Population Unit – Visual Vocabulary

Demography The study of the characteristics of human population.

Demographics Statistical data related to characteristics of human population.

Population The total number of people who live in a specific place.

Population Density The measurement of population per unit area.

Population Pyramid A bar graph that represents the distribution of population by age and sex.

Overpopulation Excessive population of an area to the point of overcrowding, depletion of natural resources, or environmental deterioration.

Birth rate The total # of live births in a year for every 1,000 people alive in society.

Death rate The total # of deaths in a year for every 1,000 people alive in a society.

Infant mortality rate The total # of deaths in a year among infants under one year of age for every 1,000 people alive in a society.

Life expectancy The average number of years an individual can be expected to live, given current social, economic, and medical conditions.

Fertility Rate The ratio of live births in an area to the population of that area.

Literacy rate The percentage of a population of a country that can read or write.

Socioeconomic Status (SES) The total measure of a person’s work experience and of an individual’s or family’s economic and social position in relation to others, based on income, education, and job.

Migration The process of relocating to a new region or place.

Internal Migration Permanent movement within a country. Example: Moving from Chicago to Los Angeles.

External Migration Moving outside a country to a home in a new country. Example: Moving from New York City to Paris, France.

Chain Migration Migration of a people to a specific location because relatives or members of the same nationality previously migrated there.

Immigration Migration to a new location. Example: Pablo left Mexico and immigrated to the United States.

Emigration Migration from a location. Example: Pau emigrated from Spain to the United States.

Brain drain Large-scale emigration by talented people. Example: A scientist who leaves his country to work in another country.

Pull Factors Factors that attract people to migrate to a new region ($, jobs, resources, weather).

Push Factors Factors that cause people to leave and migrate to a new region (war, bad economy, natural disaster)

Rural Areas that relate to the countryside or farms.

Urban Term used to refer to cities.

Suburban An outlying part of a city or town that depends on the major city for entertainment, jobs, and transportation. Example: Round Lake is a suburb of Chicago.