Demographic Vocabulary
Note: Canada stats are of 2007
Birth Rate (BR) – the number of births in a country for every thousand people in the population.
- example: if 150 000 children are born in a given year in a country with a
population of 5 000 000, the BR would be 150 000/5 000 000 x 1000 = 30/1000
- A BR over 30 is high, a BR below 15 is low
- Canada’s BR is 11/1000
Death Rate (DR) - number of deaths in a country for every thousand people in the population.
- example: if 100 000 children die in a given year in a country with a population of
5 000 000, the DR would be 100 000/5 000 000 x 1000 = 20/1000
- A DR over 30 is high, a DR below 15 is low
- Canada’s DR is 08/1000
Natural Increase (NI) – is the difference between a countries BR and DR.
- example – a countries BR is 30 and DR is 20 (30-20=10). The NI = 10/1000 or 1%
- A NI over 2% is typical of a developing country, under 1% is typical of a developed country
- Canada’s NI is 11-8=3/1000 or .3%
Immigration Rate (IR) – measures the number of people who move to a country.
- example: if 15 000 people move to a country of 5 000 000, the IR would be
15 000/5 000 000 x 1000 = 3/1000
- Canada’s IR is 7.2/1000
Emigration Rate (ER) – measures the number of people who move out of a country.
- example: if 10 000 people move to a country of 5 000 000, the ER would be
10 000/5 000 000 x 1000 = 2/1000
- Canada’s ER is 1.3/1000
Net Migration Rate (NMR) – is the difference between a countries IR and ER.
- example – a countries IR is 3 and ER is 2 (3-2=1). The NMR = 1/1000 or .1%
- Most countries have small or negative NMR, exceptions are Canada, USA, & Australia.
- Canada’s NI is 7.2-1.3=5.9/1000 or about .6%
Population Growth Rate – combines NI and NMR to calculate the rate at which a country’s
population is changing (usually measured in %).
- A pop. GR of over 2% is considered high.
- Canada’s Pop. GR is 3/1000 + 5.9/1000 = 8.9/100 or about .9%
Population Pyramid –a type of bar graph that shows the age & gender structure of a population.
Dependency Load – the percentage of a country’s population that is under 14 and over 65.
- These people are dependent upon the working class who pay taxes.
- Canada’s dependency load is 31%
Working Class – the percentage of a country’s population that is between 15-64 years old.
- These people support the dependency load with the taxes they pay.
- Canada’s working class is 69%
Life Expectancy – is the average life span, at birth, of a human being.
- A lifespan less than 50 is short and one over 75 is long.
- Canada’s lifespan is about 80 years old
Infant Mortality Rate – is the number of children in a country who die in the first year of life
for each 1000 births.
-An infant mortality rate over 80 is high, less than 15 is low.
-Canada’s infant mortality rate is 5.3/1000
Total Fertility Rate – is the average number of children that each woman will have (15-45)
-A high fertility rate is greater than 5 and low is less than 2.1
-Canada’s total fertility rate is 1.61
Replacement Rate – is the total fertility rate that produces a NI rate of zero.
- 2.1 is the replacement rate (the extra .1 is to account for women who cannot
have or choose not to have kids or die before child bearing age)
Rule of 70 – a simple way to estimate how long it would take for a country’s population to
double. Calculated by taking 70 and dividing it by the population growth rate in % form
- Canada: 70/1% = 70 years