John R. Weeks’s An Introduction to Population, International Edition introduces students to population issues, concepts, and theories by encompassing the entire field of demography, including both principle and practice. From fertility and mortality rates to agricultural production and urbanization, Weeks consistently engages students through compelling writing and comprehensive explication. And with intriguing essays and online resources, Weeks’s text gives students their best opportunity to truly master core demographic concepts.

John R. Weeks is Professor of Geography in the Geography Department at San Diego State University. His current research includes applications of remote sensing and GIS to analyze fertility in Arab nations, demography of the U.S.-Mexico border region, and geodemography of crime.

Preface.
PART I: A DEMOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE.
1. Introduction to Demography.
2. Global Population Trends.
3. Demographic Perspectives.
4. Demographic Data.
PART II: POPULATION PROCESSES.
5. The Health and Mortality Transition.
6. The Fertility Transition.
7. The Migration Transition.
PART III: POPULATION STRUCTURE AND CHARACTERISTICS.
8. The Age Transition.
9. The Urban Transition.
10. The Family and Household Transition.
PART IV: USING THE DEMOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE.
11. Population and the Environment.
12. Coping with Demographic Change.
Appendix: Population Data for the World, Keyed to Figured 2.1.
Glossary.
Bibliography.
Geographic Index.
Subject Index.

Short essays: Each chapter contains a short essay on a particular population concept, designed to help readers to better understand current demographic issues, such as the one in Chapter 1 on “The Demography of Conflict in the Middle East or the one in Chapter 11 on “How Big is Your Ecological Footprint.” New for the eleventh edition is that each essay ends with two discussion questions to encourage you to think about the topic in greater depth.

Main points: A list of ten main points appears at the end of each chapter, following the summary, to help readers review chapter highlights.

Questions for review: A set of five questions are provided at the end of each chapter, designed to stimulate thinking and class discussion on topics covered in the chapter.

Websites of interest at the end of each chapter.

A Glossary in the back of the book defines key population terms. These terms are in boldface type when introduced in the text to signal that they also appear in the Glossary.