Demography

The Study of Populations

What is Demography? Gathering and analysis of information

about human populations

Eg. birth rates, death rates, literacy rates, population growth

Demographer- the type of geographer who collects and analyzes this information

Demographers want answers to… How many? Where can this info be

found? How is this population changing and

how quickly? What are the characteristics and

composition of the population? How is the population distributed? What implications do these factors have

for the future?

Collecting Information on Population Census- a questionnaire style form

which are sent to households to fill out and return to the government

Ask about family members living in household, race, income level, ages, etc.

Demographers use this information to make statistics for communities, provinces or the country

How is the information used? Track shifts in society that warrant

changes in immigration policies, Track internal migration Determine the number of elected

representatives Identify a good location for a new business Plan a marketing strategy Set up social services that meet a

populations needs

Early Census Census have been conducted since

Roman times These census collected info on the

number of people, the property they owned and their agricultural harvest in a year

This information was collected to find out how much a citizen could pay in taxes

Mid 1700’s 1st national census were performed in

Sweden and US

Hired enumerators- people who travel door to door to ask questions/ count the numbers of people

How is data collected? Home visits by enumerators Completed online Send in by mail

Depends on the country you are collecting the information on Sending in by mail works in MDC where high

literacy rates and reliable mail system Enumerator visits work best in LDC where

lower literacy rates

Types of Questions Questions will vary depending on what the

country wants to find out A census which covers everything will

include questions on the following: Education Religion Language spoken Nationality Home ownership Occupation Possessions

Question to think about…

Some people think a census is an invasion of personal information. What do you think? What would you tell these people?

Problems with Inaccuracy Results can never be 100% because:

Homelessness- no permanent address therefore hard to receive a census form to fill out

Fear of entering slums or crime ridden areas- enumerators might not want to enter these areas to collect info

Isolation- enumerators/ mail does not reach them

Confusion- people not living at their permanent address not counted (eg. university students)

Privacy issues- not wanting to disclose personal info even though kept confidential

Reputation- info used to be used for taxation purposes, or how many men could serve in war. Some people are still suspicious

Inaccuracies cont’d

Problems that result from inaccuracies Unfair political representation

#’s of people = political boundaries

Unfair levels of funding #’s of people = $ money receive

Lack of funding for homeless people #’s of homeless people recorded =

more or less funding

Problems cont’d Product failure

How a company will market a new product based on demographics of community

Faulty economic policies Economic growth related to population

growth. Higher pop. growth = higher economic growth. Inaccurate measures of pop. growth may = inaccurate predictions of economic growth

Problems with interpretation Countries can interpret definitions of

statistics differently (eg. what is urban living?)

United Nations (UN) has written standard definitions, but not every country uses them

Eg. Canada’s definition of urban = min. size of community 1000 people. Sweden’s definition = 200 people

Canadian Census Statistics Canada- federal

government agency that collects, analyzes and publishes data

First started in 1871 and continued every 10 years until 1986 when it moved to every 5 years

Every person must be included in the census

Canadian Census cont’d Two types of forms- short (7 questions)

and long (55 questions) 80% of Canadians receive short forms 20% receive the long form which

requires more information given Long forms allow the demographers to

determine trends for the entire country without everyone having to fill one out

Failure to complete the census form can lead to a $500 fine or 3 months in prison

Canadian census cont’d Data is entered into databases over

the next 4 months Statisticians analyze the data over

the next 4 years Stats Canada is recognized as one of

the most accurate statistical information collection agency in the world