A | B |
famine | a severe food shortage |
birth rate | number of live births each year for every 1000 people |
life expectancy | number of years that the average person is expected to live |
migration | movement from one country or region to another |
rural | areas of low population density: villages, farmland |
suburb | urbanized community located near a larger city |
population density | number of people living in a given area |
developing country | country in which industries are still new and small |
metropolitan area | a city plus its suburbs |
megalopolis | when neighboring metropolitan areas join into one huge metropolitan area |
frontier | a stretch of unsettled area |
border | recognized separation between countries or regions |
unitary government | central government makes all basic decisions. other governments see that these decisions are carried out |
federal system | central government shares power with other levels of government |
authoritarian government | one person or a small group has complete authoity to make and carry out laws |
dictator | single person who rules a government |
totalitarian government | a highly authoritarian government which controls nearly every aspect of the paople's lives |
democracy | rule by the people |
representative democracy | the people elect others to run the government for them |
nation | a group of people who believe they belong together. They have similar values and beliefs |
nationalism | the belief that a nation should have its own land and its own government |
primary economic activity | the gathering of natural resources |
secondary economic activity | changing natural resources through a manufacturing process |
tertiary economic activity | activity related to the sale and distribution of a product |
alliance | political agreement among nations to assist one another if threatened or attacked |
linkage | transportation and communication that links areas or people |
free enterprise | private citizens own resources, technology, and businesses |
socialism | government owns most large businesses, individuals own smaller ones |
communism | government owns nearly all resources and businesses |
commercial activity | economic activity which produces goods and services for sale |
subsistence activity | economic activity which produces goods for the individual's use |
GNP | Gross National Product - a measure of a country's economic system |
per capita GNP | Gross National Produce per person - a good guide to standard of living |
interdependent | nations of the world depend on one another for some of their needs |
export | to sell goods or services to another country |
import | to buy goods or services from another country |
balance of trade | a comparison of a country's exports and imports |
tariff | a tax on imported goods designed to inhibit trade |
free trade agreement | a treaty between countries to reduce tariffs and increase trade |
common market | a group of countries that reduce tariffs and take other measures to increase trade |