Population Geography Chapter 2 For the 1st 200,000 years of modern man emergence from Africa-the population grew very slowly, then as the last ice age ended and the amount of habitable space expanded, population began to grow. Chapter 2

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Population Demographics is the study of human population distribution and migration. Key Issues of Demographics are: Food Supply Health and life expectancy Status of women Migration Food Supply-in the 1960s the fear of rapid population growth outpacing food supply was a main concern. The Green Revolution helped to ease the gap by introducing higher yield strains of rice, wheat and corn. Scientists continue to warn that an increase in population and the increased consumption of meat could lead to a global food crisis. Health-infant mortality, child mortality and over all life expectancies are concerns of demographers. Women-efforts to curb population growth have the greatest impact on women-some societies practice female infanticide or female children are malnourished or deprived of care. Where women are educated-birth rates decline. Migration-the movement of millions of people across international boundaries and internal migration to evade poverty or war or environmental disasters are also concerns of demographers. (train in Jakarta, Indonesia-one of the world’s most populous cities with 11 million people)

Earth: The Apple of Our Eye Activity Slice an apple into quarters-remove ¾=oceans Slice the quarter left (land) into 4 pieces set aside 3 = 2/3 are too rocky, wet, cold or covered by cities 1/32 left –peel the remaining piece=the topsoil surface that can grow food People are NOT distributed evenly across the Earth. Population is clustered in the mid latitude climates and relatively sparse in the dry and polar climates or the highlands.

After 2 centuries of slow growth, world population began explosive growth after WW II. UN Projections are for global growth of nearly 9 billion by 2050. The total may rise to over 11 billion by the end of the 21st century. Greatest growth in the 1990s took place in Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa.

Crude Birth Rate

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 2.1 to 2.5 children per TFR is the average number of children that would be born to each woman if during her child-bearing years, she bore children at the same rate as women of those ages actually did in a given year. It is age-adjusted, thus 2 nations with identical birth rates may have quite different fertility rates and prospects for growth. Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 2.1 to 2.5 children per woman is considered “replacement level.”

Crude Death Rates show less world wide variability than do birth rates due to widespread availability of at least minimal health care and a generally youthful population in the developing nations where death rates are frequently lower than in “old age” Europe. Crude Death Rates

85 years and older is the fastest growing group in the US Population 2005 the “old old” topped 5 million By 2050 it is expected to be 20 million Midwest has a high percentage since the young leave for jobs elsewhere. Boston and San Francisco have gone grayer as seniors age in place.

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

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.

Cholera in London, 1854 Fig. 2-23: By mapping the distribution of cholera cases and water pumps in Soho, London, Dr. John Snow identified the source of the water-borne epidemic.

Population Pyramids – Charts that show the percentages of each age group in the total population, divided by gender. For poorer countries, the chart is shaped like a pyramid. Infant mortality rates are high, life expectancy is shorter.

Population Pyramids Charts that show the percentages of each age group in the total population, divided by gender. For wealthier countries, the chart is shaped like a lopsided vase. Population is aging, TFRs are declining.

Population Policies Expansive Policies or Pro-Natalist policies encourage large families e.g. Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, Soviet Union & Ceausescu’s Romania & Mao’s China. Eugenic Population Policy-Nazi Germany favored “Aryans” over mentally ill or other undesirables. The Nazis tried to breed the super race of Nordic or Aryan types. Eugenics-science devoted to improving the human race through heredity=control who mates with who. An SS banner flies over a lebensborn where babies born of good German girls and SS officers were cared for.

Population Policies Restrictive or Anti-Natalist Policies discourage births. Policies vary- e.g. despite Vatican policies, most Catholic Italians practice artificial birth control-Philippines (only Asian Catholic country) a different case-govt. restricts birth control. Some countries have learned that industrialization & urbanization do as much as government policy in controlling births.

China’s One Child Policy What are some of the limitations, unintended consequences, and contradictions found in government policies toward population growth?

China’s aggressive policy enforcement of the One couple, one child” is displayed on this billboard. Violators are subject to heavy fines, loss of job, loss of access to better housing and other penalties.

Geography of Demography China’s One-Child Policy created a generation of 90 million 119 boys for every 100 girls 30 million unmarried men by 2020 45% of Chinese women said they don’t intend to wed. 3/10 families have grandparents living with them Biggest demographic revolution in history-Number of Elderly is rising-by 2050 about 30% of the population will be over 60-no pensions or social security. Beijing also enforces a 1 dog per family rule-must be less than 14 inches tall. China’s only children will have to support two parents and perhaps 4 grandparents.

In 1798 he published An Essay on the Principle of Population Malthus was the first to sound the alarm that the world’s population was expanding more rapidly than food production. He was the first to recognize exponential or geometric population growth. Today those who share his concerns are Neo-Malthusians Rev. Thomas Malthus 1766-1834 Thomas Malthus 1766-1834 a political economist and a clergyman he published a short book called Essay on Population in 1789 in which he argued that food production would always be outpaced by population growth. Positive checks on population growth include war, famine and disease. As a conservative clergyman he disapproved of birth control by artificial means.

Food & Population, 1950-2000 Malthus vs. Actual Trends Fig. 2-20: Malthus predicted population would grow faster than food production, but food production actually expanded faster than population in the 2nd half of the 20th century.

Thomas Malthus Neo-Malthusians Critics of Malthus Population is growing faster than Earth’s food supply Population increased geometrically; food supply increased arithmetically Transfer of medical technology leads to a rapid increase in population in poor countries World population is outstripping a wide variety of resources Wars and civil violence will increase because of scarcity of food and other resources Large populations stimulate economic growth Poverty, hunger, and other social welfare problems are a result of unjust social and economic institutions

Malthus Theory and Reality Food production increased more rapidly than predicted because of technology. Internal combustion engines Artificial fertilizers Pesticides Irrigation pumps Advanced plant and animal hybridization techniques Refrigeration Tin can for packaging