Lecture Notes on Geography of Population | GR 100, Study notes of Geography

Download Lecture Notes on Geography of Population | GR 100 and more Study notes Geography in PDF only on Docsity! Geography of Population October 3, 2011 Population and Migration Population Geography: the distribution of humankind across the planet I. World Population Distribution and Density a. most people in northern hemisphere, 75% live b/w 70 and 60 degrees North, 90% of us on less than 20% of the earth’s surface b. Where do people live? -most humans live less that 650ft above sea level (near the ocean) -arismatic density: people per whatever -Physiological density: # of ppl per unit of arable land; higher the physiological density, the more pressure on the ppl to produce enough food; relationship b/w ppl & resources -Agricultural density: # of rural residents per unit of agriculturally productive land -Ecumene: permanently inhabited ares of the earth; has been extended by technologies -Nonecumene: uninhabited or very sparsely occupied zone; 35% to 40% of the land surface II. World Population Dynamics Definitions a. Cohorts: population group unified by a common characteristic such as age b. Birth Rates (Crude Birth Rate): annual # of live births per 1000 people *influenced by age and sex structure customs and family size expectations, population policies *high greater than 30, low less than 18 c. Crude Death Rate: annual # of deaths per 1000 ppl *In the past, varied w/ levels of development *also influenced by age structure d. Natural Increase: crude birth rate minus crude death rate (expressed as a percentage) *excludes migration e. Demographic Equation: regional population change is a function of natural increase and net migration *(net migration is calculated by subtracting emigrants and adding immigrants from a population) f. Total Fertility Rate: average number of children born to each woman over her lifetime *replacement level fertility= 2.1-2.3 *Worldwide TFR in 2010= 2.55 1. more-developed countries= 1.6 2. less-developed countries= 2.7 III. Population Projections a. Population projections: based on assumptions applied to current data -high, medium, and low projections may be given Geography of Population b. Population data: sources- United Nations, World Bank, Population Reference Bureau, national censuses -may be inaccurate IV. Regional Variations to Pop. Growth: a. (1) Age Structure of the Country -population pyramids: a graphic depiction of the age and sex composition of a population b. (2) Population Momentum -numbers of births continue to grow as fertility rates per woman decline because the number of young women reaching child bearing age is larger than ever before c. Dependency Ratio: the number of economic dependents that each 100 persons in the productive years must support -population profile influences demands on a country’s social and economic systems V. Why does population doubling stop? a. Demographic Transition -looks at a point in time in the past (birth & death rates) -made by people who were studying what was happening in Europe (why it didn’t over populate or die from starvation) -stages of decline (Japan) b. The Developing World: Demographic Transition? -some are seeing death rates plummet, but birth rate is still very high c. An Epidemiological Transition? -Stage 1: stage of pestilence and famine (early human history till 1700s) -Stage 2: stage of receding pandemics (1800s) -Stage 3: stage of degenerative and human-created diseases (1800s-1950s) -Stage 4: stage of delayed degenerative diseases (1950s-present) -Stage 5?: stage of re-emergence of infectious and parasitic diseases (present-?) *some diseases are making a comeback...antibiotics being given to livestock & are becoming resistant *different animals are being placed close together...human caused diseases? VI. Factors Affecting Fertility a. Fertility transition: women stopped having as many kids (mostly b/c ppl were getting richer) -propaganda, policies towards contraceptions (give them away), free sterilization -change in the status of women: every year a girl goes to school it decreases her TFI by 5-10%