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Population

(Lecture Notes from Mr. Kersey's 7th Grade Geography Class)

Population

Population is the total number of people living in a place or region.

Population Distribution

  • Population distribution is how people are spread out over an area, like a country or the Earth.
  • Demographers study the populations of the world.
  • They try to figure why people live where they do.
  • Populations are often not distributed evenly.
  • The basic reason for this is that people are picky about where they live.
  • People tend to live in places where it is easier to get around, to trade, to farm, to work, and where there is fresh water.
  • Would you live in a swamp with no electricity, roads, or medical care?
  • Some continents have loads more people than others because it is easier to live there.
  • Asia, for example, has more than 81% of the world’s population.

Population Density

  • Population Density is the average number of people per square mile (or square km).
  • To figure out population density, take the population of an area and divide by the number of square miles.
  • For example, the population of Columbus, Ohio in the year 2000 was 711,470 people.
  • The total land area is about 210 sq. miles.
  • What is the population density of Columbus?
  • The population density of Columbus, Ohio is a whopping 3387 people per sq. mile.
  • Always remember that population density is an average.