GEO 201 Cultural Geography

1. GEO 201Cultural Geography Chapter 3 Population Geography

2. Population & Geography or Geodemography • Demographers study population and its impact on the earth. • Are we overpopulated or just unevenly distributed? • Families in developed countries have fewer members than before. • In less developed countries, the number of children per family is still very high. • Less developed areas of the world tend to be poor and unable to provide adequate food, clothing and shelter for all its citizens.

3. As of 2010, there were 6.9 billion people on this earth. • Can the earth support that many people or more? • We need to look at resources and lifestyle • Westerners, including us, use more resources and non-renewable resources than others in this world: fossil fuels, farmland, clean water.

4. If every one of the 6.9 billion people lived as we do, those resources would be gone, leaving air & water pollution, little potable water, soil depletion, and erosion in its wake.

5. I. Region: How do demographic traits vary from region to region? • Demography looks at population characteristics: • How people are distributed spatially • They look at distribution by age, gender, occupation, fertility, health, birth rates, and death rates. Look at map pp. 66-67. You see that ¾ of the world’s population live on 5% of the earth’s surface We have 6.9 billion people on earth. If they were evenly distributed, there would be about 112+ people per square mile.

7. We are not evenly distributed. • Densities vary from place to place: • Greenland – 0.1 per sq. mile • Bangladesh – 2300 per sq. mile • India – 812 per sq. mile • Canada – 8 per sq. mile • Australia – 6 per sq. mile • Egypt – 181 per sq. mile, but 9,000 per sq. mile in the Nile River Valley

8. By Continent: • Eurasia -- 72.7% of world’s people • North America -- 7.9% • Africa -- 13.2% • South America -- 5.7% • Australia & the Pacific -- 0.5% 21% of humans live in China 17% live in India 4.6% live in the United States

9. When you consider these numbers, you are looking at a region examining one trait, population • This is then a Formal Region you are considering. • Population geographers also look at standards of living. • Thickly populated areas can have the highest standards of living. Ex: New York City • Sparsely populated areas may put too much pressure on the land if there aren’t enough resources

10. You must look at the carrying capacity of the land -- the population beyond which a given environment cannot provide support without becoming significantly damaged. • Many avert damage by bringing in resources from another area. Ex: water piped in or shipping in oil. • Americans use 26% of the world’s oil • Our lives would change if we couldn’t use resources from other areas.

11. Demography of various places can and do change over time. • If we look at population numbers, there are 3 things that affect the numbers: • Birth Rates • Death Rates • Migration

12. Birth Rates • The number of live births per year, per one thousand of the population • CBR – crude birth rate; crude means you are looking at society as a whole • Total Fertility Rate (TFR) -- is the average number of children born per woman during her childbearing years (15-49 years). • TFR attempts to predict the future and can vary from place to place • TFR for the world as a whole today is 3, and can vary from region to region.

14. Birth Rate

15. Total Fertility Rate

16. TFR • Europe -- less than 2 • Any country with a TFR of less than 2 will experience population decline • Southern and Eastern Europe -- 1.3 • Bulgaria -- 1.2 and is expected to lose 38% of its population by 2050

17. Sub-Saharan Africa -- TFR of 7 or higher Niger -- TFR of 7.38 Mali -- TFR of 7.37 TFRs have fallen in Sub-Saharan Africa in the last 20 years. Why?

18. Mortality Rates/ Death Rates • Also referred to as CDR or Crude Death Rate; using the term “crude” means looking at the society as a whole • Death Rate is the number of deaths per year per 1000 people • In developed world, people die from age-related degenerative conditions, HIV, heart disease, stroke, and the effects of pollution • In the developing world, people die from civil strife, poor health care, and diseases like malaria, HIV, and dengue fever.

19. Death Rate Map

20. Death Rates are often broken down into male/female and age-specific groups. • The highest death rates are in Sub-Saharan Africa • 25 to 30 people die per 1000 people • Other areas: Ecuador - 4 deaths per 1000 people European Union – 10 deaths per 1000 Canada - 8 deaths per 1000

21. Infant Mortality Rate • Infant Mortality Rates or IMR is the number of deaths before age 1 per 1000 live births per year. • The highest rates are in Sub-Saharan Africa at 100+ deaths per 1000 live births per year. • The lowest rates are in Western Europe with fewer than 10 deaths per 1000 live births per year. • The IMR reflects a country’s health care system.

22. Infant Mortality Rate, IMR

23. In the U.S. there is a higher IMR among the poor who can’t afford health care. Perhaps that will change with the new health care law. • In other countries, like England, health care is provided. • U.S. is #37 in health care as ranked by the World Health Organization. France is # 1

24. Why is population increasing at different rates in different countries? • Countries have gone through different demographic changes over time. • Countries don’t go through the same changes at the same time. • The process of change in a society’s population is called the Demographic Transition. • p. 72 Chart • The demographic transition happens in several stages – 5 stages.

25. 5 Stages of the Demographic Transition • Stage 1 -- Low Growth • both birth rate and death rate are high • this can vary from year to year • but the rate of natural increase is low • people are concerned with survival: war, poor harvests, climate, hunting and gathering, and diseases Every country has moved on to at least Stage 2. See p. 72, chart

26. Stage 2 -- High Growth • a lowered death rate • birth rate remains high as in Stage 1 • rate of natural increase is high because of lowered death rate • the first part of Stage 2 is when population grows • the second part of Stage 2 is when the population growth rate begins to slow down, but there is still a big gap between birth and death rates • See p. 72, chart

27. There are new products, more food, better medical care and better sanitation coming in to Stage 2. • Europe and the United States entered Stage 2 in the late 18th or early 19th centuries. • Asia, Africa, Latin America entered Stage 2 in the 20th century. • Latin America entered in 1950.

28. Stage 3 -- Moderate Growth • crude birth rates drop dramatically • crude death rates continue to fall but at a slower rate than in Stage 2 • Population still continues to grow because crude birth rate (CBR) is still higher than the crude death rate (CDR) Europe and North America entered Stage 3 during the first half of the 20th century.

29. Some in Asia, Africa, and Latin America entered only recently while others still remain in Stage 2. • Birth rates decline in Stage 3 because of social custom. It is seen as beneficial to have fewer children.

30. Stage 4 -- Low Growth & ZPG (zero population growth) • crude birth rates (CBR) decline enough to equal the crude death rates (CDR) • the rate of natural increase approaches -0- Sweden, Germany, and the United Kingdom are in Stage 4 The U.S. hasn’t completely entered because birth rates among recent immigrants is still high.

31. Social customs again account for movement into Stage 4 • Women are working outside the home and are having fewer children. • Birth control is available and used. • There are economic conditions and lifestyles that have changed, so that fewer children or no children are desired.

32. Stage 5 is a new stage • for post-industrial society • ZPG truly takes hold • there is a population decline Are there any problems with population decline?

33. 5 Stages of Demographic Transition

34. Age Distribution • Some countries have a very young population. • in Africa • in Latin America • in some parts of Asia • In these areas, half the population is younger than15. • In Uganda, 51% of the population is younger than 15. • In Sub-Saharan Africa, 44% of the population is younger than 15. • Why?

35. Other more developed nations have large numbers between the ages of 15 and 65. • Countries like Sweden have aging populations: 17% are older than 65. • In less developed nations, many don’t live to be 65. • In Italy where the TFR is 1.3, 18% are older than 65 • Some elderly there can apply for adoption by families in need of grandparents.

36. A useful way to show age and sex distribution is with a population pyramid, p.80. • This graphically shows: age distribution, sex ratios, and dependency rates (the young and the old). • pp. 78 & 79 and pp. 82 &83 • It can help predict what will be needed in the future. • This information is gathered in a census.

37. Population Pyramid

39. II. Mobility • Migration • affects the size of population • definition: a permanent move to a new location (a change of residence) • definition of mobility: the ability to move from one location to another, to work, to school, to the store, without a permanent change of residence • The United States is the result of migration. We can all trace our ancestry to another area of the world • From the G-nome Project, it is thought we all evolved in Africa.

40. Humans have migrated to and adapted to different kinds of environments • We tend to stay away from areas that are too cold, too hot, too wet, or too dry • Most migrate in search of economic opportunity, political freedom, or environmental comfort. • There are 2 forms of migration: • Emigration – migration from a location • Immigration – migration to a location

41. 19th Century – 50 million Europeans left Europe to find a better life. • Today – about 160 million people live outside the country of their birth. • Reasons for leaving one place and going to another are called push/pull factors • Push Factors: induce people to move away from a location • Pull Factors: attract people to a particular new location

42. 3 Major Kinds of push/pull factors: • Political • Economic • Environmental Political Push Factors: 1. People who have fled their homes and country and cannot return for fear of persecution because of race, religion, nationality, membership in a social group, or their political opinion. 2. People who are forced to migrate for this reason are called refugees. There are about 16 million today

43. Political Push Factors: the lure of freedom usually found in democracies, like Hitler and World War II. • Economic Push Factors: • 1840s millions of Irish were forced to leave Ireland because of the potato blight, mass starvation, and little to no help from their English landlords. • 1980s ¼ of Irish labor force left because they couldn’t find jobs. Most were young and well-educated.

44. Economic Pull Factors: • Many came to U.S. for economic opportunity • 19th century – U.S. businessmen advertised in Europe for workers • People migrate to areas where they think they can find jobs • Ex: Houston, 1970s – boom, 2002 – Enron – bust.

45. Environmental Push Factors: • People leave a place because of adverse conditions in the environment • Water is the most common reason for the move: too little or too much • 40% of world’s natural disasters are flood • 20% of world’s natural disasters are storm related • People move to find water.

46. Environmental Pull Factors: • 1. small towns – made easier with technology • 2. temperate climates – no harsh weather • 3. dry climates – for those with allergies • Disease can be a push factor (get away from it) or a pull factor ( no disease in new area).

47. III. Globalization • How many people can the earth support? • Should people have fewer children? • Is there a population explosion? • There has been a dramatic increase in population since 1900. • There have been large numbers of births and a decline in the death rate. • People are living longer.

48. Our population has been doubling in shorter periods of time. • From the beginning until 1800: 1 billion people • From 1800 to 1930: 2 billion people • From 1930 to 1975: 4 billion people • June 2010: 6,852,472,823 people • Doubling Time, p. 90.

49. Thomas Malthus • was the first to examine the problem of population size • said population will outrun our ability to produce food • said population grows at a much faster rate than the earth’s food supply • He was writing about this in 1798 before the industrial and agricultural revolutions and before many modern birth control methods had been discovered.

50. Malthus named Positive and Preventive checks on population • Positive Checks: malnutrition, famine, disease, and war. • Preventive Checks: late marriage and abstinence Critics of Malthus are called cornicopians, and they believe if we curb our numbers, we may be preventing geniuses from being born. Neo-Malthusians say that the earth cannot support more and more people, especially if they all want the Western lifestyle.