Demography Notes Chapter 2: Demographic Variables

Population Size

 Population size is the number of _________________________

__________________________ contained in the aggregate and represented

by the upper-case letter P.

o The subscript represents ___________________ the population is

taken from (Pt, P0, P2010)

o Pt for the United States is approximately _____________

_______________________ people, and the world population is at

about _____________ _________________________.

o When measuring populations, we are typically talking about

individuals – but a census may also measure

________________________ or _______________________________.

Population Sizes and Variables

 “Head counts” have been, since the beginning, a way to measure

____________________________ or ___________________________.

o Population differences can be __________________________ at all

levels.

 Population sizes related to:

o ____________________________ – a combination of population size

and the size of a territory

 o ____________________ ___________ _____________________________ –

Closely linked to wealth and education levels.

Today’s most successful nations are slow growing.

 What is clear from comparing populations, incomes, and urbanization

is that population is not related to a nation’s __________________

____________ __________________________.

o Some of the largest nations, like Japan, are _____________________,

_________________________, and have _______________ infant

mortality rates.

o Others, like Thailand, are still highly ___________________, but are

_________________, ______________________, and have

______________________ infant mortality rates.

 However, at smaller aggregate levels, population may be a much more

important factor.

 The future of global population likely lies in occurrences in

________________________ and _________________________ since these two

countries make up about _________________ percent of the world

population.

Measuring Structural Characteristics

 Information about structural characteristics comes from surveys

(census or others).

 These variables can be:

 o ______________________________ : Age and gender

o _________________________________: Social class, race, ethnicity,

education level

 The simplest biological variable is ________________ ____________________:

a measure of the sex structure of an aggregate.

o SR = (m/f) x 100 m = # of males and f = # of

females

 Expressed as the number of males for every 100 females.

 98.016 males per 100 females in the US in 2023

 Many measures are used indicate a population’s ______________

structure:

o Median Age

 38.5 in US in 2024 (37.2 in 2010)

 44.8 in Maine versus 31.1 in Utah

o A population can be divided into sub aggregates, called

_____________________________ , that were born at the same time

(year, decade, etc.)

 Can measure percent of a population at a given age by

dividing the cohort size (# of children under 5 for example)

by the total population, and multiplying by 100.

 Sociocultural measures can also be expressed as numbers and

percents.
 o _____________________________ ________________________________:

about 4.3 billion people globally live in cities and the world

population is about 8.1 billion.

 (4.3/8.1) x 100 = 53.1% of people around the world live in

cities.

o ______________________________ ____________________ is a

percentage of those unemployed amongst a working population.

 UR = U/TLF x 100 where U = unemployed seeking jobs and

TLF is the total labor force.

 United States current unemployment rate is 3.7%

o Can present measures of _________________________ and

________________________ groups by reporting the percentage of a

total population that identify themselves as a particular race or

ethnic group.

Rates of Vital Events

 Includes ______________________ , _______________________, and

_____________________________ and are all measured by rates that reflect

the relative number of persons added or subtracted from a population

over a period of time (usually one year).

 __________________________ ________________________: The most simple

and compare events to the entire population.

 _________________________ ________________________: Refer only to

persons belonging to a subpopulation (i.e.: gender-specific rates).

o Annual Crude Death Rate:

 CDRt = Dt/Pt x 1000 where Dt is the deaths in a specific time

and Pt is the total population in that same time.

 In 2021, CDR for the US was 10 per 1000

 Compare this to the Ukraine at 19 per 1000

o Crude Birth Rates are calculated similarly

 CBRt = Bt/Pt x 1000

o Crude rates are an ___________________________ of all events, so

specific rates can be more precise in conveying actual

conditions.

 ______________-________________________ __________________

______________________ can be calculated for any age and

present the deaths among a specific age or age category.

 ASDRx = (Dx/Px) x 1,000 where Dx is the # of deaths

in a specific group and Px is the total population of

that group.

 _____________________- _____________________ rates can

define an event in a specific geographic area.

 While crude rates may be a good place to begin an analysis, specific

rates are needed to reach deeper understanding.