Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 11
Nobody Here but Us Six
Billion
In This Chapter
Living in crowded spaces, but not empty quarters
Studying a major league curve
Charting the stages of change
Grappling with the question of overpopulation
N ot long ago, the global population — the number of people worldwide — passed the 6 billion mark.
That number has little meaning by itself. But if you consider that 200 years ago the global population
was “only” 1 billion, then today's total gets your attention pretty quickly. A logical first reaction is
that the birds and the bees have been working overtime. Indeed, those little critters have a certain way
about them. But global population trends involve more than what happens in the privacy of a nest or
hive.
The pages ahead focus on
population geography,
which analyzes the distribution of people and their
characteristics over the face of the Earth. Of necessity, this involves a smattering of
demography,
the
science of vital statistics. “Vital” refers here to life, as when medical equipment is used to monitor a
patient's “vital signs.” Thus, demography involves birth rates, death rates, life expectancy, and other
numerical indicators of the human condition.
For people who love to calculate statistics, demography is a dream come true. Chances are good,
however, that you are not one of those people. So I forego the arithmetic and focus on generalizations
and implications that result from it. Most of all, I focus on how humans and some of their vital attrib-
utes vary geographically.
Migration is an important factor in population change both internationally and within individual coun-
tries. Indeed, I am going to hold off on that subject for now and instead devote the entire next chapter
to it because of its importance.
