Demography

Unit 6. Demography

START

2- Population studies

3- The problems of world population

1- Demography

INDEX

1. Demography

What is Geography? In which branches is it divided

Geography is the science that studies the relationship between humans and their environment. It is usually divided into different branches:

• Physical Geography, which focuses more on the natural environment
• Human Geography, which focuses more on human population and activities.

Last year you studied Physical Geography, and this year is the turn for Human Geography.

What is geography?

Human geography is a branch of geography that focuses on the study of patterns and processes that shape the human society. It entails the human, political, cultural and economic aspects. We are going to focus on one of its divisions, population geography or demography.

What is human geography?

1.1. What is demography?

statistical study of the size, structure and distribution of population. It can study:- Static populations: population in a given time and place.- Dynamic population: population that changes over time, through the analysis of spatial distribution and the changes suffered in response to birth, migration, ageing and death.

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Why did we study demography In the past and now

Since Antiquity, governments tried to figure out the number of inhabitants to find out themount of taxes or the number of soldiers they could get.

1.2. Why did we study geography?

Today, it is still mainly used by the state for budgeting expenses as pensions or to plan service usage such as schools or hospitals.Governments nowadays set up institutions that study and control demographics.

1.2. Why did we study demography?

Traditionally, it was difficult to find reliable sources for the statistical studies of populations. During the 19th and 20th centuries new forms of obtaining information were set up:• Census: Those are special compulsory questionnaires were set up for households, which had to fulfill information about their families: number of people, sex, age, occupation, properties, etc. This allowed for very accurate statistics about the national populations. They were usually undertaken every 10 years (last one in Spain in 2011 and now we have to wait because of the COVID)

1.3. How do we know what we know about demography?

• The poor people were excluded from the census.
• It covered only the old territories of the Crown of Castille.

It was made in the times of the Emperor Charles V, with the aim of collecting taxes, so it only included the people that had enough many to pay taxes (so called pecheros)Limitations:

The census of pecheros

• The poor people were excluded from the census.
• It covered only the old territories of the Crown of Castille.

It was made in the times of the Emperor Charles V, with the aim of collecting taxes, so it only included the people that had enough many to pay taxes (so called pecheros)Limitations:

The census of pecheros

It is considered the first Spanish census of population prepared on modern statistics techniques. It was a census document produced in Spain under the direction of the count of Floridablanca, minister of Charles III, in the 18th century.

The census of Floridablanca

This Census showed us that Spain is a country with big differences amongst the regions. While Madrid, Catalonia, the islands and the coastal areas are highly populated, the interior areas are underpopulated,

Spanish demography

It is an official institution that records all births, deaths and marriages. It is compulsory to register these events

Civil registry

Municipal Register

It is a document prepared by municipalities which includes data on the age, marital status, sex, address, level of education and economic activity of the inhabitants of a municipality.

2. Population studies

• Child population (0-14 years old).
• Adult population (15-64 years old)
• Elderly population (65+ years old).

We can study population through its structure, dividing the population by different factors, but the most common type of study of structure is about biological factors:

• Age: we can divide the population into three groups:

2.1.Structure

Porcentaje de cada grupo = Población de cada grupo x 100 / Población total

• Sex: we can calculate the percentage of men and women in the total population or put the total sum (usually expressed in million)

2.1.Structure

Pocentaje de cada grupo = Población de cada grupo x 100 / Población total

To study the biological structure of population, population pyramids are used. They are graphs that show data on the sex and age (usually in 5 years intervals) of a population at a given moment.

Population pyramids

• Sex is represented through two different fields. Conventionally, men are represented on the leftside, while women on the rightside.
• Each age group is represented by a different bar, in ascending order (from younger population at the bottom to older at the top).
• Data of age groups can be presented in raw numbers or in percentage.

The shape of the pyramid provides information on the main characteristics of the biological structure of the population represented.

It reflects a very young population with a very small group of elderly people.

Triangle-shaped

Types of population pyramids

It corresponds to a young population in which the group of elderly people has increased because the age of death is higher.

Bell-shaped

Types of population pyramids

It shows an ageing population in which the group of young people has been reduced because of fewer births.

Urn-shaped

Evolution of the pyramid in Spain

First, you need to get data and organize it in a table. We need to indicate the place and the date to which they belong and separately reflect the population figures of men and women in different age groups, usually presented in intervalsof 5 years (0-4. 5-9, 10-14 and so on).

How to make a population pyramid?

Vertical axis

Horizontal axis

• Vertical axis: In the ordinates you need to write each age group, starting with the lowest at the bottom. Since it is a graph with double bars that share the vertical axis, the ordinates should be at the center so the data can be placed on both sides of the axis.
• Horizontal axis: Is used to represent the population numbers or population percentage. Remember to write down if you are representing percentage or raw numbers. Depending on the data (especially with raw numbers) choose the scale accordingly (i.e. if the largest number given is 8 000, don’t use a scale up to 20 000).

1. Dibujamos una línea horizontal y dos líneas verticales en el centro2. Ponemos hombres a un lado y mujeres al otro y dibujamos rangos de edad de 5 en 5, empezando de 0 a 4 años y terminando de 95 a 100 años3. Numera el eje vertical, de izquierda a derecha.

PASOS PARA DISEÑAR UNA PIRÁMIDE DE POBLACIÓN

PASOS PARA DISEÑAR UNA PIRÁMIDE DE POBLACIÓN

PASOS PARA DISEÑAR UNA PIRÁMIDE DE POBLACIÓN

PASOS PARA DISEÑAR UNA PIRÁMIDE DE POBLACIÓN

PASOS PARA DISEÑAR UNA PIRÁMIDE DE POBLACIÓN

PASOS PARA DISEÑAR UNA PIRÁMIDE DE POBLACIÓN

1. Construct a population pyramid. As soon as you got it, identify to what kind does it belong.

2. Construct a pyramid, using the given data