Population Concentration and Density

Chapter 2 Sections 1 and 2

Key Concepts

• Overpopulation (intro)• Population Cartogram (section 1)• Population Density (section 2)– arithmetic density

• Arable Land (section 2)• Physiological Density (section 2)• Agricultural Density (section 2)

Population

• Overpopulation… – is a threat where an area’s population

exceeds the capacity of the environment to support it at an acceptable standard of living

– Depends on relationship between number of people and availability of resources

• A population cartogram shows a map according to population…not land size.

Population

• The four regions where most of the world’s human inhabitants are clustered– East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and

Europe

• Main reasons for uneven distribution of the world’s population– Dry lands– Cold lands– Mountainous lands– Lands that are too wet

World Population Animation

Population Density

Population Density

• Population - number of people occupying an area of land– Can be computed in many ways• Each way allows geographers to understand

population in comparison to available resources

Arithmetic Density

• Arithmetic Density (population density)- the total number of people divided by total land area– Pro:• Easy to calculate and obtain information

– Con:• Cannot explain why people are distributed

like they are

Physiological Density

• Arable land- land suitable for agriculture

• Physiological Density- the number of people in a region supported by a unit area of arable land– Ex. US = 172 per square km,

Egypt = 2580 per square km– Higher physiological density = higher

pressure that people place on the land to produce food

Agricultural Density

• Agricultural Density- the ratio of the amount of farmers to the amount of arable land– Ex. US 1 farmer per square km of arable

land—Egypt 826 farmers per square km of arable land

–Why is this? Why should the US have less farmers?

HIGH PHYSIOLOGICAL AND AGRICULTURAL

DENSITY: EGYPT

Key Concepts

• Overpopulation (intro)• Population Cartogram (section 1)• Population Density (section 2)– arithmetic density

• Arable Land (section 2)• Physiological Density (section 2)• Agricultural Density (section 2)