APHG CHAPTER 2:

POPULATION

KEY QUESTION #1:

WHERE IN THE

WORLD DO PEOPLE

LIVE & WHY?

(4 SLIDES)

KEY QUESTION #1: WHERE IN THE

WORLD DO PEOPLE LIVE & WHY?

• Demography is the study of population

• Population density: total population divided by land size

– Arithmetic density: divides by ALL of the land

– Physiologic density: divides by ONLY the arable land(some countries have very little arable land; this figure is always higher than arithmetic)

• No country has an evenly distributed population

– Great example is Egypt: 98% of the people live on 3% of the land

Measures of Population Density

Arithmetic Population Density

Physiological Population Density

Population Cartogram

Population Cartogram

World Population Cartogram

Fig. 2-1: This cartogram displays countries by the size of their population rather than

their land area. (Only countries with 50 million or more people are named.)

Expansion of the Ecumene

5000 BC -AD 1900

Fig. 2-3: The ecumene, or the portion of

the earth with permanent

human settlement, has

expanded to cover most of the

world’s land area.

Ecumene, 5000 B.C.

Ecumene, A.D. 1

Ecumene, A.D.1500

Ecumene, A.D.1900

KEY QUESTION #1: WHERE IN THE

WORLD DO PEOPLE LIVE & WHY?

• Historically people settled in regions where they could grow

food

• Cities began in agricultural areas

• Today, there are four large population clusters

– #1 EAST ASIA

• Eastern China, the Chinese interior near rivers, Japan, Taiwan, Korea

• Contains 1 out of every 4 humans

– #2 SOUTH ASIA

• India & Bangladesh, along with eastern/coastal Pakistan

• Contains 1 out of every 4.5 humans

KEY QUESTION #1: WHERE IN THE

WORLD DO PEOPLE LIVE & WHY?

• Four largest population clusters

– #3 EUROPE

• Basically the entire continent; physical geography really doesn’t impact population density like on other continents

• Contains 1 out of every 10 humans

– #4 NORTHEASTERN U.S./SOUTHEASTERN CANADA

• Major area runs from Boston to Washington, D.C.(BOSWASH)

• This is a megalopolis---huge urban region of city after city after city

World Population Distribution

Share of Global Population per

Continent, 1700-2000

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Oceania

Asia

Middle East

CIS

Africa

Europe

Latin America

North America

KEY QUESTION #1: WHERE IN THE

WORLD DO PEOPLE LIVE & WHY?

• Some countries have more reliable/accurate data than others

• U.S. takes a census every 10 years

– Very difficult even here to account for everyone (including the homeless & illegals)

• To do an accurate count takes money, organization and time

• Therefore, there are always inconsistencies from one source to another