KQ 3

Why Does Population Composition Matter?

Population Composition

• The composition is the structure of a population in terms of age, gender, and other properties such as marital status and education.

• Age and gender are key indicators of population composition– Population Pyramid: Graphic depiction of

population by percentage in each age group, divided by gender

© 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Population Composition (cont’d)

• Young vs. elderly in any population will determine different social needs

• Geographers are concerned with both spatial distribution and population composition

© 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Figure 2.16Age–Sex Population Pyramids for Countries with High Population Growth Rates.Countries with high total fertility rates, high infant mortality rates and low life expectancies will have population pyramids with wide bases and narrow tops.

Figure 2.17Age–Sex Population Pyramids for Countries with Low Population Growth Rates.Countries with lower total fertility rates and longer life expectancies have population pyramids shaped more uniformly throughout.

© 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Data from: UN, World Population Prospects

Data from: UN, World Population Prospects

• High infant mortality• Short life expectancy• Rapid population growth

Population Pyramids for Poor Countries

• Low infant mortality• Long life expectancy, especially for females• Little or no growth, even natural decrease

Population Pyramids for Wealthy Countries

KQ4

How Does The Geography Of Health Influence Population

Dynamics?

Geographies of Health

• Infant Mortality

• Child Mortality

• Life Expectancy

What would these tell us about a nation?

© 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Influence on Health and Well-Being

• Health is closely related to location and environment

• When an outbreak of a particular disease occurs its source and diffusion are studied by specialists in medical geography

• Medical geographers study diseases, and they also use locational analysis to predict diffusion and prescribe prevention strategies

© 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

World Infant Mortality

Deaths of babies less than one year of age, per 1,000 live births in a year

Infant Mortality in the United States

How would this map change if we looked at it from a larger scale?

World Life Expectancy

Number of years a person born now can expect to live

Mother’s Index• Based on 10 barometers of well-being among

mothers and children• Strongly influenced by poverty and warfare

Diseases

• Sources of diseases– Infectious diseases: Spread from person to person

• Vectored: Spread through intermediary, such as an insect• Nonvectored: Spread directly from person to person

– Chronic or degenerative diseases: Diseases of old age– Genetic or inherited diseases: Passed through genes

• Spread of diseases– Endemic: Present in small area– Epidemic: Spreads over large region– Pandemic: Spreads worldwide

Causes of Death in the United States

• Chronic diseases reflecting longer life expectances

• Decline in deaths from infectious diseases

1. What letter represents a baby boom?2. What letter represents the lack of elderly men compared to women?3. What letter represents a decline in population?4. What letter represents an echo of a baby boom?5. What letter represents a decline of births?6. Why do you think there are so few people in letter B age group?7. What are some issues that will arise in Russia because of what you see in this pyramid?

KQ5

How Do Governments Affect Population Change?

Population and Government

• Expansive population policies: Encourage large families and raise the rate of natural increase -combat declining birth rates & aging populations

• Eugenic population policies:Designed to favor one racial or cultural sector of the population over others -ex: Nazi Germany

© 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Population and Government (cont’d)

• Restrictive population policies ex: One-Child Policy in China – Limitations: Sweden– Contradictions: Roman Catholic

doctrine

Chengdu, China

© 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

© H.J. de Blij

© 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Data from: Population Reference Bureau

• What implications could this have for China?

Leading Causes of Death within Nations