Unit 2: Population and Migration Patterns and Processes

population 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

physical factors human factors: culture, economics, history, politics

and human factors
influence physical factors: climate, landforms, water bodies
population
distribution ecumene: the habitable parts of the world
e.g. along fertile rivers, plains

factors that show e.g. conflicts that cause migration:

population global: in the world
distribution vary regional: in Southwest Asia
by scale of analysis national: in Syria
local: in Aleppo

three methods for population density: measure of total population relative to land size
calculating
arithmetic population density: measure of the number of people within a given area divided by the total land area
population density
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

methods used for

calculating
population density EGYPT JAPAN
explain the arithmetic population density 182 persons per square mile 879 persons per square mile
pressure exerted
on the land physiologic population density 9,064 persons per arable land 7,944 persons per arable land
population political: more laws, cities greater power/influence
distribution and economic: more jobs, higher tax base, increase in poverty
population density social: more education, more health care, greater diversity (language/culture), more crime
affect political,
economic, and
social processes

population environment: deforestation, less space/room, pollution, natural resource depletion

distribution and
population density carrying capacity: the number of people an area can sustain without critically straining its resources
affect the
environment
patterns of age e.g. age structure/sex ratio of males and females across scales:
structure and sex global: in the world
ratio vary across regional: in East Asia
scales national: in China
local: in rural areas

population population pyramid: provides a visual representation of a population in terms of age and sex as well as a good indication of
pyramids the dependency ratio within a country and is used to assess population growth and decline and to predict markets for
goods/services
in general:
● LDCs tend to have pyramids predicting rapid growth
● MDCs tend to be stable or even declining
Four different shapes represent 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
demographic total fertility rate (TFR): the average number of children a woman will have during her childbearing years (15-49)
factors that affect
population growth birth rate: number of live births in a single year for every 1000 people (in a population)
and decline
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

how geographers natural increase: birth rate minus death rate

account for
population growth population doubling time: the length of time for a population to double in size
and decline ● countries with growth rates of 1% take approximately 70 years to double
● countries with growth rates of 2% take approximately 35 years to double
● when this growth rate is graphed, a J-curve represents exponential growth (began in the 1950s)
● growth rates have declined (last couple of decades) and population follows more of an S-curve (greater stability)
● at current rate, the world population doubling time: approximately 54 years

factors that social: gender empowerment, attitudes about family planning, contraception, marrying age and family size
influence fertility, cultural: religion/morality, ethnicity, values/attitudes, gender empowerment
mortality, and
political: government policies, gender empowerment, conflicts/war
migration rates
economic: MDC/LDC, education level, employment opportunity, nutrition, health care, gender empowerment

Demographic describes the relationship between population and the development of a country and can be used to explain population change
Transition Model over time
● 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
(Afghanistan, Kenya)
● Stage 3: developing country (industrializing)
birth rates begin to drop and death rates drop = population levels off
(Brazil, China)
● Stage 4: developed country (post industrialization)
birth rates are low and death rates are low = population stabilizes
(U.S., U.K.)
● Stage 5: developed country (post industrialization)
birth rates are very low and death rates are low = population declines
(Germany, Japan, Italy)

issues with Demographic Transition Model

- describes the demographic history of Europe (England)
- it may not necessarily work outside of this region

causes of changing epidemiologic transition (mortality revolution): increase in population due to medical innovation (modern medicine)
death rates 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

consequences of Thomas Malthus (1798): argued that the size and growth of a population depends on the food supply and agricultural
population change 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 population policies: policies that provide incentives for women to have children, typically in countries with
declining populations: Japan, Singapore, Denmark, Germany, Italy

anti-natalist population policies: policies that encourage couples to limit the number of children they have
China: one child policy
Iran: family planning
India: sterilization programs

immigration policies: policies that address the movement of persons across borders

factors that have changing social, economic, and political roles for females
reduced fertility - changing social values (role of women/gender empowerment)
rates in most parts - access to education
of the world - employment
- political empowerment
- health care and contraception

migration can be Ravenstein’s laws of migration (1885):

illustrated by - every migration flow generates a return migration flow
Ravenstein’s laws - most migrants move a short distance
of migration - migrants who move longer distances tend to choose big-city destinations
- most migrants are from rural areas
- migration is caused mostly by economic reasons

population aging population aging: determined by birth rates, death rates, and life expectancy

life expectancy: average number of years an infant newborn can expect to live; number varies within countries, cities,
ethnicities, sexes, and between MDCs and LDCs

aging index: the number of people age 65 and older per 100 children ages 0-14
Europe: 263 older people for every 100 children
Africa: 37 older people for every 100 children

consequences of aging population: an increasing median age in the population due to declining fertility rates/rising life expectancy
an aging e.g. graying of America, graying of Japan
population social consequences: impact on family life, providing for elder care
economic consequences: slower economic growth, fewer workers to contribute to the tax base, more people collecting
pension benefits, increased health care costs
political consequences: policy responses to counter effects of aging population (pro-natalist policies)
dependency ratio: a measure of the economic impact of younger and older cohorts on the economically productive members
of a population

migration is pull factors: characteristics that attract a person to a place

divided into push factors: characteristics that make a person want to leave a place
factors
reasons behind intervening opportunity: the presence of a nearer opportunity that greatly diminishes the attractiveness of sites farther away
push/pull factors e.g. finding a higher paying job en route to destination
and intervening intervening obstacle: an event or obstacle that discourages people from migrating
opportunities
and/or obstacles PUSH PULL
cultural/social religious persecution religious freedom
few educational opportunities educational opportunity
ethnic fighting
gender issues
demographic unbalanced sex ratio
overpopulation
economic lack of job opportunities job of opportunities
high cost of living lower cost of living
poverty
environmental weather/climate weather/climate
poor landscape good landscape
drought/flood/earthquake/famine
political less freedom (government control) more freedom (government control)
more corruption less corruption
less personal safety more personal safety
political instability political stability
armed conflict
political persecution/genocide/ethnic cleansing

genocide: premeditated effort to destroy a national, ethnic, racial, religious group e.g. Rwanda, Holocaust, Cambodia
ethnic cleansing: the effort to rid a country/region of a particular ethnicity either through forced migration or genocide
e.g. former Yugoslavia
forced migration forced migration: an individual migrates against his/her will, including events that produce slaves, refugees, internally
displaced persons, and asylum seekers
 slavery: having legal property rights over another human and forcing them to obey
- North Atlantic slave trade
- Indigenous populations

refugee: individuals, protected by law, who cross national boundaries to seek safety from armed conflict or persecution
e.g. race, religion, nationality, political opinion
- Syrians fleeing armed conflict
- Rohingya fleeing religious persecution (Myanmar)
- Afghan fleeing armed conflict

asylum seeker: individuals who flee their home country and applies for protection, but their request for sanctuary has yet to
be processed, once processed, they are either given refugee status or refused and returned to their home
country

internally displaced person (internal refugee): individuals who leave their home due to conflict, human rights abuse, war, or
environmental catastrophes, but do not leave their country to seek safety
e.g. Syrians fleeing to other parts of Syria
e.g. New Orleans flood victims

voluntary voluntary migration: an individual chooses to move, typically based on various push-pull factors
migration e.g. Europeans to North America
e.g. Americans from the north to the south

transnational migration: migration across national boundaries

internal migration: migration within national boundaries

transhumance: seasonal movement of pastoral nomads who move livestock between summer and winter pasture

chain migration immigrants who follow family and/or friends to the same destination

step migration: migration to a distant destination that occurs in stages (steps)

guest workers: a person with temporary permission to work in another country (e.g. migrant labor)
rural to urban migration the movement of people from the countryside to the city which causes two things to happen;
increasing proportion of people living in towns and cities and expansion of urban areas

effects of
migration effects of migration (positive/negative)

political increase in tax base

can affect political outcomes
strain on government resources
-healthcare
-education

economic stimulate economy

innovation
consumption
fiscal burden
welfare benefits

cultural cultural diversity

demographic shifts
change in culture (language, religion)
discrimination
conflict

● Rust Belt: area in the upper Midwest that had been an industrial powerhouse, but lost much of their economic base to other parts of the country
and other parts of the world

● Sun Belt: the states in the South and West Coast where in the 1960s and 1970s, large numbers of white, middle-class Americans moved from
older northeastern and Midwestern cities

The Effect of Sun Belt Migration: altered the balance of political and economic power as California, Florida, and Texas are now 3 of the 4 most
populous states in the country and carry a disproportionate number of electoral votes, have large congressional delegations, and are dominant in many
economic sectors such as technology, energy production, and agriculture

Internal Migration of the U.S.

 ● Wave 1: beginning with colonization, movement westward, and from rural areas to urban areas with industrialization
● Wave 2: from the early 1940s through the 1970s, movement of African Americans from the rural south to cities in the South, North, and West
● Wave 3: post WWII to the present, movement to the Sun Belt states (the states from North Carolina to Southern California and all the states
below that line)

cohort
age group
1871-1889 New Worlders: European immigrants
1890-1908 Lost Generation: fought in WWI, hard timers
1909-1924 G.I. Generation, Greatest Generation: fought in WWII
1925-1945 Silent Generation: grew up during WWII, fought in Korean War
1946-1964 Baby Boomers: post WWII baby boom, team oriented
1965-1979 Generation X, Baby Bust: unknown generation, no identity,
self-reliance, beginning of computer age, rise of divorce
1980-1995 Millennials, Gen Y, Echo Boom: increase in computers, trophy kids,
year round sports, helicopter parents, uncertain future
2000-2010 Millennials, Gen Z: computer age, trophy kids, year round sports,
helicopter parents, uncertain future
2011- Gen Alpha: children of millennials, internet of things, trophy kids,
lawnmower parents, year round sports, uncertain future