Population Chapter 2 : Key Issue 1

Demography  Demography is the study of population geography  Key Issues of Demographics are:  Food Supply  Health and life expectancy  Status of women  Migration Where Is the World’s Population Distributed?

 Population Concentrations  2/3 of the world’s inhabitants are clustered in four regions.  East Asia  South Asia  Southeast Asia  Europe  ~ 5% of the land  Site and Situation of Population Clusters  Low-lying areas with fertile soil and temperate climate  Near an ocean or near a river with easy access to an ocean. Population Distribution

Population Clusters  Population is not distributed evenly…  A high percentage of population is located in 4 major clusters…  Where are they?

Population Clusters

Remember the Cartogram?  You can see the major clusters

 Sparsely Populated Regions  Humans avoid clustering in certain physical environments.  Dry Lands  Wet Lands  Cold Lands  High Lands  Places considered too harsh for occupancy have diminished over time.  Places of permanent human settlement are termed the ecumene. Population Distribution

What is 7 Billion & How did we get there? World Population Clock

 Density can be computed in up to three ways for a place. 1. Arithmetic Density  Total number of objects in an area  Computation: Divide the population by the land area 2. Physiological Density  Number of people supported by a unit area of arable land  Computation: Divide the population by the arable land area 3. Agricultural Density  Ratio of the number of farmers to amount of arable land  Computation: Divide the population of farmers by the arable land area Population Density

The Science of Population Growth Is 7 billion a problem? Are we overcrowded?

Raise hand if you Agree…  Because our population has reached seven billion people and continues to grow, we need to expand land area available for living and growing food by cutting down the rainforest.  Without reducing rapid population growth, it will be impossible to solve the world’s global challenges.  With more than 7 billion people commuting from one place to another, drilling for more oil is necessary to fuel more cars.  In order to feed our population, we must use pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and genetically modified crops to increase farm yields.  With new technologies used to gather fish, we must have international laws to ensure seafood is harvested sustainably.  The Earth can support over 7 billion people now and will be able to support any number of human in the future.  In an effort to feed a population of over 7 billion, people in developed countries should reduce the amount of meat they consume.  Science and technology will ensure that food production and energy supplies keep up with the demands of a growing population.  With human population over 7 billion, we must protect endangered species habitats by not developing on them for any reason.

Population Density  Using Nationmaster & CIA Worldfact Book to complete the “Intro to Population Density” activity.  Remember… Population ÷ Area = Arithmetic Density

Hans Rosling The world's population will grow to 9 billion over the next 50 years… Box by Box