Population Geography

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Population Geography:
Essential Questions
• Where is the world's population
distributed?
• Where has the world's population
increased?
• Why is population increasing at different
rates in different countries?
• Why might the world face an
overpopulation problem?

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Population Geography
• Density refers to the frequency
with which something occurs
• Distribution refers to the
arrangement of a feature in
space

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Population Density
• a measure of the number of
people per unit area of land
– arithmetic: people per unit area of
land
– physiologic: people supported by
arable land
– agricultural: farmers to amount of
arable land

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World Population
Density

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United States Density

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United States Density

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Minnesota Density

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China

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Population Distribution
• describes the locations on the
Earth’s surface where people
live
• Australia
• Egypt
• Mexico
• Canada
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Bangladesh
• Population: 144,000,000
• Area: 144,000 sq miles
• 62% arable land (89,280 sq
miles)
• physiologic density=1612 people
per square mile of arable land

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Montana/United States
• Montana Population: 145,000
• Area: 902,195 square miles
• 18% arable land = 162,395 square miles
• Physiologic density = 1119 per square mile

• US Population: 300,000,000
• Area: 3,717,810 square miles
• 19% arable land = 706,383 square miles
• Physiologic density = 424 per square mile

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World Population
Concentrations
• East Asia
• South Asia
• Southeast Asia
• Europe
In the three Asian clusters, more than ½ the
world’s population lives on less than 10% of the
world’s land.

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World Population
Clusters

4
1
2
3

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East Asia
• China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan
– 1/5 the world’s total population
– 5/6 of the region’s population live in
China, mostly river and coastal regions
– 2/3 of people in China live as farmers in
rural areas
– In Japan and Korean Peninsula, ¾+ live
in urban areas and work in industry and
service

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South Asia
• India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri
Lanka
– 1/5 the world’s population
– most are rural farmers (3/4), not
city dwellers
– centered along Ganges and Indus
river valleys, lowlands and coastal
areas
– restrained by mountains
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Southeast Asia
• Indonesia, Papua New Guinea,
Philippines
– Island nations in the Pacific
– Around river valleys and deltas

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Europe
• Britain, Germany, Poland,
Ukraine, Belarus, France, N Italy
– ¾ live in cities
– Less than 20% are farmers
– Highest concentration near coal
fields

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Subordinate Regions
• Eastern US
– Bosnywash, Chicago, Detroit,
Cleveland, California
– In Europe and North America,
cities and towns more densely
populated that rural areas
– Megalopolis

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Subordinate Regions
• Western Africa
– Nigeria most populous African
country

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 4

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2
3

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Population Stats
• Birth Rate
– number of live births per year per 1000
people in the population
– +30 is high
– highest today in Africa and SW Asia
– lowest in Europe
– inversely related to modernization,
industrialization, urbanization and
economic development
– exception: China
– US: 14/1000

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Population Stats
• Death Rate
– number of deaths per thousand
people in a given year
– highest in tropical Africa
– lowest in N America, S America,
Europe, Japan, Australia
– high CDR’s tend to reflect high
infant mortality
– US: 8/1000
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Population Stats
• Natural Increase
– difference between number of births and
deaths during a specific time period
– US: .88%
40
35 Natural Increase
30
25
20
15

10
5
0
1950- 1955- 1960- 1965- 1970- 1975- 1980- 1985- 1990- 1995- 2000-
1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

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Population Stats
• Total Fertility Rate
– the number of children born to women of child
bearing age
– 15-45 ??
– 2.1 China, M acao Special Administrative Region 0.84

China, Hong Kong Special Administrative

0.94
Region

Ukraine 1.12

Czech Republic 1.17

Lowest Slovakia 1.20

Fertility Rates Slovenia 1.22

Worldwide Republic of Korea 1.23

Republic of Moldova 1.23

Bulgaria 1.24

Belarus 1.24

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Population Stats
• Infant Mortality Rate
– the number of children who die
before they reach one year
– US: 6.3/1000

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Measuring Growth
• Linear Growth
– increases in a uniform amount
during a series of equal time
periods

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Measuring Growth
• Exponential Growth
– increases in a compounding
amount over a series of equal time
periods

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Measuring Growth
• Doubling Time
– the time it takes to double a
country’s population
– 70 / NIR = Doubling Time

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 World Population Growth, in Billions
Number of years to add each billion (year)

First Billion All of Human History (1800)

Second 130 (1930)

Third 30 (1960)

Fourth 15 (1975)
1st Billion: 1800 years
Fifth 12 (1987) 2nd Billion: 130 years
4th Billion: 45 years
Sixth 12 (1999) 8th Billion: 52 years

Seventh 14 (2013)

Eighth 14 (2027)

Ninth 21 (2048)

Sources: First and second billion: Population Reference Bureau. Third through ninth billion: United Nations, World Population Prospects: The 2004 Revision (medium
scenario), 2005.
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Measuring Growth
• Population Explosion
– refers to the rapid growth of the
world’s population during the last
century accompanied by ever
shorter doubling times and
accelerating rates of increase

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Population Geography

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Population Geography

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Population Geography

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Population Geography

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Population Geography

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Population Geography

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Population Geography

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Population Geography

10/08/13 http://desip.igc.org/populationmaps.h 48
tml
Population Geography

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Population Center of the
US

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