Introduction to Demography (1)

Chapter 1

Chapter 1Introduction to DemographyWhat is Demography?The scientific study of human populationConcerned with: Population size Population growth or declinePopulation processes Population distributionPopulation structure Population characteristics2Fertility: Adding New PeopleIn 2006, national fertility rates ranged from an average of 1.2 children per woman in the former Soviet republics of Georgia and Ukraine to 8.0 children per woman in the West African of Niger. The average for the world was 2.7.What are the variables that affect fertility?fecundity, sexual unions, and birth controlCrude birth rate (CBR) is the number of live births in a year divided by the total midyear populationGeneral fertility rate (GFR): the total number of births in a year divided by the number of women in the childbearing agesTotal fertility rates (TFRs): the average total number of children a woman will haveReplacement-level fertility: 2.1?3Total Fertility Rate

Mortality: Subtracting PeopleIn 2006, national death rates ranged from less than 3 per 1,000 in Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE to 28 in Swaziland. The average for the world was 8.6.Crude death rate (CDR) is the total number of deaths in a year divided by the average total population.Age/sex-specific death rate (ASDR) is the number of deaths in a year of people of a particular age group in the interval divided by the average number of people of that age in the populationLife expectancy: the average age at death for a hypothetical group of people born in a particular year and being subjected to the risks of death experienced by people of all ages in that yearHigh toll from preventable diseasesLife expectancy can decline (Russia and sub-Saharan Africa)5Migration: Adding and Subtracting PeopleNet migration: the difference between the number of people moving in and the number moving out

Population size = Fertility Mortality MigrationPopulation Composition: Age, Sex, Race/Ethnicity Population Pyramids

7Population Pyramids

8Why is Demography Important?Nearly everything is connected to demographyGlobalizationSearch for cheap laborTerrorism and Regional ConflictAggravated by the youth bulge in the Middle East and South Asia9Why is Demography Important?Violence in sub-Saharan AfricaAggravated by high birth rates and issues arising from HIV/AIDSBacklash against immigrantsAggravated by xenophobia in the face of the need for workers in the richer, aging countriesPovertyUnbalanced sex-ratio in ghetto areasUrban sprawl: rich-poor segregation

10Why is Demography Important?Degradation of the environmentEvery person added to the population requires energy to prepare food, provide clothing and shelter, and fuel economic life.Can we feed everyone?Can we pull everyone out of poverty?We must guard against demographic fatigueThe silent explosion is taking place outside the rich countries11Why is Demography Important?Demographics of Social PlanningLocal agencies use demographics to plan for services (education, fire, police, sanitation, economic development) for their communities.Sickness and health are affected by sociodemographic characteristics and the demand for services shifts with demographic trends.12Why is Demography Important?Marketing DemographicsSegmenting markets - tailoring products and services to a specific demographic groupTargeting - aiming the advertising of a product or service to a specific demographic groupCluster marketing relates demographic information about people to information about where they live.13Riding the Age Wave: Births and Selected Age Groups in the U.S.

Is Demography Destiny?Demography shapes the world, even if it does not determine it.Population change is an underlying component of almost everything happening in the world today, and therefore in the future as wellThe sun never sets on demographic change!

Relevant News Items from the WeeksPopulation Blog:Posts related to an introduction to demography