GEOGRAPHY IGCSE: POPULATION DENSITY AND DISTRIBUTION
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The document discusses the factors influencing population density and distribution, highlighting disparities globally, such as densely populated regions like Singapore and sparsely populated areas like the Sahel. It emphasizes that environmental and human factors, like climate and job availability, significantly affect where populations settle. Additionally, it notes that population density does not necessarily correlate with economic development, as evidenced by examples from Bangladesh and Japan.
GEOGRAPHY IGCSE: POPULATION DENSITY AND DISTRIBUTION
- 1. IGCSE GEOGRAPHY 4. POPULATION DENSITY AND DISTRIBUTION FACTORS INFLUENCING THE DENSITY AND DISTRIBUTION CASE STUDIES SINGAPORE – DENSELY POPULATED SAHEL – SPARSELY POPULATED
- 2. The way in which people are spread across a given area is known as population distribution. Geographers study population distribution patterns at different scales: local, regional, national, and global. Patterns of population distribution tend to be uneven. For example, in the UK there are more people living in south-east England than in Wales.
- 4. Population density = total population ÷ total land area in km²
- 5. The following map shows patterns of population density on a global scale.
- 6. Areas of high and low population density are unevenly spread across the world. The majority of places with high population densities are found in the northern hemisphere. The population density of a country has very little to do with its level of economic development. For example, both Bangladesh and Japan are very densely populated, but Bangladesh is a LEDC and Japan is a MEDC.
- 7. Environmental and human factors affect the spread of people across the world. Factors attracting settlement Temperate climate - eg the UK. Low-lying flat fertile land - eg the Bangladesh Delta. Good supplies of natural resources - eg building resources.
- 9. Factors discouraging settlement Extreme climates - eg Sahara Desert. Mountainous or highland areas - eg the Scottish Highlands. Dense vegetation - eg the Amazon Rainforest.
- 11. Factors such as the availability of jobs and comparatively high wages can contribute to high population density through migration. For example, from 2004 the UK has seen an influx of migrants from countries that have recently joined the EU, such as Poland.
- 12. Civil war, eg in the Darfur region of Sudan, can contribute to lower population densities as people become refugees and leave an area.
- 14. Singapore population: 5.2 million people Land area: 710 sq km Population density: 7300 people/ sq km GDP per capita: $50.000 From these statistics, it is evident that Singapore is already an extremely dense country. However, it is important not to forget that Singapore, having an urbanisation rate of 100%, resembles more of a city rather than a country, due to its small land area.
- 16. These 10 countries span over 7 million square km and have close to 135 million inhabitants. Some of the larger countries that contain extensive expanses of desert (Mali and Niger) have low population densities of fewer than 20 people per square km. Other geographically smaller countries that have access to the sea (such as Senegal) have population densities of 50 people or more per square km. Landlocked Burkina Faso has a population density of 65 people per square km. Only Gambia has more than 150 people per square km.