POPULATION GEOGRAPHY: WHAT IT STUDIES, HISTORY, METHODOLOGY - GEOGRAPHY - 2025

The geography of the population is a social science whose main objective is to collect, study and analyze the variations in distribution, characteristics, composition and growth of a society within a given space.

It emerges from human geography and combines knowledge of demography with population studies. The processes that this science analyzes have a deep discursive relationship with space-time and with patterns of behavior of groups in specific regions.

Source: Pixabay.

Some of the topics to be investigated are usually the development or decline patterns of a group, what phenomena lead to the disappearance or increase of the population or how they affect environmental conditions, among others. Researchers in charge of conducting population demographic studies will question multiple variables.

In the second instance, they will also carry out scientific work focused on the mortality, birth rate, ethnic origin and ages of those who make up specific civilizations or societies.

Thanks to studies of the geography of the population, today it is possible to establish how the migratory flows that gave rise to the human species happened.

Brief history of the geography of the population

Thomas Malthus, by public domain, (https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=67323).

Background

The first records about the composition and scope of a group date back to the years of Ancient Greece. However, it was the first trips to America where this discipline began to gain importance, since the colonizers created travel diaries detailing the number of inhabitants of the conquered lands and their physical characteristics.

Modern age

Well into the seventeenth century and at the height of the Enlightenment era, the first encyclopedias in charge of the collection and dissemination of population data in Europe would appear. In Spain, a good example would be Observations on the natural history, geography, population and fruits of the Kingdom of Valencia, prepared by the scientist Antonio José Cavanilles.

But without a doubt, it would be Essay on the Principle of Population (1798) by the British demographer Thomas Malthus, the work considered the foundation stone of the geography of modern population.

In his work, Malthus manages to introduce mathematical notions about population growth and decline, in addition to analyzing variants related to access to goods and services, the notion of poverty and social classes.

20th century and later

In the middle of the 20th century, the concept and field of study of population geography, named as such, would emerge. Among the main references it is necessary to mention the geographers Wilbur Zelinsky, from the United States, and John I. Clarke, a British national.

Zelinsky's contribution to population geography was such that, in the mid-1960s, he succeeded in creating one of the first demographic research centers at the University of Penn.

Clarke, for her part, was a pioneer in including gender studies in her research, often focused on sex and asymmetries of access and power. His contribution to science was of such magnitude that he managed to be at the head of the International Geographical Union Commission on Population Geography.

Concepts and methodology

Immigration in Argentina, by JZX 201 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, (https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=82112754).

In the geography of the population there are currently a great variety of work tools for scientific purposes. In order to explain the spatial distribution of a group, there are certain basic and methodological tools that are essential.

Count or total

It is the objective, definitive and quantitative measurement that refers to the number of inhabitants of a group located in a certain space time. For example: in 2016 there were 7.4 billion inhabitants on planet Earth.

Rate

It refers to the frequency with which a certain demographic phenomenon occurs, divided by the number of inhabitants of a certain place. For example: the global fertility rate (number of births per 100 people), worldwide in 2016, was 2.5%

Ratio

The term comes from mathematics and it is the quotient between a social subgroup and another group or subgroup. For example: in 2016 the ratio of the male to female population was 101 men for every 100 women.

Proportion

It is used to determine the relationship or scope of a subgroup with respect to the total population of a given space. For example: in 2016, 54% of the inhabitants of planet Earth lived in urban areas.

Cohort measure

A cohort is a group characterized by its homogeneity, that is, with the same “demographic experience”. Cohort measures are used to quantify demographic events on these groups. Measurements on graduations or births are a clear example.

Measurement period

It refers to the studies carried out on a group in a specific space, recorded at a certain historical moment. For example: the world mortality rate in 2016 was 36 per 1,000 births.

Types of data collection sources

In order to carry out demographic studies, there are various ways to collect information. According to the type of study and the hypothesis on which it is working, the researchers will decide which methodology will best suit the project. Some of them are:

Population census

According to the United Nations definition, the process of collecting, compiling, classifying, evaluating, analyzing and publishing demographic, economic and social data of a given group is called a census. It is usually carried out on a massive scale at the country level, every ten years. Information about sex, gender, religion, education, etc. is included.

Records system

It is the study of information collected historically through official records, in a specific space or society. Some records may be birth certificates, death certificates, immigration documentation, or population records.

Contrary to the census, which usually involves months of development and study because it involves the participation of thousands of people, sampling is a mostly rapid method. It is about the selection of people who make up a sub-group that has the same characteristics as the total population, that is, a social “sample”.

Unconventional sources

When the above methods cannot be performed in an investigation, it is usual to resort to other forms of analysis. The collection of data from non-governmental, religious organizations, schools, hospitals or unions, are some examples.

References

1. Ajaero, C., Chukwunonso Onuh, J., & Nnadi, G. (2017). The nature and scope of population geography.
2. González Pérez, V. (sf). The geography of the population in the planning of the territory.
3. Davies Withers, S. (nd). Population geography.
4. López Torres, JM (sf). Geography of the population: introduction to demographic indicators.
5. Khalil Elfaki, W. (2018). Population geography: concepts and approaches.