South and Eastern Asia
Location, Climate, Physical
Characteristics, Distribution of
Natural Resources, and
Population Distribution
Standards
SS7G11 The student will explain the impact of
location, climate, physical characteristics,
distribution of natural resources, and
population distribution on Southern and
Eastern Asia.
 a. Describe the impact climate and location has on
population distribution in Southern and Eastern
Asia.
 b. Describe how the mountain, desert, and water
features of Southern and Eastern Asia have
affected the population in terms of where people
live, the types of work they do, and how they
travel.
Asia Has It All

Asia has a great variety of landforms and
climates. A large part of Asia is desert,
yet much of southern and southeastern
Asia receives tremendous amounts of rain
each year. Massive mountain ranges rise
in the north, while steamy rain forests lie
low in the south.
Lots and Lots of People!


More than one-third of all the people in the world
live in China and India! Most Asians live in rural
areas, farming the land to provide food for their
families.
About 90 percent of China’s people are
concentrated in the plateaus, plains, and river
valleys of the eastern third of the country where
fertile soil and plentiful rain are found. Close to
75 percent of India’s population lives in more
than 500,000 villages. Since about half of India’s
land is arable (land that is suitable for growing
crops), most Indians work in agriculture.
Solutions to Population

In China they have instituted the “onechild-per-family policy of 1979”.

This states that any couple that has only one
child will receive economic and educational
benefits, while couples that have more than
one child will have to pay fines.
About half of Vietnam’s people are
farmers, living in the fertile deltas of the
Mekong and Red Rivers and growing rice,
coffee, fruits, and vegetables.
 Likewise, in Thailand, people cluster
around fertile river areas to grow rice and
other crops.
 Even in highly industrialized Japan, most
of the people are concentrated in small
lowlands where the largest cities are
located.

Continued
The population is much lower in the
rugged mountains of China and Japan.
Here the winters are long and very cold,
and the summers are short.
 The region of Tibet, in southwestern
China, has a population density of only 2
persons per square mile! The desert areas
of China also have very few inhabitants
because of the harsh climate.

Lots and Lots of People Quick Quiz!
1.
2.
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4.
5.
6.
7.
About one third of the world’s population lives in these
two countries: ___________ and ______________.
About 75 percent of India’s people lives in ___________.
In Vietnam many people farm along these rivers:
___________ and ____________.
About 90 percent of Chinese live in the ____________
part of the country.
Since about half of India’s land is arable, most Indians
work in ____________.
Mountain regions of Asia have a _________________
population than other areas.
___________________is a highly industrialized country.
Word Wall: Villages eastern
China
agriculture Japan
Red
Mekong India lower
Crowded Cities


Many Asian cities have huge populations. In fact,
twelve of the 20 most populated unban areas in
the world are located in Southern and Eastern
Asia.
In Chinese cities like Beijing and Shanghai, the
population can exceed almost 6,000 people per
square mile. Business is booming in China’s
cities, and employment opportunities abound.
Much of Japan’s population is also crowded into
cities. Tokyo is the most crowded urban area in
the world with a population density of 33,000
people per square mile. Land in Tokyo is
precious and very expensive.
Crowded Cities 2

In India, information technology and
telecommunications are growing industries,
providing many employment opportunities in cities
like Mumbai and Kolkata. Unfortunately, many
people living in Asian cities are very poor and live
in extremely crowded, unsanitary conditions.

Half of the island nations of Indonesia’s population
lives on Java. City dwellers find employment in
industry and technology. There are seaports and
oil centers, plus farms and coffee plantations. In
North Korea, about one-third of the people work in
agriculture, while the rest of the people work in
industry and services
Essential Skills Urban Agglomerations
An urban agglomeration is a city plus all the smaller towns and
growth around it.
 Tokyo, Japan
35 million
 Mexico City, Mexico
18.7 million
 New York, NY
18.3 million
 Sao Paulo, Brazil
17.9 million
 Mumbai, India
17.4 million
 Delhi, India
14.1 million
 Kolkata (Calcutta), India
13.1 million
 Buenos Aires, Argentina
13 million
 Shanghai, China
12.8 million
 Jakarta, Indonesia
12.3 million
 Los Angeles, CA
12 million
 Dhaka, Bangladesh
11.6 million
 Osaka, Japan
11.2 million
 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
11.2 million
 Karachi, Pakistan
11.1 million
 Beijing, China
10.8 million
 Cairo, Egypt
10.8 million
 Manila, Philippines
10.4 million
 Paris, France
9.8 million
 Seoul, South Korea
9.7 million
Essential Skills Questions
1.
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8.
How many of the world’s top 20 urban agglomerations are
in Asia?
How many of the top ten are in India?
What is the most crowded urban area in the world?
How many more people live in Tokyo than Jakarta?
Because there are more employment opportunities in cities,
the population of Delhi will probably_______________.
The government of China wants families to have only one
child. How might that affect the future population of
Shanghai?
What is the most crowded urban area in the United States?
What is the most crowded urban area in South America?