AP Human GeographyMrs.Bellisari

Chapter 2: Key Issue #1 – Where is the World’s Population Distributed?

Two-thirds of world’s population is located in 4 regions:1. East Asia2. South Asia3. Southeast Asia4. Western Europe

What similarities do they share in common?

Is there a connection between population and climate zones?

Sparsely Populated Regions

Ecumene = portion of Earth’s surface occupied by permanent human settlement

Why would these regions by sparsely populated?

Dry Lands –Wet Lands –Cold Lands –High Lands -

Demography= study of populationPopulation density = measure of total population relative to land size; assumes an even distribution of population over land

Arithmetic population density Physiologic population density

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- Emphasizes general comparisons among countries

- Can be very misleading

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Agricultural Population Density

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1. Which of the three types of population density measures (agricultural, physiological, or artihemtic) is this map describing? How do you know?

2. How would this be different if it were showing arithmetic density?

3. What do high densities mean here in terms of a country’s positional to feed itself into the future?

4. What are problems with showing an arithmetic density by country scale map?

Population Distribution - descriptions of locations on earth’s surface where individuals or groups (depending on scale) live• People are not distributed evenly across world or within a country• One-third of world lives in China and India• Often use dot maps

World Population Distribution & Density

• Historically people congregate where they can grow food in recent years – advances in technology and transportation have begun to change this pattern

Why is complete, up-to-date population data crucial in any city, state, or country?

Reliability of Population Data

• Complaints about 2000 US Census• Much federal government funding depends on population data• If population of disadvantaged group is undercounted, translates into

loss of money for city governments that rely on federal funding to pay for social services

• Being undercounted also translates into less government representation

• Number of congressional seats allotted to each state is based on census count

• Some estimates claim that the 2000 census undercounted US population by over 3.3 million people

• Data on population growth rates, food availability, health conditions, and incomes are often informed estimates rather than actual counts

• UN, World Bank, Population Reference Bureau