INTRODUCTION TO GEOGRAPHY

TOPIC- A CROWDED WORLD: THE GEOGRAPHY OF HUMAN POPULATION

EXERCISE- DEMOGRAPHIC CHALLENGES IN MISSISSIPPI

The State of Mississippi has the highest mortality rate among infants in the United States and it has one of the lowest life expectancy rates. Why? What do these statistics reveal about demographic, economic, and socio-political processes in the state? What do they reveal about our overall approach to education and health services as a nation?

INSTRUCTIONS

Please complete the following outside of class and be prepared to discuss your findings.

Use information from the US Census Bureau (www.census.gov and http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states), the US National Center for Health Statistics (www.cdc.gov/nchs), and other relevant sources to find the latest demographic characteristics and trends of the state. The Mississippi State Department of Health (http://www.msdh.mate.ms.us) is also an excellent source of demographic data although they tend to draw much information from the US Census and the NCHS.

You should be able to fmd data from 2010 or later for all characteristics requested below. Estimates should also be available for 2014 or 2015. Use the most recent data/estimates that you can find and please clearly state the source and date of your data.

Prepare a typed/printed paper that addresses the following. The answers to these questions may be presented in the form of brief numbered statements.

1. What is the population size in Mississippi?

2. Is the population growing, stable, or declining?

3. What is the infant mortality rate in Mississippi? Flow does it compare to the average US rate? What specifically does the "infant mortality rate" measure?

4. What is* expectancy in Mississippi? How does it compare to the average US measure? What specifically does "life expectancy" mean?

• Conclude your paper with a consideration of the causes of high mortality in Mississippi. This answer should be a narrative.

5. Can you identify demographic, economic, and/or socio-political issues that contribute to this problem? You may have relevant knowledge or personal experience. You may also wish to do some research to discover what various experts think.

Please follow all writing guidelines in the course syllabus. As usual, you must list your all of your sources (Including all web pages) in an acceptable academic format.