Population Unit 2 Copeland APHG

Population Geography Elements of Population Geography (focuses on spatial aspects of demography) Demography (study of population) Overpopulation Population Distribution Population Density (Arithmetic Population Density) Physiological Density Rate of Natural Increase (the excess of births of deaths – omitting migration) Growth Rate (Natural increase + Net Migration)

Population: Part I

Why Study Population?

Problem: Too Many Old People in MDCs As the proportion of older people in a country increases, the proportion of younger people decreases. % of older people in U.S. has increased by 1.9% in the last 5 years. % under 5 years old has decreased by .3% in the last five years. Japan is a super-aging society. 27% of Japanese population are over 65 years of age. Europe’s workforce is shrinking; Millennials are the smallest generation in Europe. Why is this a problem? fewer young workers paying for more pensions and medical expenses for older population, therefore less pension and medical benefits to go around (think about social security).

Problem: Too Many Urbanites Almost 4.5 billion live in cities (especially Africa & Asia) China has 83 cities with more than 750,000 people 54% of the world’s population live in urban areas Why is this a problem?

Problem: Millennials make up the largest portion of U.S. population 83.1 million Millennials now living in the U.S. (born 1981- 2000). Have overtaken Baby Boomers as the largest generation in America. Made up mostly of immigrant children English is not the most spoken language in this demographic Parents were likely immigrants (possible illegal) Highest poverty rate of any generation Over 30% of millennials still live with their parents. New Jersey has the worst rate at 47.1%. Georgia’s rate is 34.2%.

Problem: Where are all the children? Travel to Europe, Japan or Canada and you will notice there are very few kids to be found. What causes this phenomena? Women in wealthier countries are having fewer children. Why? In many of these locations, the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has dropped below 2.1. In order to keep a population stable over time, the women in a country must have a TFR of 2.1 or higher. The Total Fertility Rate reports the average number of children born to a woman of child- bearing age. Highest TFR ever recorded…Kenya=8.1 Lowest TFR ever recorded…Italy=0.80 Current Highest TFR-Niger-6.49/Current Lowest TFR-Singapore-.83 American TFR at all time low-1.87 (see following graph) Why is having too few children a problem?

United States and TFR Average woman in the United States has 1 United States and TFR Average woman in the United States has 1.87 children.

Population Terms Demography - the study of population characteristics Overpopulation- when the available resources cannot support the number of people Density - How many? The total number of people in a given area

Demography The study of human populations, particularly the size, distribution, and characteristics of members of population groups.

Population Growth 0 AD 250 Million People 1803 AD 1 Billion People

Population “J” Curve Population growth in 2016- +52 million

The World and the Top 10 World Population as of TODAY 1/23 8:10 AM 7,596,789,405 China 1.41 billion India 1.35 billion United States 326 million Indonesia 265 million Brazil 211 million Pakistan 199 million Nigeria 193 million Bangladesh 165 million Russia 143 million (POPULATION DECLINING) Mexico 130 million Just out of Top 10-Japan 126 million (POPULATION DECLINING)

Distribution and Density

Population Distribution – Descriptions of locations on the Earth’s surface where individuals or groups (depending on the scale) live. Dot Map of World Population – On this map, one dot represents 100,000 people

Cartogram Countries are displayed by size of population rather than land area. Countries named have at least 50 million people.

World Population Clusters Two-thirds of the world’s population are concentrated in four regions: 1. East Asia (East China, Japan, S. Korea, Taiwan) - ¼ of world population lives here 2. South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh) - bound by the Himalayas and a desert in Pakistan, as well as religion barriers to migration 3. Europe - population is concentrated in cities 4. North America - megalopolis (Bos-Wash) *6.1 billion of the world’s 7.5 billion people live in LDCs (Less Developed Countries)

Ecumene=inhabited earth The portion of the Earth’s surface occupied by permanent human settlement Increased over time ¾ of world population lives on only 5% of the Earth’s surface Is there more land that humans could occupy?

Population Distribution Densely populated regions Low lands Fertile soil Temperate climate Sparsely Populated Regions dry lands wet lands high lands cold lands