduce the amount of children being born like China's one child Policy.
    *Quatas can also be used in government policy to help limit a country.
    *** Government policy impacts Birth rates, and the population that makes up society

Women's Role in Society

*Opportunity increases with a developed demographic transition model
*Women have to pursue to seek economic roles outside the household, especially into tertiary/quaternary/quinary which increases a better standard of living
*Less Developed economy: Informal setting with regulated environments where they might not own an acre of land/ the right to own
*Formal Economy: Government Regulated environment with benefits with paying taxes

Ravenstein's Laws of Migration

*Economics is the number one reason why people migrate but typically travel short distance.
*Migration is always short, and people migrate greater distances to larger urban areas (gravity model).
*Families less migrate across international borders due financial issues and the process of immigrating in another country.
*Every migration stream creates a counter stream because of interactions with other societies.
*A lot of Migrants travel through steps due to financial reasons.

Gravity Model

*Large Cities mean you have opportunities and more people will be there.
Connection to Ravinsky a well.

The larger cities will cause people to move in masse to find better opportunities.

Push and Pull Factors

*Push factors: Negative events or situations that motivate people to move away from an area.
*Pull factors: Positive conditions and events that encourage people to move to an area.
They are different for everyone depending on needs/biases/location.

Emigration and Immigration.

*Don't mix up Immigration and Emigration (E for Exit) meaning an individual leaving a country.

Intervening Obstacles and Opportunities:

*Intervening obstacle is a negative situation that hinders migration from happening (government).
*Intervening opportunity is a positive situation that stops migranting (job offer).
*Interregional migration - one region of a country to another.
*Intraregional migration - occurs in one region (like urban to rural).

Forced Migration

*Human trafficking, labor, child soldiers, and slavery.
*Refugees are leaving international boundaries due to persecution, crossing state lines to have asylum.
*Asylum seekers: Trying to seek asylum in the country with protection and natural disaster.
*Internally displaced person: Someone still inside the country fleeing due to violence, war, or natural disaster.

Voluntary Migration

• Transnational: When migrants emigrate from their home country and immigrate to a new country, often maintaining connections to their original country.

• Transhumance: Cyclical migration with livestock, moving between lowlands and highlands to find resources such as food.

• Chain Migration: Family reunifications is a large reason why those from other countries try and migrate to America as legal immigrants.

• Step Migration: Those migrating to another state for money reasons, or can't pay for travel.

• Guest Workers: Individual's with a temp Legal status.

• Remittance: Getting money across the border.

• Rural to Urban Migration: People living in rural regions in those regions to live in urban areas (more Opportunities).

Effects of Migration

Cultural resistance
More economic opportunities
Diffusion
More New businesses/ Social opportunities