POPULATION GEOGRAPHY

1. Population geography
MR. P SOKHANYILE

2. Population Geography
 The study of human populations; their composition,
growth, distribution, and migratory movements with an
emphasis on the last two. It is concerned with the study of
demographic processes which affect the environment, but
differs from demography in that it is concerned with the
spatial expression of such processes. (Definition from Ask.com)
 The study of population phenomena and problems;
patterns and trends in different parts of the world; small or
large areas.

3. POPULATION GEOGRAPHY
Population Dynamics and Processes
Population Growth
• Birth, or Fertility, Rates; Death, or Mortality, Rates
• Demographic Transition Theory
Population Movement and Migration
• Mobility and Migration
• International & Internal Voluntary/Forced Migration
Population Distribution and Structure
• Population Distribution & Density • Age-Sex Pyramids
Population Debates and Policies
• Resources, Policies, Programs, Sustainability & Gender

4. Population growth
An increase in the number of people that reside in a country, state,
county, or city
Causes of population growth
 Births and deaths are natural causes of population change. The difference between the birth
rate and the death rate of a country or place is called the natural increase. The natural increase
is calculated by subtracting the death rate from the birth rate.
Birth rate: this is the number of live
babies born per thousand of the population
per year, also called natality rate.
Death rate: this is the number of death
per thousand of the population per year, also
called mortality rate.
Natural increase: The difference
between the birth rate and the death rate.
Life Expectancy- the average number of years a
person is expected to live
Infant Mortality Rate – the number of deaths of
children under the age of one per thousand live births.

6. Factors influencing the population growth
Fertility rates
Future population growth is highly dependent on the path that future fertility will take. According to the World
Population Prospects (2015 Revision), global fertility is projected to fall from 2.5 children per woman in 2010-
2015 to 2.4 in 2025-2030 and 2.0 in 2095-2100. However, for countries with high fertility there is significant
uncertainty in the projection of fertility. In these countries the average woman has 5 or more children over her
lifetime. Of the 21 high-fertility countries, 19 are in Africa and 2 are in Asia. The largest are Nigeria, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Republic of Tanzania, Uganda and Afghanistan. Low-fertility
countries now include all of those Europe and Northern America, plus 20 countries in Asia, 17 in Latin America
and the Caribbean, 3 in Oceania and 1 in Africa.
Increasing longevity
Overall, significant gains in life expectancy have been achieved in recent years. Globally, life expectancy at birth
rose by 3 years, that is from 67 to 70 years. The greatest increases were in Africa, where life expectancy rose by
6 years in the 2000s after rising by only 2 years in the previous decade. Life expectancy in Africa in 2010-2015
stood at 60 years, compared to 72 years in Asia, 75 years in Latin America and the Caribbean, 77 years in Europe
and in Oceania and 79 years in Northern America.
International migration
International migration is a much smaller component of population change than births or deaths. However, in
some countries and areas the impact of migration on population size is significant, including in countries that
send or receive proportionately large numbers of economic migrants or those affected by refugee flows. Overall,
between 1950 and 2015, the major areas of Europe, Northern America and Oceania have been net receivers of
international migrants, while Africa, Asia and Latin and the Caribbean have been net senders, with the volume
of net migration generally increasing over time. From 2000 to 2015, average annual net migration to Europe,
Northern America and Oceania averaged 2.8 million persons per year.

7. Resources
https://www.populationmatters.org/
https://www.worldpopulationbalance.org/
https://www.population-europe.eu/
Featured Image Credit: James Cridland @ Fli