Course Code: SOC 101
Course Title: Basics in Social Science
Chapter-3: Demography
Demography:
Demography is the study of human population- their size, composition and distribution across
place- and the process through population changes. Births, deaths and migration are the ‘big
three’ of demography, jointly producing population stability or change.
According to Houser & Duncan, “Demography is the study of size, territorial distribution and
the composition of population changes therein and the components of such changes which may
be identified as fertility, morality, territorial movement and social mobility.”
Components/Concepts of Demography:
1) Fertility: Fertility is influenced by people’s age of entry into sexual unions and by their use of
contraception- both of which in turn, reflect the social and religion values that guide a particular
culture.
2) Mortality: Mortality is shaped by nation’s level of nutrition, acceptance of immunization and
provision for sanitation as well as its general commitment to health care and health education.
3) Migration: Migration from one country to another can depend on material and
kinship/relationship ties, the relative degree of racial and religious tolerance in various societies
and people’s evaluation of their employment opportunities.
1) Fertility
i) Poverty
ii) Low Income
iii) Early Marriage
iv) Desire for son
v) Religion Value
vi) Social Value
vii) Lack of Education
viii) Lack of Family
Planning
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2) Mortality
i) Level of Nutrition
ii) Immunization
iii) Lack of Proper
Sanitation
3) Migration
i) Economic Factor
ii) Religious
Oppression
iii) Political
iv) Marriage
Elements of Demography:
1) Birth Rate: It is the number of live births per 1,000 populations in a given year. Basically the
birthrates provide information on the reproductive patterns of a society. In Bangladesh, total
birth rate is 22.07 (2013 est.) per 1,000 people.
2) Death Rate: It is a number that shows how many people died in a particular place or during a
particular time. In Bangladesh, total death rate is 6 deaths (2013 est.) per 1,000 people.
3) Total Fertility Rate (TFR): It is the average number of children born alive to any women,
assuming that she conform to current fertility rates. Total fertility rate in Bangladesh is 39%
(2013 est.)
4) Infant Mortality Rate: It is the number of deaths of infants (Baby) under age 1 year per 1,000
live births in a given year. In Bangladesh, infant mortality rate is 2% per 1,000 live births.
5) Life Expectancy: It is the number of years that an individual is expected to live. For exampleLife expectancy rate in Bangladesh is 70.36 years.
6) Growth Rate: The growth rate of a society is the difference between immigrants/refugees
(those who enter a country to establish permanent residence) and emigrant/expatriate (those who
leave a country permanently) per 1,000 population. The growth rate of Bangladesh is 1.32%
(2013 est.) per 1,000 populations.
Growth Rate= [Birth rate – Death rate] + [No. of Emigrants – No. of In emigrants]
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Demographic Transition:
 The "Demographic Transition" is a model that describes population change over time.
 The change that typically takes place, as a country develops, in the birth and death rates
of its population, both of which tend eventually to fall as per capita income rises.
In a simple Sense, Demographic Transition may be defined as changes in birth rates and death
rates.
Stages:
There are 3 stages of Demographic Transition. Such as:
Stage-1 Pretransition Stage: In this stage we will see high birth rates and death rates with little
population.
Pretransition stage= High birth rates + High death rates= little population growth
Stage-2 Transition Stage: In this stage, we will see decline of death rates- for the most part the
result of reduction in infant deaths along with high to medium fertility, resulting in significant
population growth.
Transition stage= High birth rates + Death rate declines= Rapid population growth
Stage-3 Post Transition Stage: In this stage, we will see low birth rates and death rates with little
population growth.
Post transition stage= high birth rates + low death rates= Little population growth
Migration:
Migration is the movement of people from one place to another in the world for the purpose of
taking up permanent or semi permanent residence, usually across a political boundary. In a
simple sense, Migration refers to movement of people from one region to another.
Types of Migration:
Basically there are two types of Migration. They are:
1) International Migration: International migration occurs when an individual crosses into a
country where they were not born and stays for a minimum length of time. In a Simple Sense,
when people migrate/transfer from one country to another is called International Migration. For
example: moving from Bangladesh to the USA.
2) Internal Migration: In a simple sense, internal migration means, when people migrate/transfer
within the same country or region. For example: moving from Dhaka to Chittagong.
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There are other types of migration. Such as:
i) External Migration: Moving to a new home in a different state, country, or continent.
ii) Emigration: Leaving one country to move to another (e.g., the Pilgrims emigrated from
England).
iii) Immigration: Moving into a new country (e.g., the Pilgrims immigrated to America).
iv) Population Transfer: When a government forces a large group of people out of a region,
usually based on ethnicity or religion. This is also known as an involuntary or forced migration.
iv) Impelled Migration: Individuals are not forced out of their country, but leave because of
unfavorable situations such as warfare, political problems, or religious persecution.
v) Step Migration: A series of shorter, less extreme migrations from a person's place of origin to
final destination—such as moving from a farm, to a village, to a town, and finally to a city.
vi) Chain Migration: A series of migrations within a family or defined group of people. A chain
migration often begins with one family member who sends money to bring other family
members to the new location. Chain migration results in migration fields—the clustering of
people from a specific region into certain neighborhoods or small towns.
vii) Return Migration: The voluntary movements of immigrants back to their place of origin.
This is also known as circular migration.
viii) Seasonal Migration: The process of moving for a period of time in response to labor or
climate conditions (e.g., farm workers following crop harvests or working in cities off-season;
"snowbirds" moving to the southern and southwestern United States during winter).
Social Mobility:
The term social mobility refers to the movement of individuals/peoples or groups from one
position to another. The rise of person from a poor background to a position of prestige, power or
financial reward is an example of social mobility.
 Social mobility is shifting from one social status to another, commonly to a status that is
either higher or lower.
 Social mobility is the ability to move up (or also down) the social scale.
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Types of Social Mobility:
1) Vertical Mobility: Vertical mobility refers to the movement of people of groups from one
status to another. It involves change in class, occupation or power. For example, the movement
of people from the poor class to middle class.
 From the occupation of the laborers to that of bank clerks.
 From the power position of the opposition to that of the ruling class.
2) Horizontal Mobility: Horizontal mobility is a change in position without the change in status.
It indicates a change in position, within the range of status. For example, an engineer working in
factory may resign from his job and join another factory as an engineer. Similarly, a teacher may
leave on school to join another as a teacher.
3) Intergenerational Mobility: It involves changes in the social position of children relative to
their parents.
4) Intragenerational Mobility: It involves change in social position within a person’s adult life.
A man who becomes a taxicab driver, after his accounting firm goes bankrupt undergoes
downward Intragenerational mobility. It also may happen as upward Intragenerational mobility.
Social Stratification:
Social Stratification is a structural ranking of entire groups of people that brings about unequal
economic rewards and power in a society. Stratification involves the way in which one
generation passes on social inequalities to the next, producing groups of people arranged in
position/rank order, from high to low.
Forms of Social Stratification:
1) Slavery: This is oppressive/cruel system of stratification that enslaved or imprisoned
individuals who are owned by other people, who treat these human beings as property, just as
they were household pets or machine.
Slavery is the earliest form of social stratification. It has varied I the way it has been practiced, In
ancient Greece, the main source of slaves was piracy and captive/imprisoned of war. In the
United States and Latin America slavery was an ascribed status, racial and legal barriers
prevented the freeing of slaves. Today, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which is
binding on all members of the United States, prohibits slavery in all its forms. Yet around the
world, millions of people still alive as slave.
2) Castes: Basically, the word ‘Caste’ means ‘Class’ or ‘Social Group’. A caste system is a type
of social structure, which divides people on the basis of inborn social status. It is a social
stratification which exists only in India. It is a system of classification which states that a person
born into a particular position in a society and that no action on his/her part in raise or lower that
position.
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Caste membership is an ascribed status because at birth, children automatically assume the same
position as their parents. Each caste is quite sharply defined and members are expected to marry
within that caste.
3) Social Class: A social class is a group of people of similar status, commonly sharing
comparable levels of power and wealth. In sociology, social classes describe one form of social
stratification. When a society is organized by social classes, as different to by castes, it is
theoretically possible for people to attain a higher status than the status with which they started.
This movement is possible because social classes are not based on birth but on factors such as
education and professional success. For example, someone born into a low-income family can
achieve a higher status through education, talent, and work, or perhaps through social
connections. A society organized according to social classes, then, allows for some social
mobility.
4) Estates: A third type of social stratification system is called estate. Basically, Estate is a later
form of social stratification. Estates were owned by the feudal. They were established in the
Europe in seventh century and they lasted into the sixteenth century. Estates include serfs and
clergy. Serfs are the commoners and clergy comprises the feudal.
Ascribed Status:
Ascribed Status is a position that is assigned to a person by society without regard for the
person’s unique talents or characteristics.
Achieved Status:
Achieved Status is a social position that a person attains largely through his or her own efforts.
The
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