This essay aims to highlight the factors that affect

population distribution on a macro scale. In geography,

factors are circumstances associated with a physical location
that affects humans living within a specific area. These
factors can either be classified as natural, economic, political
and social. According to BBC, population distribution is the
way humans are spread out over an area. In this case, the
area to be discussed is the Earth where the population is
spread very unevenly over the inhabitable land. Almost 60%
of the near 8 billion people are located in Asia, with the rest
being spread over the other parts of the Earth. The factors to
be discussed are relief, resources, infrastructure and crime.

The first factor, relief, is natural. Areas that can be easily

navigated are more likely to be heavily occupied than
mountain areas. In addition, the cost of transportation,
construction and agriculture are considerably higher in those
mountainous areas than in flat, low-lying areas where it is
easy to construct proper roadways and other means of
transportation. High altitudes are also less preferable and
this is because of reduced atmospheric pressure and low
oxygen content and therefore, do not favour population and
growth. Low-lying plains and coastal areas are more favoured
areas for human settlement. The Himalayas, which are an
expanse of mountains over Nepal and China, are thinly
populated. The Ganges Valley, located in India is one of the
most densely populated areas of the world due to its flat,
low-lying plains. Coastal regions have the advantage of
ocean-going trade and transportation; thus, the world’s
major cities are mostly located in coastal areas.

The second factor, resources, is natural. The Malthusian

theory states that the population would eventually grow past
the cap on resources and that would eventually cause the
population to drop back to a level where resources would be
available to all. The Boserup theory though is based on how
smart humans are and that they would find a way to keep
the resources either in line with or above the population.
These two theories show just how important resources are.
Populations tend to be densely populated in areas that have
high resource potential or are already making use of their
resources whereas areas with low resource potential or
dried-up resources are sparsely populated and unattractive.
These resources are important because they are necessary
for the continuation of humanity and they are also used to
develop a country by creating a large-scale industry which
goes to boost a country’s population. An area such as
Pittsburg, USA that has high resource content is attractive as
these resources are being used to create industry, but, an
area such as Paraguay which has used up its few resources is
becoming unattractive to the population.

The third factor to be discussed is government

investment in infrastructure which is political. How an area
looks may seem childish as a reason to populate an area, but
it is important. Developed or developing areas will see more
citizens and migrants move towards them. This is because
developing areas would mean the creation of infrastructure
which would ultimately mean more job opportunities for
those citizens and migrants. Therefore, decisions to create
new cities such as Brasilia in Brazil, attract more population
due to an influx in job opportunities, attractiveness as in the
look of the city being modern and a better standard of living
for many. An area such as the interior of Brazil where
government fails to invest in infrastructure and development
sees a decline in population because of a lack of jobs, low
standard of living and unattractive surroundings which they
can get in newly developed cities by migrating there.

The fourth and final factor is crime, which is social.

Areas that have constant war and conflicts are usually Less
Economically Developed Countries (LEDC’s) that are in stage
1 of the demographic transition. The malthusian theory
states that wars and conflicts as positive checks that keep the
population at a stable number to keep up with resources.
These countries have high birth rates, but also very high
death rates due to crime and other factors. Areas with high
crime rates and civil wars are usually densely populated, but,
this is not preferable for the population. Population prefers
areas that have little to no conflicts, much less civil wars. An
example could be said of Afghanistan where civil wars have
taken place for over 4 decades, and recently an entire
overhaul by a group has seen many citizens leave the country
and take refuge in others to escape the conflict with their
families leaving some parts of Afghanistan sparsely
populated and densely populating other countries. Crime
rates in Singapore are some of the lowest in the world, with
petty crimes such as pickpocketing and street theft rarely
occurring, and violent crimes being extremely rare. This has
caused Singapore to have a relatively steady growth in their
population, not hindered by crimes.

In conclusion, population distribution is affected by

many different factors including relief, resources,
infrastructure and crime. Relief affects distribution in that
population gravitates towards low-lying flat areas in contrast
to high-altitude mountainous areas. Resources affect
distribution in that population gravitates towards areas with
resources used for development instead of areas void of
useable resources. Infrastructure affects distribution as
people migrate towards newly built areas and cities with
more opportunities instead of areas that receive no
development from the government