Population Geography

• Population geographers study the relationships between populations and their environment.

• Demography is the statistical study of human populations. Demographers collect statistics about populations and use them to forecast what future populations will be like. Demographic information can be used to decide where to build new schools or how to redraw political boundaries.

• Population Density – the average number of people living in an area (persons per square km). Population densities around the world vary greatly. Population density reflects the size of a country, the size of its population and its environmental conditions.

• ** Southern Canada is more densely populated than the rest of the country. Why?

Canada’s Population Density

• Population distribution – the distribution of people. People are spread unevenly across Earth. About 90% of the world’s people live in the Northern Hemisphere. Four areas of the world have great clusters of population – East Asia, South Asia, Europe and Eastern North America.

• Why is earth unevenly distributed?

People tend to live in areas that are favourable for settlement – mild climates, fertile soils and adequate supply of freshwater.

World Population Trends

• Earth is home to more than 7 billion people (this number is increasing by 80 million each year)

• Three Main Reasons for Steady Population Increase

• 1. Farm technology• 2. Public sanitation improved• 3. Basics of modern medicine improved• *Demographic Transition (4 stages)

Demographic Transition Model

• This model describes population change over time. It is based on the observed changes, or transitions, in birth and death rates in industrialized societies over time, with its focus on about the past 250 years.

World Distribution of Crude Birth Rates, 2005

The crude birth rate is the number of births per 1,000 people per year

• Population Change – the number of people in any place is the result of three factors – birth rate, death rate and migration.

• What are some other migration factors?– Environmental conditions– Weather– Political unrest– Freedom