October 28, 2014

* Land covers 30% of Earth’s surface * Only ½ of this land is usable by humans * Population Distribution – people prefer to live in areas that have: * Fertile soil * Mild/Warm Climates with rainfall * Natural and water resources

* Population Density is found by dividing the total population by the total land area. * Example: 3,500 people, 17 square miles. * 3,500/17 = people per sq. mile * REMEMBER – people don’t spread themselves out evenly! * US Population Density – 84 per sq. mile * State Population Density State Population Density

By Country

* Urbanization – the movement of large numbers of people from rural (country) areas to urban (city) areas * Why? * Farms have grown in size, shrunk in number * Cities provide more secure jobs * Cities provide better access to government and commercial service

Sau Paulo, Brazil – Population: 12,000,000 Tokyo, Japan – Population: 9,000,000

Chicago, Illinois – Population: 9,500,000

* Rural Flight – the movement of large numbers of younger people from rural areas to larger cities.

* Immigration – the process of moving from one country to another to live there. * Push-pull theory – idea that people move because they are either “pushed” from a bad situation or they are “pulled” towards a better situation.

This map shows countries with the highest and lowest immigrant populations. Countries that are larger have accepted more immigrants, countries that have shrunk have accepted less immigrants.