Population

What is Population?  The collection of people living in a given geographic area, or space, usually measured by a census  Demography  The study of human populations  Various aspects of human behavior in populations are studied in Sociology, Economics, and Geography  The study of populations is almost always governed by the laws of probability 

Worldwide Population Growth  Earth’s population hit 1 Billion in the early 1800’s  As the world industrialized, people grew more and better food  Also, people improved their sanitation methods  This combination enabled the population to boom

Rank Country Population Density (people/ km²)Density — World 6,661,208, China 1,315,844, India 1,110,000, United States 300,000, Indonesia 222,781, Brazil 186,405, Pakistan 164,000, Bangladesh 145,000,0001,002 8 Russia 142,800, Nigeria 131,530, Japan 127,000, Mexico 107,000,00054

Birth Rates  Birthrate- the number of live births per 1,000 population  In 2000, the highest birthrate in the world was more than 54/1000 in Niger  Lowest = 8/1000 in Latvia  World Average = 22/1000

Fertility Rate  Shows the average number of children a woman of childbearing years would have in her lifetime  A fertility rate of 2.1 is necessary just to replace current population  Today, the worldwide average fertility rate is about 3.0

Mortality Rate  Also called the death rate  Number of deaths per 1,000 people  Generally, a society is considered healthy if it has a low mortality rate  However, some healthy nations have higher mortality rates because they have large numbers of elderly people

Infant Mortality Rate  For this reason, geographers also look at infant mortality rates  Infant Mortality Rate  Shows the number of deaths among infants under age 1 per 1,000 live births  In the 1800’s, the worldwide I.M.R. was 300/1,000

Rate of Natural Increase  Birthrate – Death Rate  B-D = R  A.K.A. = Population Growth Rate

Human Population Growth Rate

Population Pyramid  Another way to analyze populations is to use a population pyramid  PP = a graphic device that shows sex & age distribution of a population  Allows geographers to examine how events in society, such as wars, famine, or epidemics, affect the population of a country or region

Population Distribution  Of the billions of people in the world, most are not distributed equally across the earth  Some lands are not suitable for human habitation  Examples?  Almost 90% of the world’s population lives in the Northern Hemisphere  N.H.- ½ of the planets surface, which is north of the equator

Population Distribution  1 in 4 people in the world live in East Asia, and 1 in 2 people live in either East Asia or South Asia  Factors:  Climate  Altitude  Access to water  All influence where people live

Urban-Rural Mix  Currently, more than ½ of the world’s population lives in rural areas  However, this number is changing rapidly  More and more people are migrating to cities  Particularly, cities with populations of more than one million people

Megacities  In 1950, New York City was the only World City with more than 10 million residents  Today, 26 giant cities are home to a total of more than 250 million people  The largest of these is Tokyo  34 million inhabitants  These huge cities struggle with overcrowded conditions and immense demand for water & sanitation

Tokyo

Megacities  Mexico City, Mexico (22,800,000)  Seoul, South Korea (22,300,000)  New York City, USA (21,900,000)  São Paulo, Brazil (20,200,000)  Mumbai (Bombay), India (19,850,000)  Delhi, India (19,700,000)  Shanghai, China (18,150,000)  Los Angeles, USA (18,000,000)  Osaka, Japan (16,800,000)

Mexico City

Seoul, South Korea

Shanghai, China

Migration  The large-scale migration of people from one location to another also alters the distribution of population  Reasons for migrating are referred to as: Push- Pull Factors

Immigration  Immigration- the movement of people from one nation-state to another  Immigration implies long-term permanent residence by the immigrants  Tourists are not considered immigrants  All of our ancestors immigrated to America from a foreign country

Push Factors  Push Factors- those that cause people to leave their homeland & migrate or immigrate to another region or country  Drought  Natural Disasters  Political – war, persecution  Religious Reasons  Economic Opportunity

Irish Potato Famine ( )

Natural Disasters

Hurricane Katrina Migration

Religious Persecution

Pull Factors  Pull factors draw or attract people to another location  Why would someone from Harlan, IA be “pulled” to Chicago or Kansas City?  Why were our ancestors “pulled” to America?  Countries with good economic opportunities & high salaries are the likely destinations of migrants & immigrants  Favorable Climate is another pull factor.  “Snow Birds”

Population Density  The average number of people who live in a measurable area, such as a square mile  The number is reached by dividing the number of inhabitants in an area by the total amount of land they occupy  Geographers use this to understand how heavily populated an area is

Population Density  This number can be misleading for an entire nation  Why?  Example: U.S. P.D.  1990  Alaska= huge land area, small population  1 person per square mile  New Jersey= small land area, large population  1,098 people per square mile  Total U.S. Population Density = 70.3 people per square mile

Carrying Capacity  The number of individuals an environment can support without significant negative impacts  A region with fertile land may be able to support far more people than one with land of poor quality or with little land available for cultivation  Technology  Level of technology of a group living on the land may affect carrying capacity

Carrying Capacity