25 Population Changes Over Time and Space CHECK YOUR LEARNING
1. Name any four cities located in Asia. 2. Identify two cities in: Africa, North America, South America.
Historical factors
Colonialism: The development of major ports to facilitate the export of raw materials and the import of manufactured goods during the colonial period resulted in urban growth and concentration of population in coastal areas of many colonies (e.g. India).
Population Density
Population density is an average measurement of the number of people in an area. It is calculated by dividing the number of people by the area and is expressed in either square kilometres (km2
) or square miles (ml2 ). Population density formula: CHECK YOUR LEARNING
1. Name three factors that influence population distribution. 2. Identify (i) a densely populated (ii) a sparsely populated European region. 3. Identify (i) a densely populated (ii) a sparsely populated area in a subcontinental region.
CASE STUDY: IRELAND – POPULATION DISTRIBUTION AND DENSITY
Ireland has an uneven distribution of population. Areas of low density include: zz
KEYWORDS
upland areas, where a combination of difficult landscape, extreme climatic conditions and infertile soils discouraged settlement (e.g. the Western Region; Fig. 25.4);
zz zz
fertile areas, such as the Golden Vale, where larger farms mean less settlement;
offshore islands, where extreme conditions and isolation have led to continuous population decline (e.g. the Aran Islands).
emigration recession
population density population structure net migration
life expectancy dependency ratio
total fertility rate (TFR)
number of people land area ml2
/km2
The average population density of the earth is 14.36 per km2
.
DID YOU KNOW? 90% of the global
population live on 10% of the land.
Almost 40% of the world’s land has little settlement.
Fig. 25.4 Connemara upland areas have a low population density.
