Population Geography

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Population Geography

• Characteristics of Human Populations

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Population

• Demographers are people who study changes in
  population. Every major business in the United
  States has a demographer who studies population
  trends.
• What might McDonalds restaurant want to know
  about Lewistowns population?

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• Human populations around the world differ
  .Imagine traveling to China and then to Northern
  Canada. How might the populations vary in these
  areas?

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Human Population

• A demographer looks statistically at how people
  are distributed spatially and by age, gender,
  occupation, and so on.

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How do Geographers Compare Populations?

• Urban or rural
• Distribution
• Urbanization
• Birth rates
• Death rates

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How do Geographers Compare Populations?

• Life expectancy
• Infant mortality
• GNP
• Per capital (per person) income
• Population pyramids- Age and Sex
• distribution
• Literacy

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Geography and Population

• Arable land
• Natural resources.
• - water

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Natural Resources

• A good example of how natural resources affect
  population distribution is China. Western China
  is not heavily populated because it is
  mountainous or a desert.

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Natural Resources

• People live closer to valuable resources such as
  oil, arable land, and fresh water. Most people
  in the world live near the coast or along a major
  waterway and they live on flat ground that is
  easy to farm.

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Urban/Rural Ratio

• Over the last 100 years people have been
  migrating to large cities in the United States.
  Our population is becoming more urban. Urban
  means living in the city. Rural means living in
  the country.

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Urban/Rural Ratio

• The urban/rural ratio is the number of people who
  live in the countryside versus the city.
  Countries like Japan, Singapore, and Korea have
  many more people who live in large cities than
  the countryside.

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Population Distribution

• Population is not distributed evenly because of
  several factors.
• Density and distribution can be seen on the same
  map.

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Population Distribution

• Population distribution refers to where people
  live around the world. For instance, in the
  United States most people live on the coasts or
  near major waterways. Population is not evenly
  distributed around the earths surface.

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Population Distribution

• The factors that influence population
  distribution are natural resources, climate,
  economic development, government policy,
  rural/urban settlement, capital resources, and
  conflicts.

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Governments and Population

• Governments must provide healthy conditions for
  its people.
• Death rate
• Birth rate
• Life expectancy
• Infant mortality

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Birth and Death Rates

• Birth and death rates refer to how many people
  are born and how many people die. Developing
  countries have high death rates and birth rates.

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Birth and Death Rates

• Birth rates are higher in developing countries
  for the following reasons
• No birth control
• Religious restrictions
• Economic factors
• The role of women in society

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Birth and Death Rates

• Death rates are higher in developing countries
  for the following reasons
• No access to medical care
• Poor nutrition

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Life Expectancy

• Life expectancy is how long a person will live.
  Life expectancy is longer in developed countries,
  mainly due to better medical care.
  Statistically, women live longer than men.

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Life Expectancy
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Infant Mortality

• Infant mortality is very high in developing
  countries. For instance, some African countries
  have an infant mortality rate that is over 10.

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Infant Mortality

• Infant mortality is the number of babies that die
  at birth. This number is usually per every 1,000
  people in a population.

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Modern Medicine and Hygiene

• Population will grow in countries with good
  hospitals and doctors because
• Babies get regular shots
• People have regular health care
• There are no epidemics such as small pox, yellow
  fever, or cholera.

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Economics and Population

• Good Capital resources.- Tools and technology.
• Gross National Product
• Per capital (per person) income.

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Economic Development

• People dont live in areas where there are no
  jobs. This is one reason why people migrate to
  other countries or to cities.

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Capital Resources

• Areas that have good transportation networks such
  as roads, trains, subways, or busses are more
  heavily populated.

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Gross National Product

• GNP or Gross National Product is the total of all
  goods and services produced in a country in one
  year. Developing countries and poor populations
  and have a low GNP.
• Low Per capital income poorer people.

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Culture and Population

• Population Pyramids
• Age distribution
• Sex distribution
• Ethnic groups.
• Languages
• Literacy

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Male/Female Distribution

• This is self explanatory. Some areas have an
  imbalanced male/female distribution. A good
  example is when settlers first came to Jamestown.
  For many years the colony had more males than
  females.

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Male/Female Distribution

• China has a one child policy. Families are
  restricted to having one child or they face
  penalties imposed by the government. This led to
  female infanticide or the killing of girl infants.

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Age Distribution

• Age distribution refers to the number of young
  people compared to older people in a given
  population.

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Age Distribution

• Developed countries, such as the United States,
  Canada, and most of Europe have an aging
  population. This happens when people are having
  fewer children and living longer. This
  translates to a shortage of laborers.

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Age Distribution of the Worlds Population
Population Structures by Age and Sex, 2005
Millions
Less Developed Regions
More Developed Regions
Age
80 75-79 70-74 65-69 60-64 55-59 50-54 45-49
40-44 35-39 30-34 25-29 20-24 15-19 10-14 5-9 0-4
Male
Female
Male
Female
Source United Nations, World Population
Prospects The 2004 Revision, 2005.
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Ethnicity

• The ethnicity of the United States is relatively
  diverse because the United States is composed of
  immigrants while Japan has a homogeneous
  population.

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Language

• Different populations speak different languages.
  English and Spanish are the two most spoken
  languages in the United States, but countries
  like Nigeria have over 200 spoken languages.

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Education - Literacy

• The level of education differs between
  populations. Developing countries normally have
  poor education systems or children do not have
  the opportunity to go to school. Literacy is the
  ability to read and write.

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Role of Women in Society

1. Countries with low population growth rates have
   more women working in the labor force.
2. Countries where women are expected to stay at
   home and be housewives will have high population
   growth rates.

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Role of Women in Society

1. Countries with low population growth rates have
   more women working in the labor force.
2. Countries where women are expected to stay at
   home and be housewives will have high population
   growth rates.

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Conflicts

• Wars have a major impact on population
  distribution because people flee areas that have
  conflicts. Some examples are the Sudan, Rwanda,
  and the Former Yugoslavia.

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