World Population

Population Growth The current population of the world is just under 7 billion. Humans only live on 30% of the earth’s land Global population is projected to reach 9 billion by the year 2050.

Measuring Population Death rate – the number of deaths per year for every 1000 people Birth rate – the number of births per year for every 1000 people Population growth occurs when the birth rate is higher than the death rate. Population decline occurs when the death rate is higher than the birth rate Immigration can also impact population growth

Challenges of Population Growth Keeping up with food production Shortages of water, housing, and clothing If the birth rate is high then too much of the population would be young people who cannot contribute to food production Many scientists believe that even with rapid population growth technology is advancing to be able to keep up with the growing population

Negative Population Growth Recently many countries in Europe have experienced negative population growth (death rate > birth rate) This also creates problems Difficult to find workers Labor must be recruited from other countries which can cause tensions between the newcomers and the European nation

Population Distribution Population distribution – the pattern of human settlement The population distribution of the world is extremely uneven – humans live in areas where there is water and where the climates are not harsh. Population density – the average number of people living on a square mile of land To calculate population density total population of a country and divide by its total land area

Let’s find Population Density Australia Italy Shanghai, China Bangladesh Mexico Brazil Monaco New York City, NY Canada Mongolia Chicago, IL China Russia Owensboro, KY Cuba South Korea Egypt Tuvalu Kentucky Germany United Kingdom Alaska Iceland Rhode Island India United States Iraq Mumbai, India Israel

Population Movement Migration – the movement of people from place to place People migrate for many different reasons Urbanization – the growth in population of urban areas due to migration About half of the worlds population lives in cities Refugees – people who are forced to leave their country to escape persecution or disaster.

The Miniature Earth Project