# Module 23: Demographic transition

From the semester exam:

<figure id="bkmrk-eras.png">![eras.png](https://bookstack.kamuela.org/uploads/images/gallery/2026-09/i2w8boaLw22yyw2e-eras-ebkswwgc.png)<figcaption>eras.png</figcaption></figure><span style="font-weight: bold;">Back to Demographics...</span>

<span style="font-weight: bold;">Demographics is the study of people</span>

Check this out:

<figure id="bkmrk-screen-shot-2022-10-">![Screen Shot 2022-10-23 at 7.24.03 AM.png](https://bookstack.kamuela.org/uploads/images/gallery/2026-09/pqiPXj3hhaiuMpHs-screen-shot-2022-10-23-at-7-24-03-am-a4r9g9gg.png)<figcaption>Screen Shot 2022-10-23 at 7.24.03 AM.png</figcaption></figure>  
<span id="bkmrk-what-does-this-mean%3F" style="font-weight: bold;">What does this mean?</span><div id="bkmrk-phase-1%3A-many-babies">Phase 1: many babies, most die, short lifespans=&gt; low population (e.g. US and Britain before 1850, some places after war e.g. Gaza, Ukraine)</div><div id="bkmrk-phase-2%3A-death-rate-">Phase 2: death rate drops (<span style="font-weight: bold;">clean water</span>, better food, lower infant mortality, longer lifespans)=&gt; population grows (e.g. India)</div><div id="bkmrk-phase-3%3A-education-i">Phase 3: education increases, women have better control over fertility, birth rate drops=&gt; population stabilizes (e.g. US)</div><div id="bkmrk-phase-4%3A-women-enter">Phase 4: women enter the workforce, later babies, smaller families=&gt; population decreases (e.g. Japan, Italy)</div><div id="bkmrk--1">  
</div><div id="bkmrk-another-version%3A">Another version:</div><div id="bkmrk-screen-shot-2022-10--1"><figure>![Screen Shot 2022-10-23 at 7.30.40 AM.png](https://bookstack.kamuela.org/uploads/images/gallery/2026-09/5oOSSUEj9XKKKWws-screen-shot-2022-10-23-at-7-30-40-am-h6jcwkle.png)<figcaption>Screen Shot 2022-10-23 at 7.30.40 AM.png</figcaption></figure></div><div id="bkmrk-note-the-wiggly-bit-">Note the wiggly bit on the right, looks like the carrying capacity from last chapter, right?</div><div id="bkmrk--2">  
</div><div id="bkmrk-things-to-notice%3A"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Things to notice:</span></div><div id="bkmrk-1.-in-phase-1%2C-lots-">1. in phase 1, lots of babies, lots of death (infant mortality and short lifespans), so population is low </div><div id="bkmrk-2.-as-clean-water%2C-s">2. as clean water, sanitation and health care improve, deaths drop, so population rises</div><div id="bkmrk-3.-as-women-gain-rep">3. as women gain reproductive rights and/or education, the birth rate drops (many factors here), while death rate stays low, so the population growth curve flattens a bit (hard to see on this diagram)</div><div id="bkmrk-4.-as-industrializat">4. as industrialization includes more women, esp. as professionals, they may delay pregnancy later in life, so there is actually a population drop. </div><div id="bkmrk-examples-are-italy%2C-">Examples are Italy, Japan and Germany, where the dependency ratio (number of people depending on social retirement divided by number of people in the workforce paying into the system) is greater than 1.0.</div><div id="bkmrk--3">  
</div><div id="bkmrk-question%3A-how-would-"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Question</span>: how would you see this on a pyramid graph?</div><div id="bkmrk-make-sure-you-can-ci">  
Make sure you can cite at least one example country for each...</div><div id="bkmrk-1.-some-places-in-su">1. Some places in sub-Saharan Africa, post-war,  most of the world before the industrial revolution</div><div id="bkmrk-2.-afghanistan">2. Afghanistan</div><div id="bkmrk-3.-us">3. US</div><div id="bkmrk-4.-japan">4. Japan</div><div id="bkmrk--4">  
</div><div id="bkmrk-ipat%3A-impact-%3D-popul">IPAT: Impact = Population x Affluence x Technology</div><div id="bkmrk--5">  
</div><div id="bkmrk-imagine-two-scenario">Imagine two scenarios: </div><div id="bkmrk-case-1%3A%C2%A0a-sustainabl"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Case 1:</span> A sustainable pacific island community, no phones, internet or electricity. Food sources are local, there is little affluence (tribal community), also less poverty, and a self-limiting population, limited by K, in this case food.</div><div id="bkmrk-case-2%3A%C2%A0urban-commun"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Case 2:</span> Urban community, large population, lots of affluence (think NYC or SF), everyone has an iPhone or similar device, a computer, a car, a refrigerator, TV, and a wide selection of clothing, food and housing.</div><div id="bkmrk-ipat%3A-the-impact-on-">  
IPAT: the impact on an ecosystem = population x affluence x technology</div><div id="bkmrk-why-is-apple-using-a">  
Why is Apple using a robot ("Daisy") to take apart iPhones? How does this impact iPAT?[https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2018/04/apple-adds-earth-day-donations-to-trade-in-and-recycling-program/](https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2018/04/apple-adds-earth-day-donations-to-trade-in-and-recycling-program/)  
  
Which parts of the iPAT formula does this impact, and in which ways?  
Think also of electric vehicles: great for the environment, but use materials (Lithium, Neodymium, etc.) that need to be mined. </div><div id="bkmrk-gasoline%2Fdiesel-cars">Gasoline/Diesel cars need steel, glass, plastic and some rare materials for electronics, but are much worse for the environment, both in production, use and disposal. More on this later.-------------------</div><div id="bkmrk--6">  
</div><div id="bkmrk-https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gapminde">[https://www.gapminder.org/tools/#$chart-type=bubbles&amp;url=v1](https://www.gapminder.org/tools/#_chart-type=bubbles)  
[https://www.ted.com/talks/hans\_rosling\_on\_global\_population\_growth](https://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_on_global_population_growth)--------------------</div><div id="bkmrk-gdp-vs.-gnp-%28nationa">GDP vs. GNP (nationalism, global economy)</div><div id="bkmrk-gdp-is-global-domest">GDP is global domestic product, or the sum of all goods and services delivered inside a country</div><div id="bkmrk-this-was-the-standar">This was the standard growth metric until recently...</div><div id="bkmrk-gnp-is-the-same-thin">GNP is the same thing, but includes multinational companies, or companies "off shore"</div><div id="bkmrk-urban-areas%2C-ugb-%28po">  
Urban areas, UGB (Portland)</div><div id="bkmrk-e2%3A-portland%2C-sense-">[e2: Portland, sense of place](http://physics.hpa.edu/physics/apenvsci/videos/e2_videos/e2%20transport/5%20Portland-sense%20of%20place.m4v)</div><div id="bkmrk-screen-shot-2022-10--2">  
<figure>![Screen Shot 2022-10-23 at 7.37.29 AM.png](https://bookstack.kamuela.org/uploads/images/gallery/2026-09/r8TckhYJhdqOer9X-screen-shot-2022-10-23-at-7-37-29-am-jmkstx1h.png)<figcaption>Screen Shot 2022-10-23 at 7.37.29 AM.png</figcaption></figure>  
See also Ecological Footprint Calculator:  
[http://www.footprintnetwork.org/resources/footprint-calculator/](http://www.footprintnetwork.org/resources/footprint-calculator/)  
[https://www.ted.com/talks/hans\_rosling\_shows\_the\_best\_stats\_you\_ve\_ever\_seen](https://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_seen)(9 minutes)  
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Play with these:</span>

[https://www.gapminder.org/](https://www.gapminder.org/)  
[https://www.gapminder.org/tools/#$chart-type=bubbles&amp;url=v1](https://www.gapminder.org/tools/#_chart-type=bubbles)</div><div id="bkmrk-https%3A%2F%2Fworldmapper.">[https://worldmapper.org/maps/?\_sft\_product\_cat=pollution](https://worldmapper.org/maps/?_sft_product_cat=pollution)  
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Rule of 70, er 69.3...The TRUTH!</span></div><div id="bkmrk-we-know-that-nt-%3Dnoe">We know that Nt =Noe^rt</div><div id="bkmrk-when-nt%2Fno-%3D-2%2C-this">When Nt/No = 2, this is the doubling time</div><div id="bkmrk-ln-%28nt%2Fno%29-%3D-ln-%28e%5Er">ln (Nt/No) = ln (e^rt)ln(e^x) = x just like square root of x squared is x. </div><div id="bkmrk-they-are-reverse-of-">They are reverse of each other...</div><div id="bkmrk-ln-%282%29-%3D-0.693-%3D-rts">ln (2) = 0.693 = rtSo...0.693/r = t2, the "doubling time"</div><div id="bkmrk-but-wait%21-we-saw-70%2C">But wait! we saw 70, not .693...Growth rates are in percent (part/100) so the percents cancel out, meaning you can just use percent as a number, like 14%.</div><div id="bkmrk-you-will-certainly-s">You will certainly see this on an AP exam, usually as a multiple or fraction of 70: 14, 28, 35, 7, 3.5...Rule of 70 rules! (or actually the rule of 69.3)....  
Next: earth and soils:[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzAOhyOtfqc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzAOhyOtfqc)  
  
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