INTRODUCTION

TO
SOCIOLOGY
Lecture 35

POPULATION STUDY
AND ITS
SIGNIFICANCE

Study of population
seeks to discover
the causes and
consequences of
population changes.

Components of
population change:
Births
Deaths
Migration

Crude Birth Rate:

Number of births per
year per 1000 of the
population.

Crude Birth Rate =

Total births in a specific year
--------------------------------------- X 1000
Total population in that year

Fertility:
The number of liveborn children the
average woman has.
Also called child
woman ratio.

Fecundity:
The potential number

of children women are

capable of bearing.
Fertility rates are always
lower than fecundity rates.

Crude Death Rate:

The number of
deaths per 1000 of
the population in any
year.

Crude Death Rate:

Total deaths in a specific yr.
-----------------------------------------X 1000

Total population in that yr.

Mortality:
The number of deaths
in a population.

Infant Mortality Rate:

The number of babies
per 1000 live births in
any year who die
before reaching the
age of one year.

Life Expectancy:
The number of
years an average
person can expect
to live.

Life Span:
The maximum
number of years that
an individual could
live.

Migration:
The permanent
movement of
persons over a
significant distance.

International Migration:
Migrant crosses the
boundary between
one country and
another.

Emigrant: When
persons leave their
country.
Immigrant: When
persons arrive in
another country.

Population Census:
The simultaneous
recording of demographic
data by government, at a
particular time, pertaining
to all persons living in a
territory.

Vital Statistics:

Registration of a
persons birth, changes
in civil status throughout
his/her lifetime, and
his/her death.

Significance:
Three main
questions to look
into the significance
of population study
i.e.

How many people?

What is the size of
population in a
territory, and what
changes are taking
place in it?

What kind of people?

Composition of
population.
Causes and consequences
of changes in population
composition?

How are people

distributed?
Dispersion of people
in a territory.
Prospective changes

Planners, politicians,
businessmen,
educationists, and other
experts, all interested in
size, composition, and
distribution of population.

INTRODUCTION
TO
SOCIOLOGY
Lecture 35