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100 Unit 2 Population and Migration%u00a0Patterns and%u00a0ProcessesPopulation refers to the number of people living in a given area. As Glenn Trewartha, a renowned American geographer, argued more than half a century ago, the study of population is %u201cthe pivotal element in geography, and the one around which all the others are oriented.%u201d Population size and its growth and migration patterns and processes are relevant to many other topics we study, including cultural patterns, changes in the political landscape, rural land use, food production, the growth of cities, and economic development.How our human species, Homo sapiens, emerged in the rugged terrains of eastern Africa more than 200,000 years ago and subsequently settled and thrived in different parts of the world is a fascinating story. Humans have reached virtually every part of the world, adapting to a wide range of natural environments. There are now permanent human settlements on every continent except Antarctica, where only a small number of scientists live temporarily at 70 research stations. In November 2022, the human population reached another milestone: 8 billion people on Earth. It will continue to grow for another half century or so, though at a slower pace. Humans have extracted natural resources such as minerals, oil, natural gas, and groundwater to ensure their survival, and they have modified the environment to suit their needs. No other species has had a greater impact on the planet. Indeed, some scholars have proposed naming the current geological epoch, from the time of the Industrial Revolution in the late 1700s onward, the Anthropocene%u2014that is, the period in which human activities have had the dominant influence on the environment, to follow the Holocene period. %u201cAnthropo%u201d means %u201chuman%u201d in Greek.Geographers are interested in answering a number of questions about the human population. Where do humans live? How and why does population vary between countries, within countries, and at even smaller geographic scales? What are the implications of a population%u2019s age, sex, and ethnic composition for society? Is Earth overpopulated? Why do people move from place to place, and how does migration affect the regions and countries that send or receive migrants? To answer these questions, geographers work with scholars in other disciplines, such as demography, which is the statistical study of population and its change. Both geographers and demographers use many different data sources and scientific methods to uncover demographic patterns. Often, these data come from a census, or an official count of a country%u2019s population, and official registries in countries where residents are required to register with the government, but sometimes scholars collect their own data through field observations and questionnaires. Satellite imagery and social media (e.g., X, formerly Twitter) also provide valuable additional data.This Unit addresses all key population geography questions.TERMS TO KNOWAnthropocene: The period in which human activities have had the dominant influence on the environmentdemography: The statistical study of population and its change%u00a9 Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. For review purposes only. Do not distribute.