BASIC DEMOGRAPHIC TERMS
Demography: the study of human population
Demographer: sociologist who studies trends in
population characteristics
Three major components
Fertility: the incidence of childbearing in a country’s
population
Mortality: the incidence of death in a country’s
population
Migration: the movement of people into and out of a
specified territory
BIRTH COHORTS
April 27, 2009
Final Exam:
125 Kildee Hall
Monday, 2:15 p.m.
© David Schweingruber 2008
BIRTH COHORTS
Birth cohort: set of people who were born during the same era
and who face similar societal circumstances brought about by
their shared position in the overall age structure of the
population (p. 406)
Birth cohorts effect everyday lives in two ways:
Cohort effect: phenomenon in which members of a birth
cohort tend to experience a particular life event or rite of
passage—puberty, marriage, childbearing, graduation, entry
into the workforce, death—at roughly the same time (p. 407)
Period effect: phenomenon in which a historical event or
major social trend contributes to the unique shape and
outlook of a birth cohort (p. 407)
HOMER’S MOTHER AND JOE NAMATH
TOTAL BIRTHS & BIRTH RATES
IN U.S., 1910-95
GI Generation (“Greatest Generation”): 1910-1924
Silent Generation: 1925-1945
Baby Boomers: 1946-1964
Generation Jones (1954-1964)
Baby Busters (Gen X): 1965-1981
Echo Boomers (Millennials, Gen Y): 1982-1994
Generation Z (1995-)
15
1,000,000
10
Total births
5
Birth rate
1995
1990
1985
1980
1970
1975
1965
1955
0
1960
0
1915
1990
1995
1985
1975
1965
1970
1955
1960
1945
1950
1935
1940
SOME GENERATIONAL
LABELS
War babies
1,500,000
500,000
-0.5%
1930
1920
1925
1910
1915
1900
0
0.0%
Growth rate
1918 flu
epidemic
25
20
GI Generation
1950
Population
50,000
2,000,000
1910
Great Depression,
low immigration
2,500,000
1945
0.5%
1980
100,000
30
Baby bust
1935
1.0%
35
Depression
Generation
3,000,000
1940
150,000
3,500,000
1925
1.5%
1930
200,000
40
1920
2.0%
45
Echo boom
4,000,000
Total births
250,000
Baby boom
Baby boom
4,500,000
Births per 1,000 people
2.5%
High immigration
& birth rates
Annual growth rate
300,000
1905
U.S. population (thousands)
U.S. POPULATION &
GROWTH RATES,1900-98