Jaymie Ticknor Intro Sociology 1510 Sect 900 1 December 2013 Chapter 16 Population the Environment and Social Change Demography and the U S Census Demography study of the current state and changes over time in the size distribution and composition of human populations draws on huge bodies of data generated by a variety of sources like the U S Census Bureau Census head count of the entire population of a country usually done at regular intervals conducted every ten years required by the U S Constitution 2000 U S Census undercounted a small percentage of the population homeless immigrants minorities living in ghetto neighborhoods and other residents of low social status undercounted overall is only 2 undercount for African Americans nationally would be 20 Hispanics would be 25 Only 2 of people responding actually indicate a multiracial response Diversity and the Three Basic Demographic Processes Total number of people in a society at any given moment is determined by three variables births deaths and migrations Immigration migration into a society from outside adds to population Emigration departure of people from a society also called out migration Population grows exponentially with an upward accelerating curve total population of the world is increasing at a rate of 270 000 people per day or just less than 200 people per minute Birthrate Crude Birthrate number of babies born each year for every 1 000 members of the population or the number of births divided by the total population multiplied by 1 000 Entire world population 28 births per 1 000 people U S overall 14 2 births per 1 000 people 27 births per 1 000 people in 1946 Baby Highest Niger with 49 6 births per 1 000 people Lowest Japan with 7 9 births per 1 000 people Boom Highest Latinos with 23 births per 1 000 people Lowest Whites with 13 4 births per 1 000 people Catholics have higher birthrate than non Catholics Death Rate Crude Death Rate number of deaths each year per 1 000 people or the number of deaths divided by the total population times 1 000 higher the standard of living enjoyed by a country the lower the death rate tends to be Infant Mortality Rate number of deaths per year of infants less than one year old for every 1 000 live births U S overall rate is on average 7 infant deaths for every 1 000 live births higher for Blacks 13 7 lower for Whites 5 7 highest Angola 200 and Afghanistan 150 Life Expectancy defined as the average number of years a member of the group can expect to live U S gone from 40 years of age in 1900 to 77 years of age for people born now ranks near the bottom among industrialized nations in life expectancy behind Japan the Netherlands Canada and several others Migration Israel since 1948 has experienced growth due to migration of Jews from Europe and U S younger on average therefore their arrival has increased the birthrate 1980s internal migration by African Americans Hispanics Asians and Pacific Islanders within the border of U S has occurred at a rate unmatched since WWI and the Great Black Migration from the South to the North early in the 20th century Population Characteristics Sex Ratio and the Population Pyramid Sex Ratio also called gender ratio number of males per 100 females or number of males divided by the number of females times 100 U S ratio is 105 live births of males for every 100 females after factoring in male mortality ends up being 94 males for every 100 females Age Composition more people are entering the 65 and older age bracket Graying of America Age Sex Pyramid or age gender pyramid gender and age data combined represents the age and gender structure of a society U S straight down shape Mexico pyramid like shape Cohorts Cohort birth cohort consists of all the persons born within a given period same year decade or other time period Baby Boomer generation large part of greed generation in 1990s of U S population Theories of Population Growth Locally and Globally Malthusian Theory Subsistence necessities of life such as food and shelter Thomas R Malthus pondered the realities of life on earth and assembled his observations into a chilling depiction of disastrous population growth Malthusian Theory idea that a population tends to grow faster than the subsistence needed to sustain it propounded views in his First Essay on Population which predicted widespread catastrophe and famine Main point population grows faster than the subsistence food supply needed to sustain it positive checks on population growth famine disease and war are likely preventive checks on population growth sexual abstinence predictions for the future pessimistic despite positive and preventive checks a population will ultimately outstrip its food supply Noted that populations tend to grow not by arithmetic increase adding the same number of new individuals each year double in size at decelerating rate but by exponential increase number of individuals added each year grows with the larger population generating an even larger number of births with each passing year Two forces at work to keep population growth in check growth in amount of food produced tends to be only arithmetical and not exponential and that there are three major positive checks on population growth famine disease and war bubonic plague in Europe from 1334 to 1354 eliminated of the population small pox epidemic in 1707 wiped out of the populations of Mexico and the West Indies Preventive Checks sexual abstinence is an example but unlikely to be the behavior change that halted uncontrolled population growth Demographic Transition Theory Kingsley Davis and extended by Ansley Coale Demographic Transition Theory proposes that countries pass through a consistent sequence of population patterns linked to the degree of development in the society and end with a situation in which birthrates and death rates are both relatively low stabilize Main point populations go through predictable stages transitions from high birth and death rates to a stable population with low birth and death rates positive checks on population growth famine disease and war are moderately likely preventive checks on population growth sexual abstinence birth control and contraceptive methods predictions for the future optimistic given technology and medical advances in a population Three main stages Stage 1 high birth rates and high death rates U S during colonial period Stage 2 high birth rate but declining death rate U S second half of the 19th century as