Chapter 2: Population and Health

Unit 2

Critical Issues in Population Geography

•More people are alive today than at any other time in human history

• The world’s population increased at a faster rate during the second half of the twentieth century than ever before.

•Virtually all population growth today occurs in less developed countries (LDCs)

Where Are the World’s People Distributed?

•Population concentrations• Two-thirds of the world’s population are in four regions:

• East Asia• South Asia• Europe• Southeast Asia

Where Are the World’s People Distributed?

•Sparsely populated regions• The ecumene• People generally avoid:

• Dry lands• Wet lands• Cold lands• High lands

Where Are the World’s People Distributed?

•Population density• Arithmetic density

• Physiological density

• Agricultural density

Why Is World Population Increasing?

•Natural increase rate• The percentage by which a population grows in a year

•Doubling time• The number of years needed to double a population

• Fertility:• Total fertility rate (TFR)• Crude birth rate (CBR)

•Mortality• Crude death rate (CDR)• Infant mortality rate (IMR)• Life expectancy

Why is World Population Increasing?

•Demographic transition• Four stages

• Stage 1: Low growth• Agricultural revolution

• Stage 2: High growth• Industrial Revolution

• Stage 3: Moderate growth

• Stage 4: Low growth• Zero population growth (ZPG)

Why is World Population Increasing?

Why Do Some Places Face Health Challenges?

•Health and Gender:•Abortion, Infanticide, Disappearances • Sex Ratio• Sex Selection•Maternal Mortality Rate

Why Do Some Places Face Health Challenges?

Health and Aging:•Population pyramids

• A bar graph showing a place’s age and sex composition• Shape of the pyramid is determined mainly by the CBR• Age distribution

• Dependency ratio• Sex distribution

•Health Care•Medical Facilities

Why Do Some Places Face Health Challenges?

Why Do Some Places Face Health Challenges?

•Epidemiology

•World health threats• The epidemiologic transition

• Stage 1: Pestilence and famine

• The Black Plague

• Pandemics

• Stage 2: Receding pandemics

• Cholera and Dr. John Snow

Why Do Some Places Face Health Challenges?

•World health threats• The epidemiologic transition

• Stage 3: Degenerative diseases

• Most significant: Heart disease and cancer

• Stage 4: Delayed degenerative diseases

• Medical advances prolong life

Why Might Population Increase in the Future?

•Malthus on overpopulation• An Essay on the Principle of Population (1798): Population

grows geometrically while food supply grows arithmetically

• Criticism of Malthus includes the following:• Pessimistic viewpoint• Failure to consider technological innovation

Malthus: Theory vs. Reality

Why Might Population Increase in the Future?

•Neo-Malthusians

Why Might Population Increase in the Future?

•Population Futures:•Demographic Transition Possible Stage 5: Decline

• Negative population growth• CBR extremely low or nearly nonexistent

• Increasing CDR

• Declining/negative NIR

• Why would this happen?

Why Might Population Increase in the Future?

•Epidemiological Futures:• The epidemiologic transition

• A possible stage 5: Reemergence of infectious diseases?• Three reasons why it might be happening:

• Evolution

• Poverty

• Improved travel/connections

Why Might Population Increase in the Future?

•Family Futures:• Education •Health Care•Contraception