Chapter 2: Population

Learning Objectives- After studying this chapter you should be able to:
2.1	Give examples of how the distribution of human population can be represented using regional maps and a cartogram.
2.2	Identify the four major population concentrations or regions in the world.
2.3	Explain the main reasons for the uneven distribution of the world’s human population.
2.4	Compare and contrast the three types of population density.
2.5	Evaluate the usefulness of each type of density for a geographer.
2.6	Define natural increase, doubling time, crude birth rate, and crude death rate.
2.7	Explain the three types of indicators used by geographers to measure population change.
2.8	Describe the stages of the demographic transition model (DTM).
2.9	Determine which countries fulfill the characteristics of each stage of the demographic transition model.
2.10	Explain the health risks faced by baby girls.
2.11	Explain health risks faced by mothers.
2.12	Explain how changes in infant mortality rates and life expectancy affect population structure, the potential support ratio, and the dependency ratio.
2.13	Interpret population pyramids to understand changes in population structure.
2.14	Compare and contrast health-care expenditures and medical facilities in developing and developed countries.
2.15	Describe the stages of the epidemiologic transition, including the leading cause of death in each.
2.16	Summarize Malthus’s population theory.
2.17	Explain how modern supporters or dissenters of Malthus have used his theory to predict recent population-related changes.
2.18	Describe the population characteristics of a country that enters a possible Stage 5 of the demographic transition.
2.19	Explain the significance of the total fertility rate in estimates of the world’s future population.
2.20	Predict what countries with large populations such as India, China, and Japan will look like (population-wise) in the future.
2.21	Describe a possible Stage 5 of the epidemiologic transition and state reasons why such a stage might emerge.
2.22	Discuss reasons for the emergence (or reemergence) of infectious diseases, including malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS.
2.23	Evaluate the role of education and health care in reducing birth rates in developed and developing countries.
2.24	Evaluate the role of contraception in reducing birth rates in developed and developing countries.

Terms-  You should understand these terms and be ready to identify them:
Agricultural density The ratio of the number of farmers to the total amount of land suitable for agriculture.
Arable land Land suitable for agriculture.
Arithmetic density The total number of people divided by the total land area.
Crude birth rate (CBR) The total number of live births in a year for every 1,000 people alive in the society.
Crude death rate (CDR) The total number of deaths in a year for every 1,000 people alive in the society.
Demographic transition The process of change in a society's population from a condition of high crude birth and death rates and low rate of natural increase to a condition of low crude birth and death rates, low rate of natural increase, and a higher total population.
Demography The scientific study of population characteristics.
Dependency ratio The number of people under the age of 15 and over age 64, compared to the number of people active in the labor force.
Doubling time The number of years needed to double a population, assuming a constant rate of natural increase.
Epidemiologic transition Distinctive causes of death in each stage of the demographic transition.
Epidemiology Branch of medical science concerned with the incidence, distribution, and control of diseases that affect large numbers of people.
Infant mortality rate (IMR) The total number of deaths in a year among infants under one year old for every 1,000 live births in a society.
Life expectancy The average number of years an individual can be expected to live, given current social, economic, and medical conditions. Life expectancy at birth is the average number of years a newborn infant can expect to live.
Natural increase rate (NIR) The percentage growth of a population in a year, computed as the crude birth rate minus the crude death rate.
Overpopulation The number of people in an area exceeds the capacity of the environment to support life at a decent standard of living.
Pandemic Disease that occurs over a wide geographic area and affects a very high proportion of the population.
Physiological density The number of people per unit of area of arable land, which is land suitable for agriculture.
Total fertility rate (TFR) The average number of children a woman will have throughout her childbearing years.