Unit 2 Population and Migration Vocabulary

population distribution

The pattern in which humans are spread out on Earth's surface.

population density

The average number of people per unit of land area.

world's current population

The total number of humans currently living.

major population concentrations

A concentrated area of inhabitants taking up a large amount of land per unit.

ecumene

The portion of Earth's surface with permanent human settlement.

arithmetic population density

The average number of people per unit of land area (usually per square mile or kilometer).

physiologic population density

The average number of people per unit area (a square mile or kilometer) of arable land.

agricultural population density

The number of farmers per unit of arable land.

Age structure

Refers to the breakdown of a population into different age groups or cohorts.

sex ratio

The ratio of the number of men to number of women in a population.

population pyramid

A very useful graphic device for comparing age and sex structure.

LDC

A less developed country.

MDC

A more developed country.

total fertility rate (TFR)

The average number of children born per woman during her reproductive lifetime, considered to be from 15 to 49 years of age.

birth rate

The number of live births per thousand of population per year.

replacement fertility level

The average number of children needed to replace both parents and stabilize population over time.

mortality (death) rate

The measure of deaths, typically in groups of people.

infant mortality rate

The measure of how many infants die within the first year of their life per 1000 live births.

child mortality rate

Deaths of children under five years of age.

maternal mortality rate

The number of maternal deaths during a given time period per 100,000 live births during the same time period.

migration

A person who migrates or moves.

emigration (out migration)

The act of a migrant leaving their place (country) of origin.

immigration (in migration)

The act of a migrant arriving at their destination country.

transnational migration

When migrants move back and forth between their home countries and those to which they have migrated.

internal migration

When people move within the borders of a country.

natural increase

The difference between the number of births and the number of deaths recorded over a period.

population doubling time

The amount of time it takes for the population of a region to double.

J-curve

When the projection population shows exponential growth.

S-curve

Growth over time, starting out slowly, picking up speed during rapid growth, then tapering off as growth slows.

Demographic Transition model

How crude birth rate (CBR) and crude death rate (CDR) as well as the resulting rate of natural increase (RNI) change over time as countries go through industrialization and urbanization.

Epidemiologic Transition model

Seeks to explain how changes in health services and living standards affect patterns of disease.

Thomas Malthus (1798)

He coined the term overpopulation in the late 1700s.

Ester Boserup (1965)

She created the idea that population growth is a positive force in agricultural innovation, that it drives technology forward.

Neo-Malthus

People who today subscribe to the Malthusian view of population.

pro-natalist population policies

Designed to boost fertility rates and ultimately population growth.

anti-natalist population policies

Designed to curtail population growth by reducing fertility rates.

immigration policies

Can restrict immigration or open borders to immigrants.

Ravenstein's laws of migration (1885)

Laws created by Ravenstein that describe the reason why immigrants typically move, the distance they move, and their characteristics.

population aging

Changes in the age composition of a population such that there is an increase in the proportion of older persons.

life expectancy

The number of years a person can expect to live from birth.

aging index

A tool to measure the untapped potential of older people for active and healthy aging across countries.

pull factors

The attributes of other places that make them appealing to potential migrants.

push factors

Factors that cause people to be dissatisfied with their present locales and want to move somewhere else.

intervening opportunity

A nearby attractive locale where migrants may decide to settle instead of going to the intended destination farther away.

intervening obstacle

A complication that potential migrants will need to overcome to reach their destination.

genocide

The systematic killing of members of a racial, ethnic, or linguistic group.

ethnic cleansing

The forced removal of one ethnic group by another ethnic group to create an ethnically consistent territory.

forced migration

Migration caused by forces out of one's control, such as disasters, social conflicts, or developmental projects.

slavery

The state and condition of being a slave.

refugee

A person who leaves their country because of persecution based on race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, or political opinion.

asylum seeker

A person who has left their home country as a political refugee and is seeking asylum in another.

internally displaced person (internal refugee)

Someone who remains within his or her country's borders despite being persecuted by their home country.

voluntary migration

Migration that is done willingly.

internal migration

When people move within the borders of a country.

transhumance

A phenomenon where herders and their livestock move seasonally between their summer and winter pastures.

chain migration

The process by which some people's migration to a new place leads their family members, friends, and others to move to the same place.

step migration

Migration carried out in a series of stages, usually from nearby to bigger and more distant places.

guest workers

A person with temporary permission to work in another country.

rural to urban migration(Intraregional)

When people move from the countryside to cities.

counter urbanization

A demographic and social process whereby people move from urban areas to rural areas.

suburbanization

The movement of people from urban core areas to the surrounding outskirts of a city.

International migration

When moves are made across national borders.

Interregional migration

When people move within the borders of a country.

Rust Belt

A potentially despairing term for a region of the United States that experienced industrial decline starting around 1980.

Sun Belt

States in coastal areas and the South and Southwest.