Population

1. Population Chapter 2

2. Importance of Studying Population • 6.75 billion people living on Earth—more than ever • Population grew faster during second half of 20th century than ever before • Almost all population growth is now happening in LDCs

3. Demography • Def.- the scientific study of population characteristics • Demographers statistically study spatial distribution of people by age, gender, occupation, fertility, health, etc.

4. Where is the World’s Population Distributed? Population cartogram- shows size of the country relative to its population rather than land area

6. Population Concentrations • 2/3 of people living on Earth are clustered around 4 regions • East Asia • South Asia • Southeast Asia • Europe

8. continued • Most of these people in these 4 regions live near an ocean or river with easy ocean access • 2/3 of world live within 300 miles of an ocean– 4/5 within 500 miles • 4 clusters are generally low in elevation, with fertile soils and a temperate climate • Clusters located in N. hemisphere b/w 10 and 55 degrees latitude except for part of Southeast Asia

9. East Asia • 1/5 of the world • Includes eastern China, Japan, the Korean Peninsula, and Taiwan • 5/6 live in China • Most along the coast or along Huang and Yangtze Rivers • 26 cities with more than 2 million, 52 with more than 1 million—still 2/3 live in rural areas • Most Japanese live in Tokyo and Osaka • Most Koreans live in Seoul

10. South Asia • 1/5 of World’s population • Includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka • ¾ live in India • Mostly rural populations- ¼ live in urban areas

11. Europe • 1/9 of World’s population • Includes European section of Russia • Over 4 dozen countries • Unlike Asia, ¾ of Europeans live in cities • Largest concentrations near coalfields of Germany, England, and Belgium • Don’t produce enough food for themselves– import most of it

12. Southeast Asia • ½ billion people live here • Mostly on islands b/w Indian and Pacific Oceans • Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines • Mostly farmers in rural areas • Together the 3 Asian concentrations have more than half the World’s pop., living on only 10% of the Earth’s land area

13. Other Population Clusters • Largest cluster in Western hemisphere is NE US and SE Canada • Chicago to Boston to Newport News • About 2% of World population • Only 3% farmers • Another 2% in West Africa • Most in Nigeria • Like Asia, mostly agriculture

15. Sparsely Populated Regions • Relatively few people live in areas where it is hard to grow food • Too dry, too wet, too cold, or too mountainous • Ecumene- portion of Earth’s surface occupied by permanent human settlement • Has grown over time

16. Dry Lands • 20% of Earth’s land surface is too dry for farming • Still may have valuable natural resources such as oil reserves • Two largest desert regions are b/w 15 and 50 degrees N lat. and 20 and 50 degrees S lat.

17. Wet Lands • Too much moisture can be inhospitable for humans • Mostly b/w 20 degrees N and 20 degrees S latitude in South America, Central Africa, and SE Asia • High rain and high heat lead to rapid depletion of soil nutrients • If rains are seasonal, it may be possible to grow enough food to support a large population

18. ColdLands • The poles are either covered in ice or permanently frozen (permafrost) • Drier than most deserts– small annual snowfall just never melts • Can’t grow food, therefore very few humans live in thee areas

19. High Lands • Highest mountains are steep, snow covered, and sparsely settled • Exceptions------ people prefer higher ground if lower areas if temperature and precipitation are to high • Ex. Mexico City • One of the World’s largest cities, and its at an elevation over 7000 ft.

20. Population Density • Aka arithmetic density- total # of people divide by total land area • Used to compare countries because the info. for computing is easy to obtain • About 80 per sq. mile in US (31 per sq. kilometer) • Bangladesh= 2700 per sq. mile (many people, small land) • India= 900 (more people than US, less land) • Canada= 8 (big land, few people) • Manhattan island-68,000

21. continued • Arithmetic density helps answer the “where” people live question • To explain “why” people live where they do we need other measures

23. Physiological Density • Def.- the # of people supported by a unit of arable land • In US, 445 per sq. mile (172 p/sq. kilo.) • In Egypt, its 6,682 sq. mi • Therefore, 1 unit of arable land in Egypt must feed far more people than in the US • The higher the physiological density, the greater pressure that people place on the land to produce enough food

24. continued • Comparing physiological and arithmetic densities helps geographers understand the capacity of the land to yield enough food for the needs of the people • If the physiological density is much larger than the arithmetic density, much of the country’s land mass is unsuitable for agriculture

25. 95% of Egyptian population lives in the Nile Valley and Delta

27. Agricultural Density • Def.- the ratio of the # of farmers to the amount of arable land • helps account for economic differences • MDCs have lower agricultural densities because technology and finance allow a few people to farm extensive land area • Allows pop. to work in other industries

28. continued • High physiological density paired with a low agricultural density means an that a country has an efficient agricultural system

29. Natural Increase • Three ways geographers measure pop. Change • Crude birth rate (CBR) – total # of live births in a year for every 1,000 people alive in the society • Crude death rate (CDR) – total # of deaths in a year for every 1,000 people alive in the society • Natural increase rate (NIR) – the % growth of a population in a year, computed as the crude birth rate minus the crude death rate

32. continued • NIR for world is currently about 1.2 • All-time high was 2.2 in 1963 • About 80 million being added each year • Highest ever was 1989 when 87 million people were added • With current pop. level, a change of .01% in the NIR causes a huge swing in pop. growth

33. continued • The NIR affects the doubling time- • The number of years needed to double the population, assuming a constant NIR • At current rate, doubling time is 54 years • If remains constant, pop. will reach 24 billion by 2100 • At peak NIR of 2.2 in 1963, pop. was doubling every 35 years • At constant 2.2 rate, 2100 pop. Would be 50 billion

34. continued • Almost 100% of natural increase is clustered in LDCs • More than 2% in most of Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East • Actually negative in Europe • 2/3 of World pop. growth during past 10 years has been in Asia

36. Fertility • Total fertility rate (TFR) – the average number of children a woman will have throughout her childbearing years (15-49) • Attempts to predict the future behavior of individual women in a world of rapid cultural change • TFR for world is 2.7 • Much higher in LDCs than MDCs • Over 6 in some African countries

38. Mortality • Infant mortality rate (IMR)- the annual # of deaths of infants under 1 year of age, compared with total live births • Per 1000 births • Very high in Africa, very low in Europe • A reflection of the country’s health care system • US has a higher IMR than Canada and Europe • Many poor in US can’t afford health care

40. continued • Life expectancy- the average # of years a newborn infant can expect to live at current mortality levels • Higher in MDCs– average late 70s • Lower in LDCs- only 40s in most of Africa

42. continued • NIR, CBR, TFR, IMR, and life expectancy distributions follow similar patterns • More developed regions have lower NIR, CBR, TFR, and IMR –with higher average life expectancy • CDR does not follow this pattern • The combined CDR is lower for LDCs than MDCs • This is due to their stages in the process of demographic transition

43. Demographic Transition • Def.- the process of change in a society’s pop. from a condition of high CBR and CDR and low NIR to a condition of low CBR and CDR, low NIR, and a higher total pop. • 4 stages have been identified • As a country moves from one stage to the next, it will never go back

44. Demographic Transition

45. Stage 1: Low Growth • Most of human history fits this category • CBR and CDR vary from year to year, but always remain high • In effect they cancel out the possibility of pop. growth • NIR basically zero

46. continued • Most were hunter/gatherers during this period • Pop. would increase when there was an abundance of food, but would decrease when it was hard to come by • About 8000BC the pop. began to grow by several thousand each year • From about 5 mill. In 8000BC to 800 million in 1750

47. continued • Agricultural revolution- when humans first domesticated plants and animals and no longer relied entirely on hunting and gathering • There was now a more stable food supply, but it could still be unpredictable • Therefore, stage1 continued because of things like war and famine • No country still in this stage

48. Stage 2: High Growth • Soon after 1750 the World pop. grew 10 times faster than it had ever done • In 1750 about ½ million people were added to the pop.– In 1800 5 million were added • Some countries moved into stage 2 • CDR plummets, while CBR remains high • Leads to high NIR

49. Continued • Industrial revolution- a series of improvements in ind. technology that transformed the process of manufacturing goods • Led to never seen before amount of wealth, which made some communities healthier places to live • Machines helped farmers increase harvests and freed people to work in factories

50. continued • Sanitation and personal hygiene were improved, sewers were installed • People were healthier and lived longer • European and NA countries entered stage 2 around 1800 • Most African, Asian, and Latin American did not until 1950 • In 1900 8 million people were added, 2000 80 million were added