Chp . 2- Population

1. Chp. 2- Population Key Issue 1- Where is the World’s Population Distributed?

2. Demography • The scientific study of population characteristics • Concerned with how people are distributed spatially and by age, gender, occupation, fertility, health, etc. • More people are alive right now, than at any time in Earth’s History • The Earth’s population increased at a faster rate in the last 50 years than at any time in History • Virtually all population growth is in LDC’s

3. Population Problems • Where people are across Earth’s space • Why is population growing, where is it growing • Overpopulation- an area’s population exceeds the capacity of the environment to support it at an acceptable standard of living

4. Video- Over Population http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAUVGYz3pZw

5. Population Concentration • 2/3s of world population in four regions • East Asia • South Asia • Southeast Asia • Europe • Most people live near an ocean or river

6. Population Cartogram—countries labeled contain at least 50 Million inhabitants

9. World Population Clock • http://www.census.gov/popclock/

10. East Asia • Region bordering the pacific ocean • Includes China, Japan, Korean Peninsula, Taiwan • China • World’s most populous country • Roughly 1.5 Billion People • About ½ the population lives in rural areas • Accounts for 5/6s of the regions population • Population is clustered near the Pacific Coast and near several fertile river valleys • Japan and Korea • Population clustered in 3 major cities—Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul • 3/4s population lives in urban areas

11. South Asia • Includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh • India is world’s second most populous country • Contains 3/4s of regions population • Most people are farmers living in rural areas • Although there are many urban areas (18 w/ more than 2 million people—The U.S. has 4) only ¼ of population lives in urban areas

12. SouthEast Asia • Includes Indonesia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea • Largest concentration is on Indonesian island of Java, more than 100 million people • Indonesia is world’s fourth most populous country • The three Asian regions combine to make up more than 50% of world’s population • But together they live on only 10% of world’s land

13. Europe • World’s third largest population cluster • Region includes more than 4 dozen countries • 3/4s of inhabitants live in cities, less than 10 percent are farmers • Europeans do not produce enough food to sustain themselves so they must import large quantities

14. Sparsely populated regions • Ecumene- Portion of the Earth’s surface occupied by permanent human settlement • The areas on the Earth considered too harsh for people to occupy have diminished over time • 3/4s of world’s population live on 5% of the Earth’s surface • Dry Lands- areas too dry for farming cover about 20% of earth’s land surface • Although it is difficult to grow food, the demand for resources located in deserts (notably oil) has led to a growth in settlements in or near deserts

15. Sparsely populated regions • Wet Lands- lands that receive very high levels of precipitation • Located primarily near the equator in Central America, South America, and Southeast Asia • Precipitation may be concentrated into specific seasons—seasonal wet lands • Cold Lands- much of the land near the North and South poles is covered with ice and frozen ground • High Lands- few people live at high elevations • There are exceptions—Mexico City is one of the world’s largest cities at an elevation of 7,360 ft

16. Density Review • Arithmetic Density- the total number of objects in an area (Number of people divided by Land area) • Physiological Density- the number of people supported by a unit area of arable land (number of people divided by land capable of agriculture) • Agricultural Density- the number of farmers divided by the amount of arable land