HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
Chapter 11-Population
Population
Quick facts
1. Over the course of human civilization population was fairly
stable, growing only slowly until about 1 AD. From this point on
growth in the human population accelerated more rapidly and
soon reached exponential proportions, leading to more than a
quadrupling within the last century.
2. It took all of human history up to the early 1800s for world
population to reach 1 billion people, and until 1960 to reach 3
billion.Today, the world gains 1 billion people every 11 years.
3. The world population reached 6 billion in 1999.
4. Today , 76 million people are added to the Earth’s population
every year.This rate of increase is of greater concern than the
numbers themselves.
5.World population had reached 7 billion on October 31, 2011.
http://www.worldometers.info/worldpopulation
•World Population Growth
•3 times greater in the 20th century
•6 billion in 1999
•7 billion in 2011
•8 billion by 2025-YouTube - World Population: 7 Billion in Two Years
•developed countries-a country with a highly developed economy, with a strong
service sector and often an industrial base, high standards of living with high levels
of literacy, health services, and food supplies
•developing countries- a country with an economy that depends more on primary
industries, and citizens have a lower standard of living than those in developed
countries
Demography-statistical study of the characteristics, trends, and issues of human populations
census- done every 10 years in Canada and a general one every 5 years; this is the most
complete way to gather information about population.
All Canadians are required by law to be counted in the census. A selection of people has to give
more detailed information about their accommodation, income, etc.
Why are census data less accurate in developing countries?
•Registration of births and deaths is not as complete.
•Census takers may not be able to reach remote area.
•People in shanty towns are not counted because they
are not permanent residents of cities.
•Some avoid census takers out of fear of authorities
Population Rates
Components of population change:
•How many people are born (birth rate)
•How many die (death rate)
•How many move in or out (immigration rate or
emigration rate)
Births-deaths+immigrants-emigrants=increase or
decrease in population
•Demographers use rates per thousand when figuring
population change using birth rates and death rates.
•Subtracting deaths from births gives the rate of natural
increase.
•Birth rate is the number of children born in a region for
every 1000 people.
•Canada’s birth rate is 10.6 children per 1000 Canadians.
•Death rate is the number of people who die in a region
for every 1000 people.
•Canada’s death rate is 7.4 deaths per 1000 Canadians.
Rule of Seventy
•Length of time it would take for a population to
double in size.
•Doubling time= 70 divided by the growth rate (in %)
per year.
For example Gabon: 70 divided by 1.77 ( natural
increase)= 39.5 years.
Migration
•Population increase in Canada depends on
immigration.
•Emigrants leaving the country each year also affects
the demography.
•Most immigrants to Canada come as economic
migrants from developing countries, others as
refugees escaping persecution in their home country.
emigration-leaving a country to live elsewhere—
Emigrate from Poland to Canada
immigration-coming into a country to live—
Immigrate to Canada from Greece
migration-moving from one area to another (within a
country-aka internal migration)
The Demographic Revolution
•Thomas Hobbes describes life in 1651 as “ poor, nasty, brutish, and
short ”
•Life expectancy was 30 years
•Why? Disease, poor medical care, poor nutrition, unsanitary living
conditions
•After 1750 death rates declined
•Why? Increases in food production (agricultural revolution),better
diets, clean drinking water, hygiene, and vaccinations
•Eventually there were decreases in the birth rates in the more
developed countries
•Why? People began to move into cities (children were not as
needed to work in fields), increase in the standard of living, and
economic development
Demographic Transition Model :
changes over a period of time in three
elements : birth rates, death rates,
and trends in overall population
numbers.
Stage 1 : High birth rates and high
fluctuating death rates result in small
population growth.
Why? Plagues, diseases, and poor
nutrition keep mortality high. (many
countries in Africa today)
Stage 2 : Birth rates are still high, so
there is a rapid increase in population
numbers.
Why? Improved health care,
sanitation, and increased food supplies
lead to a rapid fall in death rates.
(Kenya)
Stage 3 : Population growth begins to
decline. Birth rates begin to fall.
Why? Industrialization, urbanization,
and improved living standards lead to
less desire for large families. (China)
 Stage 4 : The transition is
complete to a low growth
rate with low birth rates and
death rates. The birth rate
may fluctuate in special
circumstances, such as the
post-war « baby boom ».
(Canada)
 Stage 5 : Birth rates drop
below death rates. This is
happening in some
European countries and in
Japan. It is not known if this
trend will extend to other
regions. (Austria)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dK3
mL35nkk&feature=related-watch clip
Fertility Rate: Number of children a woman can
have over her lifetime
Problems
Very High Birth Rates
-insufficient medical services- high infant
mortality
-insufficient government funds for education of
a large, young population.
Very Low Birth Rates
-a shortage of workers and entrepreneurs for
the future, unless countries accept high levels of
immigration.
-fewer young people to care for aging parents,
resulting in expensive care facilities
Canada Now
-has a low death rate and a falling birth rate
Stage 4 right now in the demographic transition
model.
Population divided into 3 groups:
Children up to the age of 15
Working adults from ages 16-64
Adults 65 and older
Dependency ratio : proportion of the population that is being supported by the working age group.
Children and older people put pressure on society for medical, education, housing , and other services.
In 2006 Census, Canada’s population included 17.7% children and 13.7 % adults 65 and older, giving it a dependency load
of 31.4%. A country like Bangladesh has a dependency load of 38.6%, made up of 34.6% children and 4 % adults aged
65 and older.
http://coolgeography.co.uk/GCSE/Year%2010/Human%20World/Youthful%20Populations/population_dependency.ht
m
Population Pyramids
•Population Pyramid : a graph that shows the
age and sex structure of a population.
•A series of horizontal bar graphs for the male
and female populations are placed back to back
at age intervals of five years, called
cohortsstructure of a population.
•Countries with high birth rates have many
children and an expanding population. A stable
population will have birth rates and death
rates in balance, and a contracting population
will have below higher death rates than birth
rates.
In general
expanding pyramids=developing nations (see
two to the right)
Stable pyramids=developed countries
(see next page)
Expanding
Early
Expanding
Stable
Watch population pyramid video
Contracting
 A couple of nice websites with examples and
questions!
http://www.cdli.ca/courses/geog3202/unit06_org03_ilo02/b_activity.html
http://www.footwork.com/pyramids.asp
Can you match these population pyramids to the demographic transition model?
Take a few minutes with a partner and look at the DTM and match it with population pyramid
For each stage!

http://www.census.gov/ipc/
www/idb/informationGatew
ay.php

http://www.ined.fr/jeux.php
?_movie=/flash/d03/EN/D03
WebSon.swf&titre=Populati
on%20pyramid&lg=en

http://www.ined.fr/jeux.php
?_movie=chargement.swf?_
movie=simulateur.swf&lg=e
n&titre=Population%20simu
lator&lg=en&jeu=ok

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/ki
tstrousses/animat/edu06a_00
00-eng.htm

New use this one above!
Canada’s population : The Past and the Future
•Canada’s birth rate and death rate have been dropping
steadily over the past 30 years.
•Population is getting older
•In 1951, 1 in 13 Canadians were over 65 years of age.
•In 2020, 1 in 5 will be over that age.
•Life expectancy is now 81 years
Why is an aging population considered a problem?
•Increase in medical and social servicesgovernment
will need to spend money
•Fewer children to look after aging parents.
•Puts pressure on health care system to provide more
long-term care for the elderly.
•Cost of health services for the aged continues to rise
as medical technology becomes more complex.
What are the effects of migration?
•Increase in immigrantsIncrease in workers &
entrepreneurs
•Increase in immigrantsPayments of social and
medical services due to taxes
What if there was no immigration?
•Population decreases
•Aging population increases
The One-Child Policy-China’s solution
Mountains and cold desert prevent western
China from supporting many people.
1980-the government imposed the one-child
policy to combat a 900 million people
population and a 1.57 percent annual growth
rate
Results of the Policy
Positive :
birth rate cut in half rapidly.
worked well in urban areas where people
recognized it allowed them luxuries.
two children permitted if the first born was a
daughter or was disabled.
Negative :
sons are valued as labourers and ‘old age
security’ so forced abortion and infanticide
can occur if the first-born is a girl especially in
rural areas
‘Little Emperor Syndome’
-single-child families have evolved where
child feels no obligation to family or society.
The policy is often ignored in rural areas
China’s population pyramid
http://www.iiasa.ac.at/Research/LUC/ChinaFood/image
s/anim/ch_all2.gif--click on bottom image during ppt
http://www.iisg.nl/~landsberger/pop.html
Watch China Video
Where do Six Billion- Plus People Live?
Why are there more people in some areas of the world than in other
parts?
Population distribution : the way people are spaced over the earth’s
surface.
Population density : number of people in given area of land. (square
kilometre)
World Population Distribution – Dependent on the GEOGRAPHY!
The most densely populated areas are north of the equator : Europe, Asia
Relationship to Landforms :
Lowland areas- are the most heavily populated (coastlines and river valleys in, for example India, China, and
Egypt)
Highland areas- sparsely populated, rugged and cold, exception being in Switzerland, Japan, Java and
Philippines.
Relationships to Climate : very low populations in extremely cold and dry regions, some exceptions being Israel
(irrigations) and Kuwait (oil wealth).
What are the limits of population growth?
•
•
•
According to Thomas Malthus in 1798,
disaster will over-take populations in the
world’s poorest developing countries.
Neo-Malthusians predict increasing shortages
of arable land to grow enough food, conflicts
over fresh water, declining fish stocks, and the
spread of AIDS or other diseases. Africa will be
most vulnerable to these threats.
They believe migrations, technology, and new
farming lands cannot solve the problems in
the poorest developing countries.
Carrying capacity- the number of people and
animals that can be sustained by an area of land.
Nutritional densities : how much nutrition (in
calories) can be produced from the land
•Area with good soil, adequate temperature, and
rain for plants to grow have a higher nutritional
density
•In the developing world, nutritional density is low
Can the population of the world be fed?
Countries with poor nutrition
http://www.geography.learnontheinternet.co.uk/a
ctivities/population.html