Population Vocabulary
Agriculture – The practice of farming that involves either keeping livestock or growing crops
Birth rate – The number of births per one thousand people
Death rate – The number of deaths per one thousand people
Demographic – A specific segment of the population
Densely populated – A high number of people living in a specific area, for example, 1000 people per square km.
Developed countries – Countries that are generally mature economies with high GDP and high incomes
Developing countries – A poorer, often agriculture-based country, which is often seeking to advance socially and economically
Economic migrants – People who travel to live/work in a new place because of the job opportunities available
Emigration – The act of leaving your own country to settle in a new country
Homogenous – Used to describe how similar or alike something is, in this case, it refers to the similarities in the race of the population
Immigrants – The incoming people into a country from abroad
Infrastructure – The physical and organisational structures in society. For example, roads, schools, hospitals etc
Labour force/Work force – The number of people working or available to work in a particular area
Migration – The process of moving from one area to another
Population distribution – How the population is spread throughout a country
Population growth rate – The speed at which the population is going up or down
Poverty (Poor) – The state of being poor/Lacking financial resources
Racial diversity – The different ethnicities that are represented within a population
Refugees – People that have been forced to leave their homes because of conflict, natural disaster, or persecution
Rural to urban migration – The act of moving from the agricultural areas to urban areas to seek work
Skilled workers – Highly trained or educated members of the workforce
Sparsely populated – A place with a low population density
Unskilled workers – Workers with limited professional skills or education
Population Issues and Solutions Vocabulary/Collocations
Access to proper sanitation – Having clean drinking water and an adequate sewage system
Destruction of ecosystems – The damage caused to plant and animal environments as a result of development
Economic stagnation – When the economy stops growing
Natural habitat – The place where an animal or plant usually lives
One-child-policy – A Chinese policy that specified people were only allowed one child
Overcrowding – Too many people in a particular place
Overpopulation – When the population is too high for the environmental setting
Pollutants – Substances that cause ecological damage
Population control measures – Policies designed to control population growth
Rising/Declining fertility rates – The average number of children a woman gives birth to
To lack adequate resources – To not have enough resources such as food/money/shelter/health resources etc
Traffic jams – An accumulation of traffic caused by overcrowding
Underpopulation – When an area does not have enough people living in it, which usually means it cannot grow
Unsustainable – Not able to be maintained or continued at current levels
Waste – Unwanted material generated by humans
Water shortages – When there is not enough water available
Water-borne diseases – Diseases that spread in dirty water. They are common when sanitation is not adequate.
Wealth inequality – The unequal distribution of money between rich and poor