Population

Population distribution the way in which people are spread out across the Earth’s surface.

If a question only asks you to describe distribution, then you just say what you see on the map, using words like dense, sparse, even and uneven. If places are named on the map, you can refer to place names, if not you can use compass points to help you describe. If the question asks you to explain the population distribution, then you have to start giving reasons for the distribution. To do that you could some of the reasons found in the table below. Population distribution can be impacted by human and physical factors.

Population Distribution: This is how a population is spread out around a country or an area. If a country's population is distributed in a regular pattern then we say it has an even population distribution. However, if there are areas with many people and then areas with few people, then we would say that it has an uneven population distribution.

Looking at the map of Australia, you can see that it has a very uneven population distribution. If I was to describe the population distribution I might say: There is a high concentration of people along the east and south east coast around Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne There is a small concentration on the south west coast around Perth There is a concentration of people around the coast on the island of Tasmania Most people live in coastal areas Not many people live in the centre or north of Australia. Two other good words to describe population are dense and sparse.

Physical factors

Human factors

Choropleth map World Population Distribution

Sparse population When not many people live in an area e.g. the centre of Australia. Dense population When a lot of people live in an area e.g. the Melbourne area.

The demographic transition model

Birth rates The number of births per 1000 of population per year. Fertility rate The average number of children a female is expected to have in their lifetime. Death rates The number of deaths per 1000 of population per year.

Population Pyramid A population pyramid shows the age and sex structure of the country. It is a type of graph that is divided into males and females and then age groups. Young Dependents The number or the percentage of the population under the age of 16. Old Dependents The number or the percentage of the population over the age of 65. Economically Active People between the ages of 16 and 65. This is basically the working group. Dependency Ratio The ratio between the amount of dependents (old and young) and the economically active. Population pyramids can be related to stages in the DTM.

Ageing Population This is when the proportion of old dependents is increasing. This happens because life expectancy increases, but also because birth rates start to fall. This happens in stage 5 of the DTM (it is currently happening in very developed countries like Japan). A country with an ageing population might have a higher death rate than you expect, because old people eventually die even if there life expectancy is high.

Natural increase When birth rates are higher than death rates. Natural decrease Where death rates are higher than birth rates.

Infant mortality The number of deaths before the age of 1, per 1000 live births per year. Life expectancy The average age that someone is expected to live within a country. Generally women tend to live a few years longer than men.

Overpopulation When there are more people that the resources available. Overpopulation might lead to unemployment, famine and homelessness.