Chapter 4 – Intro to Demography: Q. # 1-4, 5.b), 6, 9, 10 and Key Terms
Question #1: Why was the support of a very old person or disabled child a luxury that a hunting-andgathering society could not afford?
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Hunters and gatherers were always on the move searching for food. An older person or
disabled child could slow down the entire family group preventing them from being able to hunt
or gather enough food for all. Individuals that restricted the movement of the whole group were
often viewed as a liability and thus were often abandoned or killed. Hunters and gatherers were
generally on the edge of starvation most of their lives, they have little ability to support
members that could be seen as unproductive.
Question #2: Examine Fig. 4-5 and briefly describe how any three of the innovations mentioned depend
on the creation of a food surplus.
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Job Specialization: Since more food was available, not everyone had to be a hunter and
gatherer and could start farming and do other related jobs for which they had a natural skill.
Beginning of Towns and Cities: Since more food was available, there were people who could
live in communities where they traded for goods supplied by farmers in the surrounding
countryside.
Introduction of Trade: Surplus food was exchanged for products made by artisans and
craftspeople. This led to trade exchanges over larger areas allowing for the spread of
manufactured products and the introduction of new foods and spices, ideas, languages and
cultural beliefs with a new age of “cultural diffusion”.
Beginning of Writing: The production of food surpluses meant that extra food needed to be
stored and traded requiring a method of record-keeping and other “coded” language to keep
track of the surplus and exchange of goods for the extra food.
Question #3: Give two examples of agricultural societies that still exist today.
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Traditional agricultural societies that live by growing crops through shifting agricultural
methods today can be found in: i) The tropical rainforests of South America and Central and
West Africa and in parts of ii) Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia and Indonesia
Traditional nomadic herders of livestock today can be found in: i) The Sahara and Sahel of
Africa, parts of the Middle East and Central & Northern Asia
Question #4.a): Most experts would say that we are now moving into a post-industrial age. What is
meant by this term?
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A post-industrial age means that society has :
o An economy that is tertiary (services) dominant
o A population made up mostly of professional and technical classes
o A dominant influence of technology
o A high level of urbanization (people living in cities)
Question #4.b: What influence might living in the post-industrial age have on the world’s population?
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Advanced, wealthy and urban focused economies will likely lead to decreases in population as
family sizes get smaller due to: putting off having a family until an older age, having fewer
children due to costs and time, no need for extra children to help support parents in their elder
years, etc.
Question #5.b) Examine the population pyramid shown in Fig. 4-11. Give a brief overview of the
population characteristics of this country:
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Infant mortality rate is low as seen by the number of males and females in age group 5-9 being
very similar to that of 0-4. So those born 5 years earlier have managed to survive infancy.
The wide base of the pyramid does indicate a high fertility rate so lots of babies being born.
A high death rate is indicated by concave sides of the pyramid where it narrows at the top near
the older age ranges above 50 years of age or so. This indicates a low life expectancy
The bulk of the population is in the younger age ranges of 0-34.
Assessment: This pyramid’s shape reflects a developing (4th or 5th World) country.
Question # 6: Write out a word equation for each of the following terms:
For Example: Birth Rate = Births ÷ Population x 1000
a) Death Rate = Deaths ÷ Population x 1000
b) Dependency Load = Population under 15 + Population over 65 ÷ Population x 1000
c) Emigration Rate = # of Emigrants ÷ Population x 1000
d) Immigration Rate = # of Immigrants ÷ Population x 1000
e) Infant Mortality Rate = Infant Deaths ÷ Population x 1000
f) Natural Increase Rate = Births – Deaths ÷ Population x 1000
g) Net Migration Rate = Immigrants – Emigrants ÷ Population x 1000
h) Population Growth Rate = (Births – Deaths) + (Immigrants – Emigrants) ÷ Population x 1000
OR Population Growth Rate = Natural Increase Rate + Net Migration Rate
CONTINUE… Define: Life Expectancy, Population Pyramid, Total Fertility Rate, Replacement
Rate and the Rule of 70. PLUS, answer Q. # 9 and 10.
Key Terms:
a) Life Expectancy: The average lifespan in years a newborn will have. A short lifespan is considered
to be less than 50 years, a long lifespan is considered to be over 75 years.
b) Population Pyramid: A graph that summarizes the age and sex structure of a population according
to age ranges using horizontal bar graphs, divided by male and female.
c) Total Fertility Rate: The average number of children that each woman will have in her fertile years
(15 to 45 years of age), assuming the birth rate does not change over this period of time. A high fertility
rate is more than 5 children, while a low fertility rate is below the replacement rate of 2.1 children.
d) Replacement Rate: The 2.1 children needed to replace two parents taking into account that some
women cannot, will not or die before they can have children.
e) Rule of 70: The calculation used to estimate how long it would take for a country’s population to
double assuming a constant growth rate%. The formula is: 70 ÷ Growth Rate %.
For example: if Canada’s growth rate % is 0.9% then: 70 ÷ 0.9% = 77.777 Therefore, Canada’s
Population is estimated to double in 77.8 years.
Question # 9: Explain how a declining population might affect Canada’s economy and lifestyles.
Consider such areas as government priorities, consumer spending, economic growth and
environmental demands.
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Government Priorities: Governments may try to increase population through pro-birth policies
such as tax breaks for parents, child care supplements, etc. and/or through immigration
recruitment. Governments may have to cut spending as well and the tax base decreases (less
people to pay taxes!). This could have a negative impact on the economy with small businesses
having a hard time competing and spending on social programs and infrastructure could
decrease as well (social security pensions, before and after school programs, bridge and road
repairs, public transit, etc.).
Consumer Spending: Consumer spending will decline with fewer people to purchase products,
which will lead to a shrinking economy, job loss, less disposable income all around and a
decline in quality of life.
Economic Growth: With a declining population people will lead to a decline in the demand for
goods and services slowing down growth potential and a lack of overall prosperity and a high
standard of living.
Environmental Demands: A declining population consumes less, less consumption relieves
demands on the environment, less demand leads to less production and therefore less pollution
and waste.
Question #10.a) Being a dependent is defined as being under age 15 or over 65. Is this definition
realistic in modern Canadian terms? Why or why not?
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No, it is not realistic. A large majority of young people continue to be dependent long after the
age of 15 (we don’t have kids working the farm after grade 8 anymore!). Also, many people do
not retire at the age of 65 but continue working.
Question # 10.b) If it is not realistic, why is this definition used?
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It is still applicable for the majority of the world’s population living in developing countries
where most young people complete school before 14 years of age (if they go at all) and start to
work by 15 (if not earlier!). Most people also do retire at age 65 and are dependent on the
younger members of the family to support them as they live in countries without pension plans,
so this definition is still used in order to accommodate the reality of most countries for
comparative purposes.