Unit 2 Population & Migration

Population Distribution
The pattern of where people live across the world, showing areas that are densely or sparsely populated.

Population Density
The number of people living per unit of area, typically expressed per square kilometer or square mile.

Arithmetic Population Density
The total population of a region divided by the total land area. It’s the simplest way to measure population density.

Physiological Population Density
The number of people per unit of arable land (land suitable for farming). It gives a better idea of how much land is available to support the population.

Agricultural Population Density
The number of farmers per unit of arable land. It can show how much labor is required to farm an area.

Carrying Capacity
The maximum population an area can sustain without damaging the environment or exhausting resources.

Age-Sex Composition Graph
A visual representation (usually a population pyramid) that shows the distribution of a population by age and sex. It helps to analyze a population's demographic structure.

Population Pyramid
A type of bar graph that shows the distribution of a population by age groups and sex. It’s often used to study population trends over time.

Total Fertility Rate (TFR)
The average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime. It is used to estimate population growth.

Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)
The number of infants who die before their first birthday per 1,000 live births. It’s an important indicator of health care quality and living conditions.

Rate of Natural Increase (RNI)
The difference between the birth rate and death rate, usually expressed as a percentage. It shows the natural growth of a population without immigration.

Dependency Ratio
The ratio of people who are dependent (under age 15 or over age 64) to the working-age population (ages 15-64). A high ratio indicates a heavier burden on the workforce.

Population Doubling Time
The number of years it takes for a population to double in size, assuming a constant rate of growth.

Demographic Transition Model (DTM)
A model that describes the stages of population growth a country goes through as it develops. It has five stages: high stationary, early expanding, late expanding, low stationary, and declining.

Epidemiological Transition Model
A model that identifies the distinct causes of death in each stage of the demographic transition, with infectious diseases prevalent in earlier stages and chronic diseases in later stages.

Malthusian Theory
The theory proposed by Thomas Malthus that suggests population growth will outpace food production, leading to widespread famine and hardship unless population growth is controlled.

Antinatalist Policies
Policies that discourage or limit population growth, often through measures like family planning programs or restrictions on the number of children per family (e.g., China’s One-Child Policy).

Pronatalist Policies
Policies that encourage or promote population growth, often through incentives like tax breaks, parental leave, and subsidized childcare (e.g., in countries with low birth rates).

Migration
The movement of people from one place to another, either within a country (internal migration) or across national borders (international migration).

Voluntary Migration
Migration in which people choose to move, often for reasons such as better economic opportunities, education, or family reunification.

Push Factor
Factors that drive people to leave a place, such as poverty, war, or natural disasters.

Pull Factor
Factors that attract people to a new location, such as better economic opportunities, political stability, or family ties.

Intervening Obstacle
Any factor (e.g., mountains, oceans, political barriers) that makes it more difficult for migrants to reach their desired destination.

Intervening Opportunity
A situation that arises during migration that makes migrants stop at a location before reaching their intended destination, often because it provides a better opportunity (e.g., a job or cheaper living costs).

Step Migration
Migration that happens in stages, where people move to a series of increasingly larger places (e.g., from a rural area to a nearby town, then to a larger city).

Rural-to-Urban Migration
The movement of people from rural areas to urban areas, often driven by the search for better job opportunities and living standards.

Ravenstein's Laws of Migration
A set of theories by geographer E.G. Ravenstein that describe patterns of migration, including the observation that most migrants travel short distances and that migration flows tend to create counterflows.

Forced Migration
Migration that occurs when people are forced to move, often due to factors such as war, persecution, or natural disasters.

Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
People who are forced to flee their homes but remain within their own country (as opposed to refugees, who cross international borders).

Refugee
A person who is forced to flee their country due to fear of persecution, war, or violence and seeks refuge in another country.

Asylum
Protection granted to individuals in a foreign country due to fear of persecution in their home country.

Internal Migration
The movement of people within the same country, typically from rural to urban areas or between regions.

Transnational Migration
Migration that involves movement across national borders, but with individuals maintaining connections to their home countries (e.g., sending remittances, keeping cultural ties).

Chain Migration
Migration that occurs when people move to a location where they have relatives or others of the same nationality who previously migrated there.

Guest Workers
Migrants who are allowed to temporarily live and work in a country, typically to fill labor shortages in certain industries.

Transhumance
The seasonal migration of livestock and herders between different grazing areas, often in mountainous regions.