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Population geography notes

for second semester students

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Geography Honours

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Creighton University

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Population

Geography

2 semester notes

Typed by :-

Ayush kashyap

Bheem Rao Ambedkar college ,

University of Delhi

Students excitement for studying the notes :-

UNIT – 1

1 Introduction

Population geography implies the investigation into human covering of the earth and its various facets with reference to physical and cultural environment.
Population geography is concerned with the geographical organisation of population and how and why this matters to society.
The study of population i., DEMOGRAPHY , with its roots in analysis of mortality and fertility statistics , is the statistical analysis of population.
Population studies is often used to describe the approaches to looking at population issues , including non statistical approaches.
Populational geography is the geographical study of population , with an emphasis on location and spatial population.
Population geographers seek to understand : ✓ The society around them ✓ The structure of a population ✓ How it changes through births , deaths and migrations

Glenn Thomas Trewartha We also know him for “An introduction to climate’’ Mc Graw - Hill

In his book entitled “A geography of population : World patterns” published in 196 9 Trewartha arranged these topics into two parts : While the first included a geographical account of population in the past , The second incorporated all the characteristics of population including biological , social , cultural and economic characteristics.

1 Zelinsky

ZELINSKY (1966) defines it as a science that deals with the ways in which geographic character of places is formed by and in turn, reacts upon a set of population phenomena that vary within it through both space and time as they follow their wan behavioural laws, interacting one with another, and with numerous non-demographic phenomena.
The publication of two books - Population Analysis in Geography by Woods in 1979, and A Population Geography by Jones In 1981-initiated a discussion on the need to reorder the emphasis in population geography
Woods and Rees (1986) propose the term spatial demography in place of population geography, which differs from the latter 'mainly in terms of the equal emphasis on mortality, fertility and migration as components of population change and distribution .. use of the statistical demographic methods and its multi-disciplinary approach.

1 Diverse approaches

Numerous conceptual approaches have been brought to the study of Population Geography over its relatively short existence as a distinctive sub-discipline. Some sense of this diversity is described in the present chapter and will become clearer throughout the book. Underpinning these approaches is an equally bewildering range of philosophical frameworks, often termed the - isms. Some of these, ordered by their appearance in the chapter, are now given extremely short definitions: a. Empiricism: knowledge primarily coming from experiences of the senses b. Positivism: prioritizes knowledge obtained via repeatable, verifiable observations c. Behaviouralism: emphasizes cognitive processes underlying individual decision making d. Marxism: focuses on the material, especially economic, relations between humans e. Structuralism: understanding surface patterns of human behavior requires knowledge of underlying causal structures f. Humanism: accords primary attention to thinking, acting, feeling individuals Postmodernism: emphasizes the relativism of reality and expresses considerable skepticism towards grand claims to knowledge and truth g. Post-structuralism: focuses on openness of meanings, ambivalence of texts and multiple production of Identities Students :- Sir hum population geography kyu padh rahein hai? Iska kya scope hai? Teacher :-

The next level of inquiry involves the establishment of genetic relationships or dynamic aspects (processes) of spatial distributions in which the temporal variable is highly significant. The last step is the determination of co-variant relations, i. The search for understanding the space relations of spatial processes, which are express in terms of areal association and interaction between and among phenomena.
The main field of population geography is the areal differentiation which is help full for solving the problem of static relationships between variables. Population study by geographers should lead to a better understanding of the processes creating areal distribution as expressed in the concepts inherent in, and by the study of spatial interaction over time.
According to G. T. Trewartha- The scope of population geography can be delineated as follows: -

Distribution of population
Density of population
Migration (Movement of people across space)
Growth of population
Composition of population
Literacy and quality of population
Rural and Urban population

The 2005 publication Geography in America at the Dawn of the Twenty-first Century, identified six research themes in population geography: (1) internal migration and residential mobility, (2) international migration and transnationalism, (3) Immigrant assimilation and adjustment and the emergence of ethnic enclaves, (4) regional demographic variations (5) social theory and population processes, and (6) public policy

1 Source of population data

Any population geographer needs population data mainly for two reasons: ✓ To record the situation of population at any give for a particular place. This is also known as stock data. It is represented by census and various social surveys. ✓ To record the population dynamics, that is, the population composition, combined effect of birth, death and migration on a particular area. It is known as flow data.

✓ ISI functions under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) of the Government of India. ✓ ISI Kolkata is the headquarter with Centres at New Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai. ✓ Tezpur, the 4th centre of ISI was inaugurated in 2011. ✓ Characteristics of Census: 1. Periodicity: In a census, population details are counted at regular interval. Most of the countries, including India, conduct census every 10 years. 2. Simultaneity: It refers to the counting of population simultaneously at a specified point of time. This time or date is known as reference date or census moment or census time. ✓ As a general rule a day is fixed for the census and also a particular moment which is called the census moment In India, the "Census moment now is the sunrise 1st March of the census year. The fixing of the "census moment helps the enumerators to decide which persons are to be included in the census. ✓ Challenges related to census : Increasing costs: To conduct a census, is a huge economic burden for a country, for example, on the 2010 census in the Uniced States costing approximately USD$13 billion, double what was spent on the 2000 census, which in turn doubled the 1990 cost Intrusiveness, privacy concerns, and response burden,: People don't share private data. Lower public cooperation and participation. This is mostly due to illiterate population who have taboo is sharing details with the authority, Difficulties in accessing secure apartments and enumerating unsafe areas More complex living arrangements, for example, Individuals living in multiple locations) (such as children of separated parents), the homeless, nomads, refugees, and other hard to reach populations Timelines in relation to user needs, for example, needs for more frequent data on changing patterns of internal and international migration. Corruption during census can make it difficult to have an efficient population census exercise that provides accurate population figures. Insufficient number of professionals with the knowledge and experience of conducting census.

####### 2. VITAL REGISTRATION SYSTEM

VITAL Registration is defined as continuous, permanent, compulsory recording of the occurrence and characteristics of vital events (birth, death, marriage etc.) as defined in and as provided through decree or regulation in accordance with the legal requirements of a country. The first civil registration system was introduced in England and Wales in 1836 and Scotland in 1854. ▪ USES OF CRS/VRS ✓ For Individuals It provides a safeguard to social status and individual benefits. It serves as a vital evidence to prove nationality. Birth registration records are required as age proof in any individual career system. Among other benefits the system provides the individual with a unique Identity (her/his name), records parental relationships. The death registration record is generally required for settlement of Inheritance, Insurance claims, claiming family allowances and other social security benefits. ✓ For Administration: Important tool for studying the dynamics of the population of any country or region In case of birth, it provides information to the government about vaccination, Immunization, premature baby care, assistance to the disabled, etc Death records are required to provide information about disease case register. electoral roll, social security, etc.

####### DEMOGRAPHIC PARTICULARS CONTAINED IN NPR

The following demographic details of every individual are required for every usual resident: Name of person Relationship to head of household Father's name/ Mother's name Spouse's name (if married) Sex Date of Birth Marital status Place of birth Nationality (as declared) Present address of usual residence Duration of stay at present address Permanent residential address Occupation/Activity Educational qualification 5. International publications ✓ The United Nations and its various organs, along with other international agencies such as the World Bank, publish population data for the world as a whole and for different countries separately at regular interval. The most important of them is the Demographic Year Book, published by the UN. ✓ It provides data on such wide ranging topics as population size, area, density, urban population, population growth, age-sex composition, number of births and birth rate, number of deaths and death rate etc. ✓ Sometimes, the volume is devoted to special topics, which include fertility, mortality, marriage, divorce, migration, and population census statistics. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) also publishes data on various social, economic and demographic aspects for the world and for different countries in its annual Human Development Report. Other international publications on world population data include Production Year Book of FAO, Year Book of Labor Statistics of ILO, Statistical Year Book of UNESCO, and World Health Statistics Annual of WHO. While the FAO publication provides information on agricultural population, the publication of ILO gives detailed data on the economically active population.

1 Conclusion

✓ Over space and time, the important of the study of geography in the population studies has become prominent in all social sciences. ✓ Population geographers mainly focus on the different aspects of population depending on the geographical and economic aspects of a region.

✓ At the end as R. Proyer very actually suggested that the population geography

deals with the analysis and explanation of interrelationship between population phenomena and the geographical character of places as they both vary. Teacher to topper :- Beta , any queries related to this chapter? Backbencher :- Ma’am pura chapter hi samajh me nhi aaya 😊 Teacher :-

2 Population distribution

The population of the world is unevenly distribued.
The remark of George B. Cressey about population of Asia that “Asia has many places where people are few and few places where people are very many “ is true about the pattern of population distribution of the world also. ❖ Patterns of population distribution in the world ✓ Patterns of population distribution and density help us to understand the demographic characteristics of any area. ✓ The term population distribution refers to the way people are spaced over the earth’s surface. ✓ Broadly , 90% of the world population lives in about 10% of its land area. ✓ The 10 most populous countries of the world contribute about 60% of the world’s population. ✓ Of these 10 countries , 5 are located in Asia which are India , China , Bangladesh , Pakistan , Indonesia.

❖ Density of population ✓ Each unit of land has limited capacity to support people living on it. Hence , it is necessary to understand the ratio between the number of peoples to the size of land. ✓ This is the density of population. It is usually measured in per square Km.

*Asia

I. Geographical Factors i. Availability of water : Water is the most important factor for life. So, people refer to live in areas where fresh water is easily available. ii. Landforms : People prefer living on flat plains and gentle slopes. iii. Climate : An extreme climate such as very hot or cold deserts are uncomfortable for human habitation. They prefer to live in a place with moderate climate and good amount of precipitation. iv. Soils : Fertile soils are important for agriculture and allied activities.

II. Economic Factors

Minerals: Areas with mineral deposits attract industries. Mining and industrial activities generate employment.
Urbanization: Cities offer better employment opportunities, educational and medical facilities, better means of transport and communication. Good civic amenities and the attraction of city life draw people to the cities
Industrialisation: Industrial belts provide job opportunities and attract large numbers of people. III. Socio-cultural / Political Factors
- Some places attract more people because they have religious or cultural significance.
- In the same way - people tend to move away from places where there is social and political unrest.
Political Turmoil : ✓ Discrimination and political upheaval are harmful to population growth. ✓ The migratory population looks for a destination that offers economic prospects. It looks for a secure and healthful atmosphere for life. ✓ Both of these prerequisites cannot be met in a politically insecure area. This deters the arriving migrant population and the local population.
War : ✓ Human lives are severely sacrificed in war and political disputes. People are compelled to leave their homes in search of safety because of the high death rates. ✓ Mortality rates reach their peak, and emigration takes over.
Government Policies : ✓ Population growth in the destination region has frequently resulted from policies promoting migration. ✓ International labour movements occur in countries with lax regulations controlling cross-border migration.

Multiple Choice

Multiple Choice

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