Geography terms in Changing population

A population in which the proportion of people aged 65 and over is increasing and the median age is rising, mainly as a result of low fertility and rising life expectancy.

The clustering of people and economic activity in one place; agglomeration economies are the cost savings and productivity gains firms obtain from locating near each other.

A government policy that aims to reduce the birth rate and family size, for example through family planning services, education, incentives for small families or legal limits on births.

A person who has left their country and applied for international protection as a refugee in another country, and is waiting for a decision on the claim.

The number of live births per 1,000 people in a population per year, also called the crude birth rate.

The emigration of highly educated or skilled people, such as doctors, engineers and teachers, from a place, which reduces its human capital and ability to develop.

An intergovernmental group of major emerging economies, founded as BRIC by Brazil, Russia, India and China in 2009, joined by South Africa in 2010 and enlarged from 2024.

A region with a concentration of people, economic activity, investment and political power, usually centred on a capital city, port or industrial area.

A spatial pattern in which a dominant core region, holding most of a country’s wealth, investment and power, is surrounded by less developed peripheral regions that depend on it.

The number of deaths per 1,000 people in a population per year, also called the crude death rate.

The boost to economic growth that can result when falling fertility makes the working-age population (15–64) larger relative to the dependent population of children and older people.

A model showing how a population moves from high to low birth and death rates as a country develops, in five stages, with the resulting changes in natural increase and total population.

The number of people aged 0–14 and 65 and over for every 100 people aged 15–64, split into youth and old-age dependency ratios.

A multidimensional process of positive change in the economic, social, political, environmental and cultural conditions of people’s lives, improving their wellbeing and choices.

The number of years a population would take to double at its current growth rate, estimated as 70 divided by the growth rate in % per year.

A person who moves voluntarily, within a country or between countries, mainly to find work or earn higher wages.

A middle-income country with rapid economic growth, industrialisation and a growing role in world trade and investment, such as China, India, Brazil, Indonesia or Mexico.

A person who moves within or across borders mainly because sudden or gradual environmental change has damaged their life or living conditions; “climate refugee” has no legal status.

The number of children born to a couple or a woman; at national scale it is measured by the total fertility rate, the average number of births per woman over her reproductive life.

The movement of people compelled to leave their homes, within or across borders, by threats such as conflict, persecution, natural disasters or development projects.

A situation in which women and men have equal rights, opportunities, resources and power in all areas of life, including education, work, health, politics and the family.

A broad term for the wealthier, mainly high-income countries of North America, Europe, East Asia and Australasia, describing their shared economic and political position rather than their location.

A broad term for the lower-income countries of Africa, Latin America, Asia and Oceania, many of them former colonies, describing their shared economic and political position in the world.

The total value of all goods and services produced within a country’s borders in one year, regardless of who owns the businesses producing them.

The total income earned by a country’s residents and businesses in a year, including income from abroad and excluding income paid to non-residents; GNI per capita divides it by the population.

A country whose GNI per capita (World Bank Atlas method) is above the high-income threshold, US$14,375 in the classification published in July 2026.

The knowledge, skills, health and experience of a population, which determine how productive its people can be; it is increased by investment in education, training and healthcare.

A composite index published by the UNDP that combines life expectancy, education (mean and expected years of schooling) and GNI per capita (PPP) into a value between 0 and 1.

The recruitment, transport, transfer or holding of people by force, coercion, fraud or abuse of vulnerability, for the purpose of exploitation such as forced labour, sexual exploitation or slavery.

The number of deaths of infants under one year old per 1,000 live births in a year.

Economic activity that is not registered, taxed or regulated by government, such as street trading or casual labour, with low, irregular pay and no legal protection.

An area of housing built without legal title to the land or planning permission, usually lacking secure tenure, safe water, sanitation and drainage; often called a slum.

Migration within the borders of one country, such as from a rural area to a city or from one region to another.

A person forced to leave their home by conflict, violence, human rights violations or disaster who has not crossed an internationally recognised border.

Migration across an international border, from one country to another, to live there for at least a year.

A barrier between a place of origin and a destination, such as distance, travel cost, a border, immigration laws or language, that makes migration more difficult.

The average number of years a newborn baby would live if current age-specific death rates stayed the same throughout its life.

A country whose GNI per capita (World Bank Atlas method) is at or below the low-income threshold, US$1,175 in the classification published in July 2026.

The age that divides a population into two equal halves, so that half the people are younger and half are older.

An urban area (urban agglomeration) with a population of 10 million or more.

A country whose GNI per capita (Atlas method) lies between the low- and high-income thresholds (US$1,176–14,375 in July 2026), split into lower-middle and upper-middle income at US$4,635.

The movement of people from one place to another with the intention of settling, temporarily or permanently, usually for at least a year.

The growth of a population caused by births exceeding deaths, ignoring migration; the natural increase rate is (birth rate − death rate) ÷ 10, in % per year. Deaths exceeding births is natural decrease.

The difference between the number of people moving into an area and the number moving out over a period, usually a year; positive when more arrive than leave.

China’s anti-natalist policy from 1980 to 2015, which limited most urban couples to one child using fines, workplace sanctions, contraception and sterilisation, with exemptions for many rural families and minorities.

The facilitation, for financial gain, of a person’s irregular entry into a country of which they are not a citizen or resident; the person usually consents and the relationship ends on arrival.

A region with lower levels of economic development, investment and services than the core, which often loses young people and resources to the core.

The number of people living in a unit of area, calculated as total population divided by land area and usually given in people per km².

The way in which people are spread across an area, describing where they are concentrated and where they are sparse or absent.

An estimate of the future size and structure of a population calculated from assumptions about fertility, mortality and migration, usually given in several variants to show uncertainty.

A pair of back-to-back horizontal bar charts showing the percentage or number of males and females in each five-year age group of a population.

The composition of a population by age and sex, usually shown as a population pyramid.

A city that is much larger than any other in its country, usually more than twice the size of the second city, and dominates its economic, political and cultural life.

A government policy that aims to increase the birth rate and family size, for example through child benefits, tax relief, paid parental leave, subsidised childcare and housing support.

A positive feature of a destination, such as jobs, higher wages, services or safety, that attracts migrants to it.

An adjustment that converts incomes into a common currency according to what they can buy locally, so that differences in the cost of living between countries are taken into account.

A negative feature of a place of origin, such as unemployment, poverty, conflict or environmental hazard, that encourages people to leave it.

A person who has crossed an international border because of a well-founded fear of persecution, as defined by the 1951 Refugee Convention, or, under wider regional and UNHCR definitions, to escape armed conflict.

The total fertility rate at which a population exactly replaces itself from one generation to the next without migration, about 2.1 children per woman where child mortality is low.

The movement of people from rural areas to towns and cities, usually in search of work, higher incomes and better services.

The number of males per 100 females in a population or age group; the sex ratio at birth is the number of male births per 100 female births, naturally about 105.

The economic activity generated by the needs and spending of people aged about 50 and over, including healthcare, care services, assistive technology, housing adaptation, leisure and travel.

A person who is not considered a national by any state under its law, and so lacks the rights of citizenship such as a passport, legal work or public services.

The average number of children a woman would have over her lifetime if she experienced the age-specific fertility rates of a given year.

An increase in the proportion of a population living in urban areas, caused by rural–urban migration, natural increase in towns and cities, and the reclassification of rural settlements.

Migration in which people choose to move, usually to improve their economic or social opportunities, rather than being forced to leave.

The period, usually several decades, during which the working-age share of a population is highest and the dependency ratio lowest, so that conditions for a demographic dividend are most favourable.