AP HuG Unit 2

• Population distribution


  The pattern of people scattered over an area
• Population density


  The number of people within a given area
• World population facts


  • World's current population: estimated at 7 billion (World Bank)
  • China (1.3 billion) and India (1.2 billion) together comprise about 1/3 of the global population
  • Major population concentrations: East Asia, Northeast America, South Asia, Western Europe
  • 60 % of the world's population lives within 60 miles of the ocean
  • High population areas have high soil fertility, and tend to have mild climates
  • World is becoming more urban: about 50% population reside in urban areas
• Factors influencing population distribution

  • Physical factors: climate, landforms, water bodies
  • Human factors: culture, economics, history, politics
• Ecumene


  The habitable parts of the world
• Scales of analysis for population distribution

  • Global: in the world
  • Regional: in Southwest Asia
  • National: in Syria
  • Local: in Aleppo
• Methods for calculating population density

  • Arithmetic population density: measure of the number of people within a given area divided by the total land area
  • Physiologic population density: measure of the number of people per arable (farmable) land
  • Agricultural population density: measure of the number of farmers per arable land
• Population density


  • Egypt: 182 persons per square mile
  • Japan: 879 persons per square mile
• Physiologic population density


  • Egypt: 9,064 persons per arable land
  • Japan: 7,944 persons per arable land
• Population distribution and population density


  Affect political, economic, and social processes
• Population distribution and population density

  Affect the environment
• Carrying capacity


  The number of people an area can sustain without critically straining its resources
• Scales of analysis for age structure and sex ratio


  • Global: in the world
  • Regional: in East Asia
  • National: in China
  • Local: in rural areas
• Population pyramid


  Provides a visual representation of a population in terms of age and sex as well as a good indication of the dependency ratio within a country and is used to assess population growth and decline and to predict markets for goods/services
• Population pyramid shapes representing growth

  • Rapid growth: distinguished by a wide base
  • Stable/slow growth: characterized by a rectangular shape
  • Declining/negative growth: the base is smaller than previous cohorts
  • Disrupted growth: significant gaps in the pyramid, usually as a result of war, strict population policies, or other drastic events
• Total fertility rate (TFR)


  The average number of children a woman will have during her childbearing years (15-49)
• Birth rate


  Number of live births in a single year for every 1000 people (in a population)
• Replacement fertility level


  2.1 (slightly higher than 2.0 to account for infant/childhood mortality/childless women)
• Mortality (death) rate


  Number of deaths in a single year for every 1000 people (in a population)
• Infant mortality rate


  Number of deaths during the 1st year of life (per 1000)
• Child mortality rate


  Number of deaths of between the ages of 1 and 5 (per 1000)
• Maternal mortality rate


  Number of deaths during or shortly after childbirth (per 100,000)
• Migration


  Involves a degree of permanence when moving to a new locale
• Emigration (out migration)


  Describes movement out of a particular place
• Immigration (in migration)


  Describes movement to a particular place
• Transnational migration


  Migration across national boundaries
• Internal migration


  Migration within national boundaries
• Natural increase


  Birth rate minus death rate
• Population doubling time


  The length of time for a population to double in size
• Factors influencing fertility, mortality, and migration rates

  • Social: gender empowerment, attitudes about family planning, contraception, marrying age and family size
  • Cultural: religion/morality, ethnicity, values/attitudes, gender empowerment
  • Political: government policies, gender empowerment, conflicts/war
  • Economic: MDC/LDC, education level, employment opportunity, nutrition, health care, gender empowerment
• Demographic Transition Model


  Describes the relationship between population and the development of a country and can be used to explain population change over time
• Stages of Demographic Transition Model

  • Stage 1: pre-industrialization (no industries) - birth rates are high & death rates are high = low population growth
  • Stage 2: developing country (industrializing) - birth rates are high & death rates begin to drop = population increases
  • Stage 3: developing country (industrializing) - birth rates begin to drop and death rates drop = population levels off
  • Stage 4: developed country (post industrialization) - birth rates are low and death rates are low = population stabilizes
  • Stage 5: developed country (post industrialization) - birth rates are very low and death rates are low = population declines
• Issues with Demographic Transition Model: it describes the demographic history of Europe (England) and may not necessarily work outside of this region
• Epidemiologic transition (mortality revolution)


  Increase in population due to medical innovation (modern medicine) causing a decrease in the death rate
• Population explosion


  The very great and continuing increase in human population in modern times
• In the past 200 years: an increase of more than 5.5 billion people, world population is projected to reach approximately 9 billion by 2050
• Thomas Malthus (1798)


  Argued that the size and growth of a population depends on the food supply and agricultural methods AND when there is an insufficient supply of food, people die
• Ester Boserup (1965)


  Theorized that people will find ways to increase food production and improve agricultural methods in times of pressure
• Population policies


  • Pro-natalist: policies that provide incentives for women to have children, typically in countries with declining populations
  • Anti-natalist: policies that encourage couples to limit the number of children they have
  • Immigration: policies that address the movement of persons across borders
• Factors that have reduced fertility rates in most parts of the world

  • Changing social, economic, and political roles for females - changing social values (role of women/gender empowerment), access to education, employment, political empowerment, health care and contraception