Demographics 1.Studying Population 2.Population Pyramids 3.Global Village

Studying Population Population Geography – The study of SPATIAL variations in the distribution, composition, migration, and growth of populations over time. Demography – The study of human population dynamics. It looks at how populations change over time due to births, deaths, migration and ageing. Demographics – A term for population characteristics. Demographics include birth rate, death rate, immigration, age, income, sex, education, occupation, religion, nationality, …

Studying Population Population change over time will inevitably affect…. Political Systems Economics Social Structures Environments

Studying Population Source: United Nations Populations Division, World Population Prospects, The 2004 Revision, medium variant. Developing countries Billions Developed countries

Studying Population Factors that may lead to population increase include: – Food – Health – Economic Growth – Migration

Studying Population Growth Rate – the number of persons added to (or subtracted from) a population due to natural increase and net migration. Birth rate: number of live births per 1,000 population per year. Death rate: number of deaths per 1,000 population per year. Rate of Natural Increase – birth rate – death rate = rate of natural increase

Studying Population Factors that contribute to the decline in death rate include: – Better Nutrition – Better Access to Medical Care – Improved Sanitation – Better Immunization Net Migration = immigrants – emigrants

Studying Population Effects of Population Increase – Increased poverty – Resource depletion – Medicine shortages – Urban sprawl

Studying Population A specific pattern of population growth has occurred in many developed nations during the past 60 years Births Baby Boom Generation X Baby Echo Generation Y

Studying Population Factors that may lead to population decline – Heavy Emigration – Disease – Famine – War – Sub-replacement Fertility a fertility rate that is not high enough to replace an area’s population. Sub-replacement fertility rate is 2.1 children per woman or higher.

Why low sub-replacement fertility rate? – Urbanization – Contraception – Government Policies Exception: United States where natural increase rates have remained stable… And within the US, incredible regional variations Studying Population

Studying Population Pregnancy Rate Canada & US (not just birth rate as illustrated in previous map)

Population What is it? How do we measure it? Why study it?

Population What is it? How do we measure it? Why study it?

Population What is it? How do we measure it? Why study it?

Population What is it? How do we measure it? Why study it?

Population Geography I The Where and Why of Population Density Distribution Demographics (Characteristics) Dynamics

Why do we study population? the increasing population is the most serious issue facing the world I in order to fully understand a nation, region, province, city, etc. one must have an understanding of the characteristics of the human population in that area

How do they get the information? Censuses – a collection of data about a population started in early Roman times Doomsday Book – England 1066 – one of the best known modern tallies of population collected through enumerators that go door- to-door (LDC ’ s), or deliver censuses that are to be mailed back to the government (Canada)

What kind of information is collected? population gender religion age nationality occupation language home ownership education marital status household income possessions

Inaccuracies with data collection: Homelessness Fear of entering slums and crime-ridden areas Isolation Confusion Privacy Issues Reputation Interpretation of questions and data

Problems that result from inaccuracies: Unfair political representation Unfair levels of funding Lack of funding for homeless people Product Failure Faulty economic policies Difficulty in comparing nations

How often do we conduct a census? Frequency of censuses varies depending on the nation and their resources. It is very expensive to conduct a census and it requires a lot of people to collect the data. In Canada – every 5 years The Canadian government employs 4000 (Stats Canada), 500 work in the census department. Canada hires 50,000 people on short-term contracts in a census year to work as enumerators.