Population and Migration

Enduring Understandings (College Board, CED)

  • Understanding where and how people live is essential to understanding, global, political, and economic patterns.
  • Changes in population are due to mortality, fertility, and migration, which are influenced by the interplay of environmental, economic, cultural, and political factors.
  • Changes in population have long- and short-term effects on a place’s economy, culture, and politics.

Population pyramid for China showing a growing population, 1991Geographers use models to display and analyze data.  The population pyramid  captures age and gender cohorts for the population within the country at a given time.

Retrieve population pyramids for various countries and time periods at the International Data Base hosted by the U.S. Census Bureau. How has the composition of the population of China changed over time? Be sure to note the smaller female cohorts at the younger ages.

Learn to make population pyramids in Excel. Make a population pyramid. 

Another model used by geographers and demographers the Demographic Transition that visualizes population growth over time. What do each of the stages indicate. Remember the gap between births and deaths shows population growth as increasing or decreasing.

Check out the demographic data for countries of your choosing.

On the Web (Population)

Explore the Map

The interactive map below references demographic data for countries reporting data.

On the Web (Migration)

The interactive map shows Net Migration by country.
What are the consequences of a loss of population?

Story Map on Immigration to the United States from colonial times to the present. Check out the many apps, maps, and primary sources embedded in the project.