Human Population, Growth, Carrying Capacity Lecture PDF

Human Population: Demographics, Growth, and Carrying Capacity  Africa Has the most rapidly growing human population of all continents.  Population estimates decreased due to HIV/AIDS infection rates/deaths  70% new infections within sub Saharan Africa  Many children orphaned from death of...

Human Population: Demographics, Growth, and Carrying Capacity  Africa Has the most rapidly growing human population of all continents.  Population estimates decreased due to HIV/AIDS infection rates/deaths  70% new infections within sub Saharan Africa  Many children orphaned from death of parent(s)  Average life expectancy dropped by 10 years Demography  The applied branch of sociology that studies population statistics, structure and growth. Demographics  The application of population statistics. Human Population Growth World growth rate (r) Demographics of Countries Replacement Level Fertility  The number of children a couple must produce to “replace themselves”.  2.1 children per couple.  Total Fertility Rate  The average number of children per woman.  Total fertility rate worldwide is 2.5 children  Life Expectancy  The average age that a newborn infant can be expected to attain in a given society.  Worldwide: 40 to 67.2 years Age Structure  The number and proportion of people at each age in a population.  Dependency Ratio  The number of nonworking compared with working individuals in a population. Social and economic pressures affect decisions about family size. Education and income affect the desire for children. US Birth rates (1910-2010) Demographic Transition  Model that predicts declining birth and death rates due to improved living conditions usually accompanied with economic development. Improving Women’s lives helps reduce birth rates.  Empowering women is the key to population stability (ICPD, 1994).  Family Planning Services  Services that enable men and women to limit family size, safeguard individual health rights, and improve the quality of life for themselves and children. Earth’s Carrying Capacity  (K) The maximum number of individuals of a population that a particular environment can support for an indefinite period, assuming no changes in the environment. Population in 2050 12 billion 9.4 billion 8.3 billion Fertility Rates by Country How much more will the population grow? How many of us can our planet (Earth) support sustainably? Worksheet- K