Term | Definition |
Culture | The way of life that distinguishes a people, for example, government, language, religion, customs, and beliefs |
Population Density | The average number of people living in a given area |
Birthrate | The number of live births each year per 1,000 people |
Immigrant | A person who moves into a country |
Emigrant | A person who leaves a country to live in another |
Urbanization | The growth of city populations |
Rural | Of, or characteristic of, the countryside |
Culture Hearth | A place in which important ideas begin and thereafter spread to surrounding cultures |
Cultural Convergence | The contact and interaction of one culture |
Diffusion | The process by which a cultural element is transmitted from one group to another |
Cultural Divergence | The restriction of a culture from outside influences |
Sovereignty | A countrys freedom and power to decide on policies |
Unitary System | A system of government in which one central government holds most of the political power |
Federation | A government structure in which some powers are given to the national government and other powers are reserved for more local governments |
Confederation | A system of government in which individual political units keep their sovereignty but give limited power to central government |
Authoritarian | Descriptive of a system of government in which the leaders hold all political power |
Dictatorship | A system of government in which absolute power is held by a small group or one person |
Totalitarianism | A system of government in which a countrys authority controls all aspects of society |
Monarchy | A system of authoritarian government headed by a monarch- a king, queen, shah, or sultan-- Whose position is usually inherited |
Democracy | A system of government in which the people are invested with the power to choose their leaders and determine governmetn policy |
Traditional Economy | An economic system in which families produce goods and services for their own use, with little surplus and exchange of goods, also known as a subsistence economy |
Market Economy | An economic system in which decisions about production, price, and and other economic factors are determined by the law of supply and demand |
Command Economy | An economic system that is controlled by a single central government |
Primary Economic Activity | An economic activity that takes or uses natural resources directly, such as fishing or mining |
Subsistence Farming | Farming that provides only enough for the needs of a family or a village |
Commercial Farming | The raising of crops and livestock for sale in markets |
Secondary Economic Activity | An economic activity in which people use raw materials to produce or manufacture new products |
Cottage Industry | A small-scale manufacturing operation using little technology, often located in or near peoples homes |
Commercial Industry | A large scale manufacturing operation that employs many people and produces large quantities of goods |
Tertiary Economic Activity | An economic activity in which peopole do not directly gather or process raw materials but pursue activities that serve others; service industry |
Quaternary Economic Activity | An economic activity that focuses on the acquisition, processing, and sharing of information such as education or research |
Export | An item that is sent out of the country for sale |
Import | An item that is brought into the country for sale |