Population

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Chapter 3

• Population

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Introduction

• Late 1700s Thomas Malthus warns of the growing
  population in Great Britain.
• He issued warnings of massive famine and
  widespread suffering.
• Although it did not take hold in England, his
  predictions would follow suit in the growing
  world.

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Focus of Chapter

• Where?
• Geographers 1st study population problems by
  describing where people are found across Earths
  space.
• population distribution
• 2nd issue is the places where population is
  growing

• Why?
• 3rd issue is why populations are growing at
  different rates in different places
• 4th issue overpopulation?

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Demography

• Definition
• Study of the characteristics of human populations
• Census
• Definition straightforward count of the number
  of people in a country, region, or city.
• Not usually simple
• The s are important, they determine government
  funding
• Limitations
• Expensive, labor
• Undercounts
• Many protest that not all of the population is
  counted homeless
• India- biometric census
• Most nations repeat every 10 years
• U.S. since 1790
• 1985- quinquennial (5 years)

• Vital Records
• report
• Births, deaths, marriages, divorces, and certain
  infectious diseases
• Collected at all levels
• Other organizations
• WHO, Immigration Bureau

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Key Issue 1Where is the worlds population
distributed?

• Important because
• More people are alive!
• Worlds population is increasing at a faster rate
• Almost all the population growth is located in
  LDCs
• POP CLOCKS

• If distributed evenly, the worlds population
  density would be 108 persons per square mile.
• Greenland .1 per square mile
• Bangladesh 2300 per square mile
• World Population
• 7 billion!!!
• About 77 million per year since 1990
• China and India 38 of world pop

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Population Distribution

• Degree of accessibility, topography, soil
  fertility, climate and weather, water
  availability and quality, and type and
  availability are some factors that shape
  population distribution.
• A countrys political and economic experiences
  and characteristics can shape the population as
  well.
• Ex. Brazils high pop concentration along the
  coast dates back to the Portuguese control in the
  16th and 17th centuries.

• Another important factor is culture as expressed
  in religion, tradition, or historical experience
• Example Mecca/ Medina
• Population clusters
• All worlds inhabitants live on 10 of land
• Most live near edge of landmasses, near water
• 90 live North of the equator
• Most of worlds pop lives in temperate, low-lying
  areas with fertile soils
• Asia most populated continent
• 2nd Africa
• 3rd Europe

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Population Density
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Continent in millions Total

• Asia 4,216 60
• Africa 1,051 15
• Europe 740 11
• L. America 596 8.5
• Caribbean
• N. America 346 5
• Oceania 37 .05
• Sub-Saharan Africa is fastest growing population
  in the World!

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• 2011 Data

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Population Concentrations

• 2/3rds of the worlds population clustered in
  four regions!
• East Asia
• South Asia
• SE Asia
• Europe
• All four regions have
• An ocean or river nearby
• Low-lying areas
• Fertile soil and average climate
• In the Northern Hemisphere
• Between 10 degrees and 55 degrees North

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East Asia

• 1/4th of worlds population
• Region includes
• Border to Pacific Ocean
• Eastern China
• Japan
• Korean Pensinsula
• Taiwan
• 5/6ths live in Peoples Republic of China
• Clustered near Pacific Ocean and fertile valleys

• Distribution
• Japan and South Korea
• 40 live in 3 larges Metro areas
• Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul
• Only 3 land area

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South Asia

• 1/4th worlds population
• Region includes
• India
• Contains 3/4th of South Asia Pop.
• Pakistan
• Bangladesh
• Sri Lanka
• Largest concentration of people in 1,500 mile
  corridor from Lahore, Pakistan to the Bay of
  Bengal
• Indus/ Ganges River plains
• Also coastline

• Most are farmers, live in rural areas
• Region contains 18 urban areas
• Only 1/4th urban population
• Two physical barriers
• Himalayas
• Taklimakan Desert confine the growing
  population.
• There is more pressure on the land in this region
  due to high densities!

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Southeast Asia

• 600 million people
• Mainly islands
• -including Java - 100 million people
• High Percentage of people live in rural areas
  along river valleys and deltas.

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Europe

• 1/9th the worlds population
• Four dozen countries
• Monaco to Russia
• 3/4th live in cities or metro areas
• Less than 10 farmers
• Dense network of roads/ rail lines
• Highest population near industry
• Coalfields

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Other Population Clusters

• Western Hemisphere
• Northeastern U.S. Southeastern Canada
• 2 of worlds population
• Mainly urban
• West Africa
• South-facing Atlantic coast
• ½ of population concentration in Nigeria
• Africas most pop. Nation
• Work in agriculture
• 5 urban areas with 2 million
• 11 urban areas with 1 million

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Sparsely Populated Regions

• Ecumene
• portion of the earths surface occupied by
  permanent settlement
• Areas once considered too harsh to live has
  diminished and ecumene increased
• 7,000 years ago population clustered in River
  Valleys
• 500 years ago North America outside of ecumene

• Ecumene today
• 3/4ths world population lives on only 5 of
  earths surface
• Oceans 71

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Dry Lands

• 20 of earths surface too dry for farming
• Largest desert region
• North Africa to Southwest and Central Asia
• Sahara, Arabian, Thar, Takla Makan, and Gobi
• Not enough water to sustain a population/ crops
  BUT
• Adaption camels
• Irrigation systems
• Natural resources
• oil

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Wetlands

• Located primarily near equator
• Between 20 degrees North and South latitude
• Rainfall averages more than 50 inches per year
• Most receive 90 inches
• Combination of heat and rain rapidly depletes
  soil of nutrients
• Seasonally rainfall more agriculture

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Cold and High Lands

• Cold Lands
• Near North and South poles
• Massive ice coverage
• Less precipitation but snow/ice piles up over
  time
• Unsuitable for crops/ humans/ animals

• High Lands
• High elevations
• Usually steep, snow-covered
• Example Switzerland
• ½ of land above sea level
• Only 5 live there
• Exceptions
• Latin America
• Mexico City
• Africa

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Population Density

• Definition
• A numerical measure of the relationship between
  the number of people and some other unit
  expressed as a ratio
• Several ways to determine Population Density
• Arithmetic (Crude)
• Physiological/ Agricultural
• Helps geographers describe distribution of people
  in comparison to available resources.

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Arithmetic Density

• Definition
• Total of objects in an area
• Total of people divided by total land area
• Example United States
• 310 million people / 3.7 million square miles
• 84 people per square mile
• Example Bangladesh 1,127 ppsm
• used to compare conditions in different countries

• enables geographers to compare of people trying
  to live on a given piece of land in different
  regions of the world
• One dimensional
• Tells us very little for about the variations in
  the relationship between people and land

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Problems with Arithmetic Density

• Arithmetic Density does not always accurately
  portray population distribution.
• Example Egypt had a population of 73.3 million
  in 2004, and an arithmetic density of 190 per
  square mile. However, 98 of the population lives
  on only 3 of the land making the density
  meaningless.

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Physiological Density

• Definition
• of people per area of arable of land in a
  region
• Example United States
• Physio density of 175 ppsm of arable land
• Example Egypt
• Physio density of 2,296 ppsm
• the higher the physio density, the greater the
  pressure that people may place on the land to
  produce enough food

• insight to the relationship between size of
  population and availability of resources in a
  region

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Agricultural Density

• Definition
• ratio of farmers to the amount of arable land
• Measures economic differences
• MDCs/ Core nations have LOW agricultural density
  because of technology.

• Putting Agricultural and Physiological densities
  together allows you to look at the relationship
  between population and resources
• Example Netherlands vs. Bangladesh
• Both have high physiological densities
• Dutch have low agricultural density
• What does this mean?
• both put pressure on land but Dutch utlizes less
  famers

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Population Composition

• Another way to explore population patterns of
  distribution
• Looks at subgroups
• of males/ females
• senior citizens/ children
• active in workforce/ not active

• Addresses challenges
• Baby booms
• Aging population
• Women of childbearing age
• Understanding population composition not only
  tells us about future demographics of regions but
  also is useful for the present
• Geodemographic analysis
• Definition assessing the location and
  composition of particular populations