Population Concepts

Population Density Population density indicates the average number of people living in a particular unit of land (square kilometre/km2 or square mile/m2 ) Population density can be expressed in two ways: Arithmetic physiologic

Arithmetic Population Density This is a simple formula: number of people/amount of land In Canada this looks like this 34 409 066 people divided by 9 220 970 km2 this means that the population density of Canada is 3.73 people/ km2

Problems with Arithmetic Density Arithmetic Density can be very misleading This number makes it seem like all of Canada has very few people. This is clearly not true when the population of Canada is over 80% urban/lives in cities. The majority of Canada’s population lives in a narrow strip of land just north of the US border while the rest of the country is relatively empty.

Physiographic Population Density Arithmetic density presents a false picture of any country that has large areas of uninhabited land. For this reason most geographers use physiographic population density. This is the number of people per kilometre of cultivated land.

Cultivated land has soil which is able to produce food. Traditionally people could only live in areas where they could grow/find sufficient food In Canada we have huge areas of poor soil or very cold climate, this means that these area CANNOT support many inhabitants

In reality Canada has about 455 000 km2 of cultivable land This translates into a more realistic population density of 75.6 people/km2

Various population densities/km2 http://www12. statcan Shelburne Town: 208.7 Shelburne Municipality: 2.7 Halifax Regional Municipality: 67.9** This includes all of Halifax county rural and urban areas combined. Toronto: 3,972.4

Population Distribution This refers to the location of a population-how they have arranged themselves on the the land. Geographers want to understand why many people live very close together in certain areas and not in others.

Population distribution is closely related to physical geography. People settle first where they can survive and prosper. These include areas with a source of drinking/potable water AND good agricultural land, hunting or fishing grounds, mineral deposits and good transportation opportunities

Political and economic factors can also affect population density. Economic and political centres tend to reinforce each other. People move to central areas→ central areas get a greater population →bigger population means more political and economic power →more power draws in more people …

These central areas are called HEARTLANDS and The smaller rural areas that provide them with food and other staple good are known as the HINTERLANDS

Global Population Density The world's population is 6.9 billion and Earth's total area (including land and water) is 510 million km2 Therefore the worldwide human population density is 6.9 billion ÷ 510 million = 13.5 per km² If only the Earth's land area of 150 million km² is taken into account, then human population density increases to 46 per km² This calculation includes all continental and island land area, including Antarctica. If Antarctica is also excluded, then population density rises to 51 people per km²

Websites http://www.breathingearth.net/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_9SutNmfFk