Chapter 2 Population
Key Issues
1. Where is the worlds population distributed? 2. Where has the worlds population increased
3. Why is population increasing at different rates in different countries?
• Read the intro
• The study of population is important for three
reasons
– 1. There is more people alive today then any other
time in history
– 2. The population rate has increased more then any
other time
– 3. Almost all population growth can be found in LDC
• The study of population characteristics- demography • Geographers need to look at where, why and the scale of
Key Issue 1- Where is the
Population Distributed?
• Population Concentrations
– ¾ the population lives on 5% of the earth
• East Asia, Southeast Asia, Western Europe, Eastern North America
– This can be seen on a cartogram- map showing population rather then actual size
– 2/3 the population lives within 300 miles of water,
Why?
• 4/5ths live within 500 miles
– All regions are located between 10 and 55 degree
latitude
• East Asia
– ¼ the earth population live here
• China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan
– Of this 5/6 of these people live in China
» Over 3/4ths of these inhabitants live in rural areas – Japanese and Taiwanese 3/4ths live in urban areas
• South Asia
– 1/5
ththe population lives in India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka
• Along the Indus River and the Ganges
• Southeast Asia
– 4
thlargest area of population, Java, Sumatra, Borneo,
Papua New Guinea and the Philippines
– The three Asian regions consist of over half the
worlds population
• Europe
– 3
rdlargest population cluster, 18
ththe people on earth
• 3/4ths these people live in the cities
– England, Germany and Belgium hold the highest population – They do not produce enough agriculture to support their
• Eastern North America
– 2% of the population, located along the
eastern U.S.A. and the southeast Canada
• 95% of these people live in the cities
• Sparsely Populated Regions
– Ecumene- portion of the earth that
permanently populates an area
• Dry Lands
– 20% of the earth surface, the largest include the Sahara, Arabian, Thar, Takla Makan, Gobi
• Lack of natural resources, such as what? • What natural resource do they have?
• Wet Lands
– 50 inches of rain a year, high heat and rain deplete the soil
• Southeast Asia, South America
• Cold Lands
– North and South poles covered in Permafrost
• Cant grow right?
• High lands
• Population Density
– Number of people occupying land
• Arithmetic Density
– Total # of people divided by land mass
• U.S. has 77 persons per sq. Mile
– This number adjust as you measure different
aspects, Manhattan has about 55,400 per sq.
mile, why?
• Physiological Density
– Arable land- Farm Land
• # of people supported by Arable land
– U.S. 404 persons per sq mile, Egypt 9073 per sq, shows us that Egypt must feed more people with this land
• Agricultural Density
– Two places can be similar but their Farming Density
could be different
• The ratio between farmers and the amount of farms
– U.S. has 4 per sq kilo, Egypt has 1401 per sq Kilo
Key Issue 2- Where has the worlds
population increased?
• Geographers can measure this 3 ways
– Crude Birth Rate- love birth rate compared to
1000, so 20 would mean 20 births per year for
every 1000
– Crude Death Rate- Deaths every year per
1000, What happens when the death rate is
faster then the birth rate? How about the
opposite?
• Natural Increase
– Doubling Time- the % of time it takes to double the
population, in the 60s- 35 years 2000- 51 years what
does this tell us?
– Virtually 100% of the Natural Increase is located in
the LDC, WHY?
• Total Fertility Rate
– The average amount children a women will have
throughout her life
• Mortality
– Infant Mortality Rate- deaths of infants within one year, per
1000 people
– In LDC’s 10%, In MDC’s considerable different
• U.S. has a high rate compared to Europe and Canada- Minorities in the states have double the likelihood compared to Latin America and Asia
– This is attributed that there is a large portion of Minorities that cannot afford good health care, Do you think the new health care bill will help this?
• Life expectancy- the average life of an infant- 70’s in W. Europe, 40s in Sub-Sahara Africa
• What happens when the LDC are living longer then the MDC
• Pg 68 1-5
Key Issue 3- Why is Population
Increasing at different rates in
different countries?
• Demographic Transition
– Four stages of population all cultures go through, Irreversible
• Low Growth- No country is here today, Started with the
Agricultural Revolution- The switch from Nomads to farming • High Growth- by 1750 AD average growth increased 10xs faster
then in the past
– CDR was low CBR was high
– The Industrial Revolution- sparked this because of wealth used within the community
– Medical Revolution- longer healthier lives, better IMR
• Moderate Growth
– People choose to have fewer children
– Most likely when people live in cities, why not farms?
• Low Growth
– Zero Population Growth- CDR increases, CBR declines
– Total fertility Rate- almost 0 population increase, 2.1 or lower – Most of Europe, U.S. has not fully entered here
• Population Pyramids
– Population displayed by age and gender
• Age Distribution
– Dependency Ratio- The ratio of people either to old or to
young to work
• 0-14, 15-64, 65 older
• Approximately half of all stage 2 countries are stage 2, just about 10-1 dependents, 1/3 of the pole in LDC and 1/5 in MDC
– Sex Ratio- males per females
• Usually more males then females born, but male death rates are higher
– U.S. – 95-100 m vs. w, the outnumbering process starts around the age of 30
– Immigrant Countries usually have a higher male pop. Why? –
• Look at pg. 58 describe what is happening in each of the 8 population pyramids
Key Issue 4- Why might the world
face an overpopulation problem?
• The majority of the world are in the 2
ndand 3
rdgrowth rate,
why is this problematic
• Malthus on over Population
– Argued that the population would out run their food, while food increased mathematically population increased dramatically due to factors in healthcare and economical
• 1834 AD- today- 1 person- 1 food unit 25 years 2 -2
50 years 4-3 75 years 8-4 100 years 16- 5
What is the eventual result? Argued for restraint, war or disease were essential
• Malthus critics
– Marxist theory believes that there is enough
food as long as it is shared amongst the
people
– Population could increase the economy and
technology therefore providing solutions
– Agriculture is expanding not fixed
• How to reduce natural increase
– Return to stage one by raising your CDR
– Move to 3 and 4 by increasing economy and medical knowledge, Which do most countries want to do?
• Higher Death Rates
– AIDS- claims 2 million people a year in Africa
• W/o acting soon African countries will be in stage 1 again
– Polio, Measles, Diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough and tuberculosis claim 1/3 of the earths child population in Africa
– These have almost been completely eliminated in MDC
– Pandemic- a disease that occurs over a wide geographic area and affects very high proportion of the population.
– Epidemiology- the study of diseases that affect large numbers of people.
– Epidemiologic transition- an alternative form of the demographic transition that associates various degrees of medical advancement with the stages of population growth
• Lower Birth Rates
– What do they have to raise to lower birth rates?
• Rubenstein, James- Cultural Landscape;
An Introduction to Human Geography
• http://www.glendale.edu/geo/reed/cultural/
cultural_lectures.htm
• http://www.quia.com/pages/
mrsbellaphg.html
