Fundamentals of Human Geography

Chapter-2 The World Population (Distribution, Density and Growth)

Key Notes:

At the beginning of 21st century world recorded the presence of over 6 billion
population
The population of the world is unevenly distributed
According to George B. Cressey about the population of Asia that “Asia has many
places where people are few and few place where people are very many”

PATTERNS OF POPULATION DISTRIBUTION IN THE WORLD

Patterns of population distribution and density help us to understand the

demographic characteristics of any area
The term population distribution refers to the way people are spaced over the earth’s
surface
90% of the world population lives in about 10 per cent of its land area
The 10 most populous countries of the world contribute about 60%of the world’s
population
Of these 10 countries, 6 are located in Asia(China, India, Indonesia,
Pakistan,Bangladesh, Japan)

DENSITY OF POPULATION

It is necessary to understand the ratio between the numbers of people to the size of
land. This ratio is the density of population.
It is usually measured in persons per sq km
Density of Population = Population
High density Population( more than 200 persons on every sq km)- North -Eastern part
of U.S.A., North-Western part of Europe, South, South-East and East Asia
Low density of population(less than 01 person per sq km)-North and South Poles, the
 hot and the cold deserts and high rainfall zones near the Equator
Areas of medium density(11 to 50 persons per sq km)- Western China, Southern India
in Asia, Norway, Sweden in Europe

FACTORS INFLUENCING THE DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION

1. Geographical Factors

i. Availability of water: It is the most important factor for life. People prefer to live in
areas where fresh water is easily available. Water is used for drinking, bathing and
cooking – and also for cattle, crops, industries and navigation. It is because of this that
river valleys are among the most densely populated areas of the world
ii. Landforms: People prefer living on flat plains and gentle slopes. This is because such
areas are favourable for the production of crops and to build roads and industries. The
mountainous and hilly areas hinder the development of transport network and hence
initially do not favour agricultural and industrial development. So, these areas tend to be
less populated. For eg.The Ganga plains are among the most densely populated areas of
the world while the mountains zones in the Himalayas arescarcely populated.
iii. Climate: An extreme climate such as very hot or cold deserts are uncomfortable for
human habitation. Areas with a comfortable climate, where there is not much seasonal
variation attract more people. Areas with very heavy rainfall or extreme and harsh
climates have low population. For eg. Mediterranean regions were inhabited from early
periods in history due to their pleasant climate.
iv. Soils: Fertile soils are important for agricultural and allied activities. Therefore, areas
which have fertile loamy soils have more people living on them as these can support
intensive agriculture. For eg the northern plains of India.

2. Economic Factors

i. Minerals: Areas with mineral deposits attract industries. Mining and industrial activities
generate employment. So, skilled and semi–skilled workers move to these areas and
make them densely populated. For eg. Katanga Zambia copper belt in Africa is
ii. Urbanisation: Cities offer better employment opportunities, educational and medical
facilities, better means of transport and communication. Good civic amenities and the
attraction of city life draw people to the cities. It leads to rural to urban migration and
 cities grow in size. Mega cities of the world continue to attract large number of migrants
every year.
iii. Industrialisation: Industrial belts provide job opportunities and attract large numbers of
people. These include not just factory workers but also transport operators, shopkeepers,
bank employees, doctors, teachers and other service providers. For eg. The Kobe-Osaka
region of Japan is thickly populated because of the presence of a number of industries.

3. Social and Cultural Factors

Some places attract more people because they have religious or cultural significance.
In the same way – people tend to move away from places where there is social and
political unrest
Many a times governments offer incentives to people to live in sparsely populated
areas or move away from overcrowded places

POPULATION GROWTH

The population growth or population change refers to the change in number of

inhabitants of a territory during a specific period of time
This change may be positive as well as negative
It can be expressed either in terms of absolute numbers or in terms of percentage
Population change in an area is an important indicator of economic development,
social upliftment and historical and cultural background of the region

Components of Population Change : There are three components of population change –

births, deaths and migration.

1) Birth rate- The birth rate is the total number of live births per 1,000 of a population in a
year. The crude birth rate (CBR) is expressed as number of live births in a year per thousand
of population. It is calculated as: CBR= Bi/P×1000
Here, CBR = Crude Birth Rate; Bi = live births during the year; P=Mid year population

2) Death rate- Death rate plays an active role in population change. Population growth
occurs not only by increasing births rate but also due to decreasing death rate. Crude Death
Rate (CDR) is a simple method of measuring mortality of any area. CDR is expressed in terms
of number of deaths in a particular year per thousand of population in a particular region.
CDR is calculated as CDR= D/P×1000
Here, CDR=Crude Death Rate; D= Number of deaths; P=Estimated mid-year population of that
year. By and large mortality rates are affected by the region’s demographic structure, social
advancement and levels of its economic development.

3) Migration

Migration is the movement by people from one place to another with the intentions of
settling, permanently in the new location. The movement is often over long distances
and from one country to another
When people move from one place to another, the place they move from is called the
Place of Origin and the place they move to is called the Place of Destination
The place of origin shows a decrease in population while the population increases in
the place of destination
Migration may be permanent, temporary or seasonal
It may take place from rural to rural areas, rural to urban areas, urban to urban areas
and urban to rural areas

Migrants are of two types-

a. Immigration: Migrants who move into a new place are called Immigrants.
b. Emigration: Migrants who move out of a place are called Emigrants.

There are two sets of factors that influence migration:

a. The Push factors make the place of origin seem less attractive for reasons like
unemployment, poor living conditions, political turmoil, unpleasant climate, natural
disasters, epidemics and socio-economic backwardness.
b. The Pull factors make the place of destination seem more attractive than the place of
origin for reasons like better job opportunities and living conditions, peace and stability,
security of life and property and pleasant climate.

TRENDS IN POPULATION GROWTH

The population on the earth is more than six billion

It has grown to this size over centuries
In the early periods population of the world grew very slowly
 But during the last few hundred years that population has increased at an alarming
rate
After the evolution and introduction of agriculture about 8,000 to 12,000 years ago,
the size of population was small – roughly 8 million
In the 1st century A.D. it was below 300 million
Due to expanding world trade during the 16th and 17th century, there was rapid
population growth
Around 1750, at the dawn of the Industrial Revolutio the world population was 550
million
World population exploded in the 18th century after the Industrial Revolution
Technological advancement achieved so far helped in the reduction of birth rate and
provided a stage for accelerated population growth

DOUBLING TIME OF WORLD POPULATION

it took only 12 years for human population to rise from 5 billion to 6 billion
There is a great variation among regions in doubling their population
The developed countries are taking more time to double their population as compared
to developing countries
Most of the population growth is taking place in the developing world(Yemen, Liberia,
Somalia, Saudi Arabia and Oman)

SPATIAL PATTERN OF POPULATION CHANGE

The growth of population is low in developed countries as compared to developing

countries
There is negative correlation between economic development and population growth
The annual rate of population change (1.4%) seems to be low. This is because of:
When a small annual rate is applied to a very large population, it will lead to a
large change.
Even if the growth rate continues to decline, total population grows each year.
The mortality rate may have increased as has the death rate during childbirth

IMPACT OF POPULATION CHANGE

Positive impact of Population change are:

a. Nations with higher populations are better able to raise money on a national level, and
this can lead to more international clout. China, for example, has a relatively low per
capita income, but its large population gives it tremendous influence.
b. Increasing population ensures increase in the labor force. Lack of growth in the labor
force will make a country static, retarded and gets to equilibrium at less than full
employment level of the economy.
c. Investors would like to invest in a country with a large population. As the population
continues to grow so will be the growth in demand for food, shelter, clothing etc.

Negative impact of Population change

a. As a result of overpopulation, the available resources would not be able to do round and
this will result to poverty in the country.
b. Overpopulation leads to unemployment, this is as a result of the number of people
looking for job outruns available resources.
c. Low Per capita income if production level does not increase
d. Increase in imports, which will result to balance of payments deficit

DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION

The theory tells us that population of any region changes from high births and high
deaths to low births and low deaths as society progresses from rural agrarian and
illiterate to urban industrial and literate society
Demographic transition theory can be used to describe and predict the future
population of any area
Changes occur in stages which are collectively known as the demographic cycle
There are 3 stages in the demographic transition theory:

a. First stage- The first stage has high fertility and high mortality because people reproduce
more to compensate for the deaths due to epidemics and variable food supply. The
population growth is slow and most of the people are engaged in agriculture where large
families are an asset. Life expectancy is low, people are mostly illiterate and have low
levels of technology.
b. Second stage- Fertility remains high in the beginning of second stage but it declines with
time. This is accompanied by reduced mortality rate. Improvements in sanitation and
 health conditions lead to decline in mortality. Because of this gap the net addition to
population is high.
c. Third stage- In the last stage, both fertility and mortality decline considerably. The
population is either stable or grows slowly. The population becomes urbanised, literate
and has high technical know- how and deliberately controls the family size.

POPULATION CONTROL MEASURES

Some measures to control population are:

1. Ensuring that people have easy and cheap access to contraception tools will help avoiding
cases of unwanted pregnancies and births.
2. Education forms the backbone of an individual and economy. Once educated people
know and understand the harms which a high population growth rate possesses.
Education, especially women education, can work wonders in controlling population. An
educated man and woman can readily understand the benefits of a small family.
3. Empowering woman with a say in matters concerning them like child birth and
educating them to fight against discrimination will ensure a healthy and aware society.
4. People need to be told and made to understand the consequences of having too many
children. Government and non-government institutions can carry awareness campaigns
informing people how they will be unable to provide good nutrition, education or
medical facilities to their children if they have too many.
5. Incentives have proved to be an efficient policy measure in combating most development
issues including population. Providing a health, educational or even financial incentive
can be a highly effective population measure.
6. One big drawback of developing countries is that of limited and highly centric medical
facilities. If provided with optimum medical facilities population rate will almost
certainly decline.
7. Delayed marriages- Young age marriage devoid people of the education and awareness
required to be sensitive towards and understand the consequences of raising too many
children. A UN report has suggested that there would be a significant decline in world
population if the legal for marriage is made 20 years.