Population Geography Four Key Issues of Population Geography: 1.Where is the world’s population located? 2.Where has the world’s population increased? 3.Why is population increasing at different rates in different places? 4.Why might the world face an overpopulation problem?

Population Geography Three Crucial Reasons to Study Population: 1.More people are alive now than at any other time in Earth’s history (6 1/2 billion) 2.Earth’s population increased at a faster rate from 1950 to 2000 than ever before in history 3.Virtually all global population growth is concentrated in less developed countries Demography: the scientific study of population characteristics

Population Geography Two-thirds of the World’s Population Clustered in Four Regions: 1.East Asia 2.South Asia 3.Southeast Asia 4.Western Europe (world cartogram)

World Cartogram

Population Geography Similarities of People Living in These Four Regions: Most people live near an ocean or near a river with easy access to an ocean -67% of world population live within 300 miles of an ocean -80% live within 500 miles of an ocean Usually live in low-lying areas with fertile soil and temperate climate All clusters located in Northern Hemisphere between 10° and 55° latitude Over 50% of world population still live in rural areas, although the trend is changing

Population Geography East Asia: -includes Eastern China, Japan, Korean peninsula, and Taiwan -20% of world’s population live in this region

Population Geography China: world’s most populous country -3 rd largest area in land area, but most of its interior is mountains and deserts -sparsely populated

Population Geography -most of the Chinese population along east coast -several fertile river valleys -67% of Chinese live in rural areas and work as farmers -China has 20 urban areas with populations of more than 2 million -48 urban areas with over one million people

Japan and Korea: -more than 33% of these populations live in Tokyo, Osaka, or Seoul -this is about 3% of total land area -more than 75% of Japanese and Koreans live in urban areas and work in industrial or service occupations

Population Geography South Asia: -includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka -20% of world’s total population lives in this area India: world’s 2 nd most populous country -most people in this area live along Indus and Ganges river valleys -also along India’s eastern and western coasts -most people in this area are farmers -19 urban areas over 2 million -45 urban areas over one million

Population Geography Southeast Asia: -includes the island areas of Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines political

Population Geography -over ½ billion people live in this area Java: has over 100 million people Indonesia: made up of 13,677 islands, including Java Indochina: the southeastern tip of Asian mainland -most people work as farmers in rural areas

Population Geography Together, these Asian clusters account for more than half of the world’s total human population -yet they make up less than 10% of the Earth’s total land area Ironically enough, 2000 years ago more than half of the Earth’s population also lived in these same three Asian cluster areas Now that is amazing!!

Population Geography Other Population Clusters: Northeast U.S./Southeast Canada -about 2% of world’s population -includes the cities of Boston, New York, Chicago, and Toronto -mostly urban (less than 5% farmers)

Population Geography Western Africa -about 2% of world’s population -along Atlantic coast -includes Nigeria (Africa’s most populous country) -most West Africans are farmers -although 5 urban areas with over 2 million people -11 urban areas with over one million people

Population Geography Sparsely Populated Regions: Ecumene: the portion of the Earth’s surface occupied by permanent human settlement -humans avoid certain areas (too wet, too cold, too dry, too mountainous…) -today, 75% of human population lives on 5% of land area Over time, ecumene has increased

Population Geography Dry Lands: -areas too dry for farming cover about 20% of the Earth’s land area -largest desert area extends across Northern Africa east into central China (Sahara to Gobi) -only a few crops and animals can survive in the dry, desert climates -other natural resources found in these areas (i.e.—oil) attract people to settle

Population Geography Wet Lands: -rain forest areas receive too much rain and are too hot for agriculture -soil is quickly depleted -in some areas, a majority of rainfall comes seasonally Southeast Asia: these areas can grow enough food to support a large population

Population Geography Cold Lands: -polar areas covered with ice or permafrost (ground that has been permanently frozen for thousands of years) -receives less precipitation than many deserts -but over thousands of years, the snowfall has frozen into thick ice Lookout below!

Population Geography High Lands: -most people choose not to live in highly elevated areas -exceptions found in Latin America and Aftica -elevation in Mexico and Peru often give relif to high temperatures found at the lower elevations

Population Geography Population Density: the number of people occupying an area of land -several ways to calculate this Find density of a political unit Find density per area unit (More accurate)

Population Geography World population density Arithmetic density: total number of people divided by total land area -most frequently used density measure by geographers

The United States has a population of about 290 million people and a land area of about 3 million square miles -population density is about 78 persons per square mile as a country Bangladesh has about 2640 persons per square mile India has about 840 persons per square mile Canada has about 8 persons per square mile

Population Geography Population density varies even more within a country Population density does not accurately indicate rich and poor economic areas Areas of California have densities over 1000 per square mile, while Loving County, Texas has 0.1 person per square mile

Egypt: has about 185 persons per square mile -however, this does not mean 185 people live in every square mile -the Nile River valley has about 9000 people or more per square mile -areas just a few miles from the Nile have less than 26 per square mile Arithmetic density allows geographers to compare the number of people trying to live on a given piece of land in different regions of the world Helps us to answer the where question

Egypt at Night density?

Population Geography Physiological Density: the number of people supported by an area of arable land arable land: land suited for agriculture The United States has 404 persons per square mile of arable land Egypt has 9073 persons per square mile of arable land This means crops grown on an acre of land in Egypt must feed more people than in the U.S. The higher the physiological density, the greater the pressure that people place on the land to produce food -helps geographers learn about the relationship between population size and availability of resources in a region

Population Geography Geographers compare arithmetic and physiological densities to understand the capacity of the land to yield enough food for the needs of the people of that area So what’s the Scoop: The large discrepancy in Egypt between arithmetic and physiological densities indicate that most of the country’s land is not suitable for intensive agriculture -95% of Egyptians live in the Nile delta or valley

Population Geography Agricultural density: the ratio of the number of farmers to the amount of arable land -helps to show economic differences The United States has a low agricultural density (4 farmers per square kilometer of arable land) Egypt has 1401 farmers per square kilometer of arable land More Developed Countries (MDC’s) have lower agricultural densities because technology and finance allow a few people to farm extensive areas of land and feed many people -this means most people in MDC’s work in other nonagricultural occupations

Population Geography Bangladesh and the Netherlands both have very high physiological densities -but the Dutch have a much lower agricultural density With this information, geographers conclude that both of these countries put heavy pressure on their land to produce food, but the Dutch use more efficient agricultural systems which require far fewer farmers than the Bangladeshi system