Importance And Development Of Population

Geography
OUTLINE:

 Introduction
 Definition of Population Geography?
 Definition according to Author
I. Trewartha
II. John I. Clarke
III. R.J. Proyer
 Main Aspects of Population Geograhy:
 Scope of Population Geography:
 Theories of Population Geography:

i. Malthusian theory

ii. Optimum theory

iii. Demographic theory

 References and Sources

Importance And Development Of Population Geography
What is population Geography?
Population geography as an independent sub-field of human geography is a
comparatively recent phenomenon. In the expression ‘population geography’, the
term ‘population’ signifies the subject matter and ‘geography’ refers to the
perspective of investigation. Thus, population geography can be interpreted as the
study of population in spatial perspective. Etymologically, population geography
implies the investigation into human covering of the earth and its various facets
with reference to physical and cultural environment.

Population Geography focused on the scientific study of people, their spatial

distributions and density. To study these factors, population geographers examine
the increase and decrease in population, peoples' movements over time, general
settlement patterns and other subjects such as occupation and how people form the
geographic character of a place. Population geography is closely related to
demography (the study of population statistics and trends).

According to Trewartha, population geography is concerned with the

understanding of the regional differences in the earth’s covering of people
(Trewartha, 1969:87). “Just as area differentiation is the theme of geography in
general, so is of population geography, in particular” (Trewartha, 1953:87).
Population geography is the area analysis of population which implies “a wider
range of population attributes than most geographers have ordinarily included” in
their analysis (Trewartha, 1953:88). Trewartha proposed a very comprehensive
outline of the content of the sub-discipline, which many subsequent geographers
seem to have adhered to.

According to John I. Clarke, Population geography is mainly the study of how

spatial variation of a population and its various factors like composition, migration,
and growth are related to the spatial variation in the nature of places (Clarke,
1972:2).

Wilbur Zelinsky defines it as “a science that deals with the ways in which
geographic character of places is formed by and, in turn, reacts upon a set of
population phenomena that vary within it through both space and time interacting
one with another, and with numerous non-demographic phenomena” (Zelinsky,
1966).

There are three main aspects of the human population that Population geography
revolves around:

1.Size and distribution, including the rural-urban distribution of population.

2. Population dynamics – past and present trends in growth and its spatial
manifestation; components of population change, viz., fertility, mortality and
migration,

3. Population composition and structure. They include a set of demographic

characteristics (such as age-sex structure, marital status and average age at
marriage etc.), social characteristics (such as caste, racial/ethnic, religious and
linguistic composition of population; literacy and levels of educational attainment
etc.), and economic characteristics (such as workforce participation rate and
workforce structure etc.)

Population Geography depends largely on the primary data from demography

which indicates the geographic aspects of population change caused by migration
and natural changes. Frequently field teams are used for the purpose of observation
and investigation to study the physical aspects of a population like the form of
residences which vary as per the spatial differences which also includes a study of
the planning and engineering that goes into it.

The physical make up of the cities and rural settlements reflect the regional
characteristics of a population. The location of a population or any settlement is
determined by the geography and nature of production in the area. This is true for
the territorial organization throughout the country and all the regions within it. The
population density of an area is directly related to the economic function in the
region. In fact, the population density of a region reflects the degree of economic
development that has been achieved in the area. The location that has been
established as the primary point of population, in turn, influences the production in
the area. The natural environment’s influence on a population can be seen through
the production. Due to this, the study of population involves an understanding of
all the aspects that can influence life which includes, biology, economics,
sociology, anthropology, medicines, mathematics, statistics etc.

Population Geography helps in the quantitative study of the structure, size, and
characteristics of a population along with the spatial distribution in a region with
an understanding of the changes that occur within them. The quantitative and
qualitative study of a population helps in the assessment of labor resources that
will ensure the availability of the most responsive settlement that will meet the
requirements of production and the need for cultural and domestic help.

Study of population geography with a stress on the conditions of habitation in

different environments helps to establish a connection with the medical geography
of the region. It has been found that the ethnicity of a population and the
economics of labor in that region have a deep relation with the population
geography. The population in an area is determined by the social phenomena and
needs to be considered while explaining the consequences and determinants of
population phenomena.

Population geography plays an important role in the understanding of economic

geography as people are the main component of the economy contributing from
every possible sector. The location of the population has an all-encompassing
significance in the productivity of the people and the consumption of the products.
Hence the population is both the producer and consumer. The natural growth of the
population and migration determine the distribution and the timely redistribution of
the settlement. The growth or decline of the population is greatly influenced by the
environmental and economic factors in the region. The systems and structures of
the settlements are affected by the spatial nature of production and the
geographical characteristics of the region.

With the advent of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and the use of more
sophisticated remote sensing technology, the study of Population geography has
seen a change in the availability of information and its applications. The
importance of the study of geography in the population studies has become
prominent in all social sciences. This is apparent in the evolution of subfield called
Spatial demography which is neither Demography nor population geography. It is
the general understanding that demographers’ study more about the fertility of a
population whereas population geographers mainly focus on the migration of a
population depending on the geographical and economic aspects of a region. As
R.J. Proyer very accurately suggested that population geography deals with the
analysis and explanation of interrelationship between population phenomena and
the geographical character of places as they both vary over space and time (Proyer,
1984:25).

With the advent of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and the use of more
sophisticated remote sensing technology, the study of Population geography has
seen a change in the availability of information and its applications. The
importance of the study of geography in the population studies has become
prominent in all social sciences. This is apparent in the evolution of subfield called
Spatial demography which is neither Demography nor population geography. It is
the general understanding that demographers’ study more about the fertility of a
population whereas population geographers mainly focus on the migration of a
population depending on the geographical and economic aspects of a region. As
R.J. Proyer very accurately suggested that population geography deals with the
analysis and explanation of interrelationship between population phenomena and
the geographical character of places as they both vary over space and time (Proyer,
1984:25).

SCOPE:
The scope of population studies is quite wide. The quantitative aspect is
concerned with aquantitative study of the size, structure characteristics
and territorial distribution of humanpopulations and the changes
occurring in them.Pnder the planned socialist economy, the practical tasks of
population geography include quantitative and qualitativeassessment of labor
resources and a search for the forms of settlement most responsive to the
requirements of productionand the cultural and domestic needs of the population.
A study of the conditions of habitation in different natural geographicregions
reveals the connections between population geography and medical geography.
Research on ethnography and theeconomics of labor is closely associated, and
sometimes intertwined, with population geography. The development ofmethods of
making population maps is very important. Hence, while describing, comparing
or explaining the determinants and consequences ofpopulation phenomena,
social phenomena have to be taken into consideration.Populationgeography has a
special place in economic geography because people, as the main productive force,
are employed in alleconomic sectors and, up to a point, their location has an
allencompassing significance. The population is at one and thesame time the
producer and consumer of material goods. Population geography studies,
systems and structures—the forms of settlement in relation to the spatial nature of
production,the characteristics of the geographical environment, the economic
geographical condition of population employment, andpopulation migrations.
Together with differences in the natural growth of population, migrationsdetermine
the course of territorial redistribution of population. A prominent place is given to
the classification and typology of populated points.

In conclusion of Scope:

A quantitative study of human distribution in a particular area or space.

• Variation in population density due to environmental or geographical condition.

• The demographic phenomenon like mortality, growth rate, birth rate, etc. is
studied.

• Increase or decrease in population numbers in a place.

• Some phenomenon like immigration, emigration, migration etc. affecting the

population, how they affect.

Theory # 1. The Malthusian Theory of Population:

Thomas Robert Malthus enunciated his views about population in his famous
book, Essay on the Principle of Population as it affects the Future Improvement of
Society, published in 1798. Malthus revolted against the prevailing optimism
shared by his father and Godwin that a perfect state could be attained if human
restraints could be removed.

Malthus objection was that the pressure of increasing population on the food
supply would destroy perfection and there would be misery in the world. Malthus
was severely criticised for his pessimistic views which led him to travel on the
continent of Europe to gather data in support of his thesis.
He incorporated his researches in the second edition of his Essay published in
1803. The Malthusian theory explains the relationship between the growth in food
supply and in population. It states that population increases faster than food supply
and if unchecked leads to vice or misery.

The Malthusian doctrine is stated as follows:

(1) There is a natural sex instinct in human beings to increase at a fast rate. As a
result, population increases in geometrical progression and if unchecked doubles
itself every 25 years. Thus starting from 1, population in successive periods of 25
years will be 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256 (after 200 years).

(2) On the other hand, the food supply increases in a slow arithmetical progression
due to the operation of the law of diminishing returns based on the supposition that
the supply of land is constant. Thus the food supply in successive similar periods
will be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 (after 200 years).

(3) Since population increases in geometrical progression and the food supply in
arithmetical progression, population tends to outrun food supply. Thus an
imbalance is created which leads to over-population. This is depicted in Figure 1

The food supply in arithmetical progression is measured on the horizontal axis and
the population in geometrical progression on the vertical axis. The curve M is the
Malthusian population curve which shows the relation between population growth
and increase in food supply. It rises upward swiftly.
(4) To control over-population resulting from the imbalance between population
and food supply, Malthus suggested preventive checks and positive checks. The
preventive checks are applied by a man to control the birth rate. They are foresight,
late marriage, celibacy, moral restraint, etc.

Malthus doctrine is illustrated below.

http://cdn.economicsdiscussion.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/clip_image004-25.jpg

“The Malthusian theory is applicable to all communities without any consideration

of colour and place.

Malthusianism has stood un-shattered, impregnable amid all the controversy that
has raged around Malthus referred to two classes of checks which kept population
down:

1. Positive means:

He spoke of famine (hunger), disease or war, pestilence and vicious customs about
women.

2. Negative means:

He explicitly demanded artificial means of birth control and suggested as an

alternative that birth rate be decreased through preventive measures such as late
marriage (postponing marriage until later age), moral restraint, and chastity
(abstinence). He contended that without such restraints the world would face
widespread hunger, poverty and misery.

The ‘positive’ and ‘preventive’ checks which occur in human population to prevent
excessive growth relate to practices affecting mortality and fertility respectively.
Malthus saw the tension between population and resources as a major cause of the
misery of much of the humanity. He was not, however, in favour of contraceptive
methods, since their use did not generate the same drive to work hard as would a
postponement of marriage.

Malthus argued that the positive and preventive checks are inversely related to
each other. In other words, where positive checks are very effective, the preventive
checks are relatively less effective and vice versa.

However, in all societies, some of these checks are in constant operation although
in varying magnitude of effectiveness. Malthus believed that despite these checks,
the inability of increased food supply to keep abreast of population increase always
results in some kind of a situation of overpopulation.it.”

Theory # 2. The Optimum Theory of Population:

The optimum theory of population was propounded by Edwin Cannan in his book
Wealth published in 1924 and popularized by Robbins, Dalton and Carr-Saunders.
Unlike the Malthusian theory, the optimum theory does not establish relationship
between population growth and food supply. Rather, it is concerned with the
relation between the size of population and production of wealth.

The Malthusian theory is a general theory which studies the population problem of
a country in keeping with its economic conditions. Thus the optimum theory is
more realistic than the Malthusian theory of population.

But what is optimum population? The optimum population is the ideal population
which combined with the other available resources or means of production of the
country will yield the maximum returns or income per head.

Assumptions:
This theory is based on the following assumptions:

1. The natural resources of a country are given at a point of time but they change
over time.

2. There is no change in techniques of production.

3. The stock of capital remains constant.

4. The habits and tastes of the people do not change.

5. The ratio of working population to total population remains constant even with
the growth of population.

6. Working hours of labour do not change.

7. Modes of business organisation are constant.

The optimum theory of population is superior to the Malthusian theory on the

following grounds:

(1) The Malthusian law is a general study of the population problem because it is
applicable to all countries irrespective of their economic conditions. The optimum
theory is superior to the Malthusian theory because it studies the population
problem in relation to the economic conditions of a particular country.

(2) Malthus had a narrow vision. He related the growth of population to food
supply. Cannan, on the other hand, had a much wider outlook. He related the
problem of population to the total production of the country, both industrial and
agricultural.

3) The Malthusian theory is a static concept which applies to a period of time. The
optimum theory is a dynamic one because over a period of time the per capita
income may rise with the expansion in output due to improvements in knowledge,
skill, capital equipment and other elements in production. This may raise the
optimum level of population. Thus, the optimum theory is more realistic.

(4) The Malthusian doctrine is simply theoretical and is devoid of all practical
considerations. It regards all increases in population bad, for they bring untold
miseries to the people. Malthus wrote, “The table of nature is laid for a limited
number of guests and those who come uninvited must starve.” On the other hand
the optimum theory is very practical because it regards an increase in population
not only desirable but also necessary for the maximum utilisation of the country’s
natural resources.

(5) The Malthusian theory of population is based on the unrealistic assumption of

the niggardliness of nature. This belief arises from the operation of the law of
diminishing returns in agriculture. But the optimum theory takes a realistic view
when according to this, the law of diminishing returns does not operate in
agriculture immediately but after the optimum point is reached. In other words,
first the law of increasing returns operates up to the optimum point and the law of
diminishing returns after it.

(6) Malthus was so much obsessed by the fear of over-population that he ignored a
fundamental fact that a newly born child ‘comes not only with a mouth and a
stomach but also with a pair of hands’ The optimum population theory allays all
such fears of the Malthusians by stressing the fact that increasing population
increases the labour force which helps raise the optimum expansion of the
country’s natural resources.

So long as the actual population is less than the optimum, the increase in
population is safe and good. It is only when the actual population exceeds the
optimum that the increase in population needs control. Thus unlike the Malthusian
theory which necessitates the use of preventive checks all the time for fear of the
country being over-populated, the optimum theory is free from all such taboos and
is silent about any type of checks to control population.

(7) Malthus was essentially a pessimist who portrayed a gloomy picture about the
future of mankind which was full of misery, vice, floods, droughts, famines and
other natural calamities. The optimum theory is superior to the Malthusian theory
because it does not suffer from any pessimism; rather it adopts an optimist and
realistic attitude towards the problem of population when it relates population to
the wealth of the country.

Theory # 3. The Theory of Demographic Transition:

The theory of demographic transition is based on the actual population trends of
advanced countries of the world. According to this theory, every country passes
through three different stages of population growth. In the first stage, the birth rate
and the death rate are high and the growth rate of population is low. In the second
stage, the birth rate remains stable but the death rate falls rapidly.

As a result, the growth rate of population increases very swiftly. In the last stage,
the birth rate starts falling and tends to equal the death rate. The growth rate of
population is very slow. These three stages are explained in the Figure 5.

In the figure, the time for different stages is taken on the horizontal axis and annual
birth and death rates per thousand on the vertical axis. In the first stage, before the
19th century, birth rates in Western Europe were 35 per thousand and death rates
fluctuated around 30 per thousand. Thus the growth rate of population was about 5
per thousand.

In the second stage, death rates began to decline gradually from 30 per thousand to
20 per thousand from the middle of the 19th century to the end of the century. In
the third stage beginning with the 20th century, birth rates began to decline from
20 per thousand and have continued for about a century now, nearing 15 per
thousand. Death rates also continued to decline but seem to have stabilize between
10 to 55 per thousand in Western Europe.
First Stage:

In this stage, the country is backward and is characterised by high birth and death
rates with the result that the growth rate of population is low. People mostly live in
rural areas and their main occupation is agriculture which is in a state of
backwardness. There are a few simple, light and small consumer goods industries.

People being illiterate, ignorant, and superstitious and fatalist are averse to any
methods of birth control. Children are regarded as God-given and preordained.
Being childless is regarded as a curse and the parents are looked down upon by the
society. All these economic and social factors are responsible for a high birth rate
in the country.

Along with high birth rate, the death rate is also high due to non-nutritional food
with a low caloric value, and lack of medical facilities and of any sense of
cleanliness. People live in dirty and unhealthy surroundings in ill-ventilated small
houses. As a result, they are, disease-ridden and the absence of proper medical care
results in large deaths.

The mortality rate is the highest among the children and the next among women of
childbearing age. Thus unhygienic conditions, poor diet and the lack of medical
facilities are the reasons for a high mortality rate in this stage. This stage continued
in Western Europe approximately up to 1840.

Second Stage:
In the second stage, the economy enters the phase of economic growth.
Agricultural and industrial productivity increases and the means of transport
develop. There is greater mobility of labour. Education expands. Incomes increase.
People get more and better quality food products. Medical and health facilities are
expanded. Modern drugs are used by the people. All these factors bring down the
death rate. But the birth rate is almost stable.

People do not make any efforts to control the size of family because of the
presence of religious dogmas and social taboos towards family planning. Of all the
factors in economic growth, it is difficult to break with the past social institutions,
customs and beliefs. As a result of these factors, the birth rate remains at the
previous high level.

Third Stage:

In this stage, the fertility rate declines and tends to equal the death rate so that the
growth rate of population declines. As growth gains momentum and people cross
the subsistence level of income, their standard of living rises.

Men and women prefer to marry late. The desire to have more children to
supplement parental income declines. People readily adopt family planning
devices. They prefer to go in for a baby car rather than a baby. Moreover,
increased specialisation following rising income levels and the consequent social
and economic mobility make it costly and inconvenient to rear a large number of
children.

All this tends to reduce the birth rate which along with an already low death rate
brings a decline in the growth rate of population. The advanced countries of the
world are passing through this last stage and the population is increasing at a slow
pace in them.

Stage 4:

Birth and death rates are both low, stabilizing the population. 

These countries tend to have stronger economies, higher levels of education, better
healthcare, a higher proportion of working women.

Most developed countries are in Stage 4.

Europe,

criticism:

Although the theory of demographic transition has been appreciated widely by the
demographers, it has been criticized on many grounds also. There are even critics
who have gone to the extent of saying that it cannot be called a theory. U.S.A,
Canada, Australia.

The main points of criticism are:

Firstly, this theory is merely based upon the empirical observations or the
experiences of Europe, America and Australia.

Secondly, it is neither predictive nor its stages are segmental and inevitable.

Thirdly, the role of man’s technical innovations cannot be underrated, particularly

in the field of medicine, which can arrest the rate of mortality.

Fourthly, neither does it provide a fundamental explanation of the process of

fertility decline, nor does it identify the crucial variables involved in it.

Fifthly, it does not provide a time frame for a country to move from one stage to
another.

Finally, it does not hold good for the developing countries of the world, which
have recently experienced unprecedented growth in population due to drastic
decline in death rates.

In spite of these criticisms and shortcomings, the demographic transition theory

does provide an effective portrayal of the world’s demographic history at macro
level of generalizations. As an empirical generalization developed on the basis of
observing the demographic trend in the West, the transition process for any country
can easily be understood.
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