Where is the World’s Population
Distributed?
Key issue #1- Chapter 2
Introduction
• Study of population Important:
1. Many people are alive at this time- 6 ¾ Billion
2. Worlds population increased at a faster rate
during the second half of the twentieth century
than ever before in history
3. Virtually all global population growth is
concentrated in LDC’s
• Demography: scientific study of population
characteristics
Introduction
• 2 “Where” Questions:
1. Where people are found across Earth’s space
2. Where are the places population is growing
• 2 “Why” Questions:
1. Why population is growing at different rates in
different places
2. Why Local diversity in growth rates to be important
Introduction
• 2 things involved in the study of over
population:
1. Relationship between the number of people
2. Availability of resources
• Problems result: when an area’s population
exceeds the capacity of the environment to
support it at an acceptable standard of living
Key Issue #1
Where is the World’s Population Distributed?
• 4 most populated regions: 2/3 inhabitants are
clustered
1.
2.
3.
4.
East Asia
South Asia
Southeast Asia
Western Europe
 Similarities:



Live near an ocean or river with east access to a ocean
Occupy low-lying areas, fertile soil and temperate climate
Regions located in the Northern Hemisphere between 10
and 55 degrees north latitude, with exception of part of SE
Asia concentration
Countries with at least 50 Million
inhabitants
World
Population
Distribution &
Climate Zones
Fig. 2-2: World population is unevenly distributed across the earth’s surface.
Climate is one factor that affects population density.
World Population
Climate Zones
Key Issue #1
Where is the World’s Population Distributed?
• East Asia
– 1/5 of the worlds people live
– Bordering the Pacific Ocean includes China, islands of
Japan, Korean Peninsula and island of Taiwan
– 5/6 of the people here live in China, most populated
country; third largest land area, but much is
mountains and deserts
– Chinese population clustered near the Pacific Coast
and several fertile river valleys, Huang and Yangtze
– 26 urban areas with more than 2 million people
– 52 with more than 1 million
– 2/3 of the people live in rural areas as farmers
Key Issue #1
Where is the World’s Population Distributed?
– Japan and South Korea population distributed
unevenly
– 1/3 of people live in three metropolitan areas,
Tokyo and Osaka Japan and Seoul S. Korea
• Less than 3% of land area for both countries
• More than ¾ of all Japanese and Koreans live in urban
areas and work industrial or service jobs
Key Issue #1
Where is the World’s Population Distributed?
• South Asia
– 1/5 of the worlds population: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh,
and island of Sri Lanka
– India: worlds 2nd most populated country
– Most important concentration of people live along a 900
mile corridor from Lahore, Pakistan through India and
Bangladesh to the Bay of Bengal
– Population is heavily concentrated along the Indus and
Ganges rivers and India's two coastlines, Arabian Sea to
the west and Bay of Bengal to the east
– Most are farmers living rural areas
– 21 urban areas more than 2 million; 55 with more than 1
million
Key Issue #1
Where is the World’s Population Distributed?
• Southeast Asia
– World s fourth largest
– ½ billion people
– Series of islands lie between the Indian and the Pacific
Oceans: Papa New Guinea, Philippines, Borneo, Java
etc
– Largest island of Java, 100 million
– Indonesia, 13,677 islands is worlds fourth most
populated country
– High population concentration along river valleys and
deltas at se tip of Asian mainland, Indochina
– High % of people work as farmers
Key Issue #1
Where is the World’s Population Distributed?
• Europe
– Western Europe, Eastern Europe and the European
portion of Russia, worlds third largest population
cluster, 1/9 of the people in the world
– Four dozen countries
– ¾ of the citizens live in cities, less than 20% are
farmers
– Dense network of rail and road link settlements
– Highest population near coal fields of England,
Germany and Belgium
– Do not produce enough food for themselves
– Import food and other resources (colonization!)
Key Issue #1
Where is the World’s Population Distributed?
• NE United States and SE Canada
– Largest population concentration in western
Hemisphere
– Atlantic Coast from Boston to Newport News VA
and westward along Great Lakes to Chicago
– 2%of the worlds people
– Urban dwellers, less 5% farmers
Key Issue #1
Where is the World’s Population Distributed?
• West Africa
– 2% of the Worlds population is clustered
• South facing Atlantic coast
– ½ of population is concentrated in Nigeria
– Most work in agriculture
– 6 urban areas with more than 2 million people
– 16 with more than 1 million
Key Issue #1
Where is the World’s Population Distributed?
• People do not live:
– Too dry, too wet, too cold, too mountainous
• Ecumene: portion of the Earth’s surface
occupied by permanent human settlement
• 75% of the Earths population live on 5% of the
Earth surface
• 71% of Earth is oceans
Ecumene 5000 B.C.
Ecumene, A.D.1900
Key Issue #1
Where is the World’s Population Distributed?
• Dry lands
– Cover 20%
– Two largest desert areas are in Northern
Hemisphere 15 and 50 degrees north latitude and
Southern Hemisphere 20 and 50 degrees latitude
– Lack sufficient water to grow crops, use irrigation
systems and camels to survive
– Contain natural resources, oil reserves
Key Issue #1
Where is the World’s Population Distributed?
• Wet Lands
– Between the equator 20 degrees north and south
latitudes in South America, Central Africa and SE
Asia
– Combination of rain and heat rapidly deplete the
nutrients from the soil
– Enough food can be grown during the wet seasons
to support a large population
Key Issue #1
Where is the World’s Population Distributed?
• Cold Lands
– Land near North and South Poles
– Permanently frozen (permafrost)
– Receive less rainfall then Central Asian deserts,
small annual snowfall has accumulated into thick
ice
– Unsuitable for planting crops, few animals can
survive the extreme cold
Key Issue #1
Where is the World’s Population Distributed?
• High Lands
– Switzerland: 5% of its population live in the high
lands and ½ of the country is 3,300 ft above sea
level
– Latin America and Africa are exception to the rule
of nobody living in the high lands
• Temperature and precipitation is uncomfortable in the
lowlands
Key Issue #1
Where is the World’s Population Distributed?
• Arithmetic Density: total number of people
divided by total land area
1. Compare conditions in different countries
because the two pieces of information needed
to calculate measure are easy to obtain
2. High- South Asia, Bangladesh 2700 per sq mile
Low- Canada, 8 per sq mile
3. Answers the “where” question
Arithmetic Population Density
Fig. 2-4: Arithmetic population density is the number of people per total land
area. The highest densities are found in parts of Asia and Europe.
Key Issue #1
Where is the World’s Population Distributed?
• Physiological Density: number of people
supported by a unit of arable land
1. High- United States: 172 per sq mile
Low- Egypt: 6,682 per sq mile
2. The higher the physiological density, the greater
the pressure the people may place on the land
to produce enough food
3. Provides insight into the relationship between
the size of a population and the availability of
resources in a region
Physiological Density
Key Issue #1
Where is the World’s Population Distributed?
• Agricultural Density: ratio of the number of
farmers to the amount of arable land
1. Helps account for economic differences
2. United States is low: 1 farmer per sq kilometer
Egypt is high: 826 farmers per sq kilometer
3. MDC’s are lower because of technology and
finance allow a few people to farm extensive
land areas and feed many people
Density per sq Kilometer