1. Population
Chapter 2 : Key Issue 1

2. Where Is the World’s Population Distributed?
Demography
Demography is the study of population geography
Key Issues of Demographics are:
Food Supply
Health and life expectancy
Status of women
Migration

3. Population Distribution
Population Concentrations
2/3 of the world’s inhabitants are clustered in four regions.
East Asia
South Asia
Southeast Asia
Europe
~ 5% of the land
Site and Situation of Population Clusters
Low-lying areas with fertile soil and temperate climate
Near an ocean or near a river with easy access to an ocean.

4. Population Clusters Population is not distributed evenly…
A high percentage of population is located in 4 major clusters…
Where are they?
East Asia, SE Asia, S Asia, Europe

5. Population Clusters
FIGURE 2-3 POPULATION DISTRIBUTION People are not distributed uniformly across Earth’s surface.

6. Remember the Cartogram?
You can see the major clusters

7. Population Distribution
Sparsely Populated Regions
Humans avoid clustering in certain physical environments.
Dry Lands
Wet Lands
Cold Lands
High Lands
Places considered too harsh for occupancy have diminished over time.
Places of permanent human settlement are termed the ecumene.
Humans tend to avoid places that are unaccommodating for activities, such as agriculture. Among these are places with too much or too little available water, places with exceedingly hot or cold temperatures, and places that have too steep of slopes to plant crops.

8. What is 7 Billion & How did we get there?
World Population Clock

9. Population Density
Density can be computed in up to three ways for a place.
Arithmetic Density
Total number of objects in an area
Computation: Divide the population by the land area
Physiological Density
Number of people supported by a unit area of arable land
Computation: Divide the population by the arable land area
Agricultural Density
Ratio of the number of farmers to amount of arable land
Computation: Divide the population of farmers by the arable land area
Physiological density provides insights into the relation between the size of a population and the availability of resources in a region.
Developed countries have lower agricultural densities, because technology and finance allow a few people to farm extensive land areas and feed many people.

10. The Science of Population Growth
Is 7 billion a problem? Are we overcrowded?

11. Stand if you Agree…
Because our population has reached seven billion people and continues to grow, we need to expand land area available for living and growing food by cutting down the rainforest.
Without reducing rapid population growth, it will be impossible to solve the world’s global challenges.
With more than 7 billion people commuting from one place to another, drilling for more oil is necessary to fuel more cars.
In order to feed our population, we must use pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and genetically modified crops to increase farm yields.
With new technologies used to gather fish, we must have international laws to ensure seafood is harvested sustainably.
The Earth can support over 7 billion people now and will be able to support any number of humans in the future.
In an effort to feed a population of over 7 billion, people in developed countries should reduce the amount of meat they consume.
Science and technology will ensure that food production and energy supplies keep up with the demands of a growing population.
With human population over 7 billion, we must protect endangered species habitats by not developing on them for any reason.

12. Stand if you Agree…
There is nothing I can do to help alleviate population pressures.
Governments in countries with fast-growing populations should make laws to limit the number of children that couples can have.
In a real crunch, jobs are more important than environmental quality.
With over 7 billion people on the planet, water pollution is inevitable and we should not waste money trying to prevent it.
Even though I am only one person in 7 billion, I still have a responsibility to keep the Earth healthy; what I do makes a difference.
Automobile makers in this country should be required by law to make all their vehicles fuel- efficient, even though the vehicles may become more expensive.
If China and India can each take care of over a billion people on relatively the same size land as the U.S., then the U.S. should accept immigrants until it reaches a billion people as well.
What about “Refugees”?
All high schools should be prohibited from distributing contraceptives to students under age 18.
Arable land should never be used for housing, businesses, or other non-agricultural uses because we need all available farmable land to produce food.

13. Population ÷ Area = Arithmetic Density
Population Density
Using credible sites, Nationmaster, CIA Worldfact Book, etc., to complete the “Intro to Population Density” activity.
Remember…
Population ÷ Area = Arithmetic Density

14. Hans Rosling
The world's population will grow to 9 billion over the next 50 years… Box by Box