Population Trends and Issues

OUR GROWTH!

In 1804 there were 1 billion people on the earth.

At the beginning of the 1900’s our population was under 2 billion people.

Soon after that calculation our rate of growth grew immensely and we are now at a population of roughly 7.125 BILLION people.

We gain roughly 76 million people a year.

DEMOGRAPHY

Demography is a STATISTICAL study of characteristics, trends, and issues of human populations.

We have a CENSUS which is our DEMOGRAPHIC process of compiling information about the population.

Statistics Canada conducts our census and we have a major census every 10 years, with a less detailed one every 5 years.

DEVELOPED vs. DEVELOPING

A DEVELOPED COUNTRY, which is a country with a highly developed economy and high living standards, has the resources and money to conduct regular censuses.

They will still have a margin of error however, as not all people do the census. HOMELESS

DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, or those with a less sophisticated economy and a lower standard of living/are in poverty, will have issues conducting censuses.

These censuses will be fairly incomplete as the registration of births and deaths can be inaccurate: the people may not be able to reach the census as the live in remote areas, some living in conditions that are not considered residences of the city, some do not take the census out of fear.

Pop. Change: Born, Die, Move In, Move Out

Demographers are most interested in the stats that help them understand change in a society. The most important factors are:

1. How many people are born: BIRTH RATE

2. How many people are dying: DEATH RATE

3. How many people are moving INTO the country: IMMIGRATION RATE

4. How many people are moving OUT of a country: EMMIGRATION RATE

Natural Increase

We cannot compare birth rates and death rates of countries without first considering their population SIZE in relation to the births and deaths.

We would calculate birth rate in relation to population by looking at the number of children born in a region for every 1000 inhabitants. We would divide the number of births in one year by the population and then multiply the result by 1000.

Canada’s birth rate is 10.6 children per 1000 Canadians.

You would do the same for death rate. Canada’s death rate is 7.4 deaths per 1000 Canadians.

Natural Increase (NI) is the rate at which a population increases or decreases in a year expressed as a percentage of the total population; calculated by subtracting the above death rate total from birth rate total.

Exponential Growth

If a couple has 2 children, and each of these children grow up and produces two children, by the 3rd generation the couple will have 14 descendants.

THIS IS CALLED EXPONENTIAL RATE of increase.

A convenient way of expressing exponential pop. Growth is to use the length of time it would take a pop. to double in size.

RULE OF 70: this rule states that DOUBLING TIME is approximately equal to 70 divided by the growth rate (in percent) per year.

GABON: 70 divided by 1.77 (the pop. Increase per year in percent) = 39.5 years.

It will take GABON 39.5 years to double its population

NET MIGRATION

Net migration is an easy principle: It is the amount of people that IMMIGRATE (come to a region) minus the people that EMMIGRATE (leave a region)

When we subtract the amount of people who leave from the amount of people who come, we get the total amount of migration, or NET MIGRATION.

IMMIGRATION RATE-EMIGRATION RATE_______________________=NET MIGRATION

By looking at births, deaths, and net migration, we can get a pretty good idea of population change in a country or region over the years.

To get the net migration per 1000 people, we would do the same as we did for births and deaths. Calculate the net migration in 1 year, divide it by the population and multiply by 1000.

POP. GROWTH RATE

We can tell our populations GROWTH RATE, or how much a country’s population increases or decreases by adding NATURAL INCREASE, to NET MIGRATION.

Say the natural increase is 10 per 1000 people and the net migration is 1 per 1000 people:

10 1 11____ + _____ = _____ OR 1.1% POP GROWTH1000 1000 1000 PER YEAR

AGE STRUCTURE OF POPULATIONS

Age structure can help us understand population change.

DEMOGRAPHERS divide the population into 3 groups:

1. Children up to the age of 152. Working people from ages 15-643. Adults ages 65 and older

• This gives us the DEPENDENCY RATIO: or the proportion of the population that is being supported by the working age group.

• Children and the elderly put pressure on society for medical, education, housing, and other services.

• In 2006, Canada’s pop. Included 17.7 % children, and 13.7 adults over 65.

• That put our total DEPENDENCY LOAD at 31.4% (they are just added)

POPULATION DENSITY

Where do 7 billion plus people live?

Population density, or the number of people living in a given area; calculated by dividing the population by its area, will tell us which areas are most DENSE.

GO TO PAGE 381 in your text

The Canadian pop. Density is 3.5 people per square kilometer. It is one of the LOWEST IN THE WORLD.

POP.___________ = POP. DENSITYAREA IN KM SQUARED